Easter Concert Tour by Dover Grads Benefits Bulgaria Ministry

Jen Warner, a 2002 Dover Area High School graduate, paints a picture of Jesus while students perform the Easter concert 'Behold the Lamb. Photo by the Daily Record

By Kevin Horan
Daily Record/Sunday News

Last year, Phil Warner, a Dover native, and his wife, Carrie, planned a joint choir concert tour. They knew they wanted it to benefit some kind of mission work, but, at the time, they weren't sure what.

In the summer, the two traveled to Bulgaria. It was there that they got their answer.

The concert tour, "Behold the Lamb: A Visual Oratorio for Easter," tells the story of Jesus' death and resurrection through an original musical composition written by 1999 Dover grad Chris Massa. The shows features a choir, soloists, a chamber ensemble, and a visual artist, Dover grad Jen Warner, performing along with the music.

Choirs from the Berks Christian School and the Conestoga Christian School collaborated on the event. Phil Warner teaches music at Berks Christian School, and Carrie Warner teaches at Conestoga Christian School.

The tour started Thursday in Lancaster and moved Friday to Pittsburgh. It will conclude Monday in Reading.

On Sunday, it stopped at the Heidelberg United Church of Christ in York, where it played to a nearly packed house. Screens on either side of the stage reflected the high and lows of the story: dark as Jesus' disciples waited for him to rise from the tomb; light when he did.

All the while, the voices of the choir powered the church.

Sue Forsythe, of Manchester Township, volunteered to host some of the performers Sunday night before they made their way to Reading Monday morning. In the meantime, she visited the church for Sunday's performance and was glad she did.

"It was amazing," she said afterward. "Talented kids. It's very talented directors who pull it out of them."

Proceeds from the event will go toward funding an interdenominational camp ministry in Bulgaria. When the Warners traveled there last summer, they met Lamar and Pat Myers, missionaries who work there.

The Warners watched the Myerses work and became inspired, deciding to devote their tour to helping Bulgaria.

"The gifts we're given are not for our own benefit," Phil Warner said.

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