Since 1992, every first weekend of February at Walla Walla University has been dedicated to honoring Black History Month. This serves as a weekend of celebration of the diversity in our community and is a unique opportunity for the university to welcome a variety of guest speakers and musicians. These few days are full of music, culture, and worship that is always enjoyed by the campus and local community alike.
BSCF and Berean Fellowship kicked the weekend off with a night of vibrant music and meaningful spoken word. This vespers included performances by BSCF’s collaborative choir: the club welcomed any interested students to join them for the evening. Freshman BSCF club officer Ruvimbo Taruwinga said, “I liked the sense of culture that was brought into this vespers and I really enjoyed the music that they sang this year.”
The next morning began with a Sabbath colloquium by Olive Hemmings, chair of the Henry and Sharon Fordham Department of Religion at Washington Adventist University. She spoke about “The ‘Black Jesus’ of St. Matthew, Bonhoeffer, and Bob Marley,” describing a Jesus who identifies with people’s suffering.
The church service later that day was a major partnership with groups from around the country. The music was by the Berean praise team, Portland Adventist Academy (PAA) Gospel Choir, and mass choir with Oakwood University professors Andrew (Benji) Young as director and Wayne Bucknor on piano. Terrance Taylor, pastor at Breath of Life Worship Center in Los Angeles, California, also stepped onto the University Church stage that day. His message, “From Kingdom to Kin-dom,” called listeners to abandon the “kingdoms” of the world to come together in kinship with one another under Christ.
The final celebration of the weekend took place Saturday evening. The Total Praise Concert hosted numerous groups and soloists including the Berean Gospel Choir, BSCF praise dance team, Blend Right Trio, PAA Gospel Choir, mass choir, and more. For the third year in a row, Shudder Ruach, a junior exercise science and pre-physical therapy major at WWU, joined the mass choir. He loves singing in a choir and performing Gospel music, with its fun and spontaneous nature. He said, “It was delightful to sit next to someone new and leave the conversation feeling loved and seen… I was filled with joy and smiles all weekend, because of the time I spent with the mass choir.”
Posted Feb. 13, 2025.
