God’s Work. Our Hands: A Concert for Yvette
At 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 18, the
people of Elim brought to life the ELCA motto, God’s Work. Our Hands.
We came together because of a need in the community. Fifteen year old
Yvette Begay died on February 29, 2008, trapped in her basement bedroom
as her house burned to the ground. Yvette lived in the house with her
mother, sister, brother-in-law, and the sister’s five children. Without
insurance, the Begays and the Loyas lost everything.
I first became aware of the financial need when I stopped in a convenience store on my way to a Wednesday Lenten service. A jar with Yvette’s picture on it sat by the cash register with a plea for donations. I gave a dollar, then thought, “Somebody really ought to do something to help those people.” My next thought was something I heard a speaker say at an ELCA Youth convention years ago: “When you think somebody ought to do something, the person who should do it is you.”
On Good Friday, I talked with Pastor DanaLee and got her immediate backing to do a benefit concert. On Easter morning, I asked the choir if they would do extra rehearsals and perform the cantata, “Praise the Lord of Resurrection” again. Without hesitation, every choir member agreed. Soloists volunteered--Rick Givens, Mary Givens, Jen Rosio, Eli Goich, Diane McDonough. The Potter’s House, where Yvette was a member, sent their Rap Group, Point Blank. Pastor Rick Martinez of the Potter’s House agreed to speak, and finally Yvette’s best friend, Aurelia Carr came to me at school and asked if she could speak about Yvette.
All this came together at 6:00 p.m. on May 18th. 68 people attended the concert, including Yvette’s brother Darren and his wife and baby. Our goal was to raise $1100, with Thrivent matching that with another $1100. Elim donated $279 profit from the Seder Meal, and the total donation that night was $1525. With Thrivent’s matching funds, we will donate $2625 to the two charitable accounts set up at America First Credit Union, one for Yvette and the other for the Loya family.
Many thanks to the volunteers who made this happen: Pastor DanaLee Simon, Mary Givens, Dale Toone, Ginny Roberts, Jack Johnson, John and Kim Palmer, Harold Brattland, Joel Schwarz, Megan Conroy, Jen Rosio, Walter Rosio, Mike Morgan, Rosemary Thomas, Dolores Johnson, Nancy Jorgensen, Bailey Gund, Barbara Lyons, the ladies of Mary, Rebecca, and Ruth Circles of Elim WELCA, the members of the Chancel Choir under the direction of Rick Givens, and the members of Elim who distributed posters in the community. Also, thanks to Rosa Parrilla for translating our posters into Spanish.
I think of many mottos that describe what happened here. The ELCA: “Gods Work. Our Hands.” St. Olaf College: “Ideals to Action.” First century Rabbi Hillel: “If not me, who? If not now, when?”
To this I think we can now add one more: “Elim Cares.”
Thank you all, and God bless.
I first became aware of the financial need when I stopped in a convenience store on my way to a Wednesday Lenten service. A jar with Yvette’s picture on it sat by the cash register with a plea for donations. I gave a dollar, then thought, “Somebody really ought to do something to help those people.” My next thought was something I heard a speaker say at an ELCA Youth convention years ago: “When you think somebody ought to do something, the person who should do it is you.”
On Good Friday, I talked with Pastor DanaLee and got her immediate backing to do a benefit concert. On Easter morning, I asked the choir if they would do extra rehearsals and perform the cantata, “Praise the Lord of Resurrection” again. Without hesitation, every choir member agreed. Soloists volunteered--Rick Givens, Mary Givens, Jen Rosio, Eli Goich, Diane McDonough. The Potter’s House, where Yvette was a member, sent their Rap Group, Point Blank. Pastor Rick Martinez of the Potter’s House agreed to speak, and finally Yvette’s best friend, Aurelia Carr came to me at school and asked if she could speak about Yvette.
All this came together at 6:00 p.m. on May 18th. 68 people attended the concert, including Yvette’s brother Darren and his wife and baby. Our goal was to raise $1100, with Thrivent matching that with another $1100. Elim donated $279 profit from the Seder Meal, and the total donation that night was $1525. With Thrivent’s matching funds, we will donate $2625 to the two charitable accounts set up at America First Credit Union, one for Yvette and the other for the Loya family.
Many thanks to the volunteers who made this happen: Pastor DanaLee Simon, Mary Givens, Dale Toone, Ginny Roberts, Jack Johnson, John and Kim Palmer, Harold Brattland, Joel Schwarz, Megan Conroy, Jen Rosio, Walter Rosio, Mike Morgan, Rosemary Thomas, Dolores Johnson, Nancy Jorgensen, Bailey Gund, Barbara Lyons, the ladies of Mary, Rebecca, and Ruth Circles of Elim WELCA, the members of the Chancel Choir under the direction of Rick Givens, and the members of Elim who distributed posters in the community. Also, thanks to Rosa Parrilla for translating our posters into Spanish.
I think of many mottos that describe what happened here. The ELCA: “Gods Work. Our Hands.” St. Olaf College: “Ideals to Action.” First century Rabbi Hillel: “If not me, who? If not now, when?”
To this I think we can now add one more: “Elim Cares.”
Thank you all, and God bless.
--Dave Thomas
A KSL news article about the tragedy may be read here.
Click here to read an ABC4 news article about the tragedy, with a clip from the Channel 4 News available in the upper right hand corner of the page.
To download a printable version of concert poster, click here.
To download a copy of the concert program, click here.