Centennial park hosts Mennonite hymn sing
By Amy Gingerich

Sara Shirk

David Lawshee, an Atlanta resident, sat inside the CNN Center killing

time when he heard music coming from Centennial Olympic Park, so he crossed the street to check it out.

At the park he found thousands of Mennonites, their voices joined in an old-fashioned hymn sing in an unlikely setting: a 1,200-capacity amphitheater, part of the legacy from the 1996 Games.

“The last song was pretty touching and lifted my spirit,” Lawshee said.
Mennonites sang more than a dozen songs as they gathered for the “Centennial Park Hymn Sing for Peace,” sharing photocopies, all taken from “Hymnal: A Worship Book.”

The singers filled all the rows in the Southern Company Amphitheater, and spilled into the central lawn and even onto the stage. Some sat, some stood and others simply squeezed into whatever space they could find.

The song leaders, Becky Kurtz and Jonathan Dueck of Atlanta, Linda Huber Minninger of Halifax, Pa., and Carol Oberholtzer of Lancaster, Pa., led traditional hymns and global songs with themes of peace, peacemaking and hope.

“It was cool,” said Liz Goering, 17, of Newton, Kan. “We’ve been singing a lot of modern stuff, so this was pretty cool.”

Her friends, Amy Bradshaw, 15, and Gretchen Bartel, 17, especially enjoyed the hymn “Soon and Very Soon.” The three attend Faith Mennonite Church in Newton, Kan.

“Singing in four-part harmony with everyone was amazing,” Bartel said.

The organizer, Les Horning, explained that the hymns were pre-selected to “express our commitment to peacemaking.”

The event capped a March for Reconciliation earlier in the afternoon and provided a way for those who were not able to participate in the walk to publicly show their commitment to peace.

“It’s an amazing thing what we can produce with our voices,” Horning said.