Patmos, a Seventh Day Adventist choir, is set to hold a praise and worship concert focused on proclaiming God’s name by acknowledging God’s wondrous works.
The choir’s plan comes at a time when there are only three weeks left before a highly-anticipated gospel concert with the theme ‘the Highest Praise’.
The event is scheduled to take place on November 25 at Kigali Convention Center. Gates will open at 5pm and performances will kick off at 6 pm until 9pm. Elevate and Echos du Ciel choir are expected to feature at the event.
As part of preparations for the event, leaders and founding members met with gospel reporters on Tuesday to share an update on the concert and what gospel music lovers should expect.
Vincent Ngirikiringo, the choir’s president, started by briefing the media about the history of the choir.
He explained that the choir was founded back in 1996, when some former students of the Lukanga school in the Democratic Republic of Congo met at the wedding of a colleague in Kigali.
“After the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, the students returned to Rwanda. They were singers, and they got together to rehearse a song to perform at a colleague’s wedding. Their union inspired them to think about forming the choir we see today,” he said.
All members welcomed the idea of creating a coordinated choir. The next step was to find the best name for their group, and each person was assigned to search for one. Surprisingly, Josue Rusagara, who is currently retired, was planning to open a Papeterie under the name of ‘Patmos’. His colleague offered if the name could be seized and given to the choir, to which Rusagara accepted.
Patmos literally means the place where the divine God inspired the book of Revelation and was written by John, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ.
From then on, the choir began a journey with a vision of spreading the good news of Jesus Christ to many in the last days.
To date, the choir consists of 22 active members. In 2016, the Patmos choir celebrated its 20th anniversary.
The president noted that during Covid-19, many people were in despair, but today God has changed the situation. Therefore, the concert will be a special moment to praise and thank God for his wonderful work.
Music director and one of the founding members, Aimable Niyonzima, said that the 2023 concert marks a new milestone for the choir and that the upcoming concert will be unique in terms of performance.
Another founding member in charge of discipline, Edouard Burema, said it wasn’t easy at first, as the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi led young people to become less interested in evangelism.
Burema noted that the choir is highly motivated by the testimonials of people who have seen first-hand how the choir’s products have changed them, adding that they are happy that their work has made an impact on people’s lives.
Chantal Uwimpuhwe, who is in charge of spiritual life, reveals that prayer is the source of what God has enabled them to do.
The choir invited everyone and said that the High Praise concert is for all, not just Adventists.
The choir’s activities include supporting patients, promoting social and charity activities and working with different churches to expand the spread of the gospel.
Entrance fee is Rwf 10,000 for regular and Rwf 15,000 for front seats.
Tickets are available on www.ishema.rw or use ussd code *797*30#
