On Sunday, April 24, campus ministries held their own gospel fest in Commencement Hollow. But unlike the headliner for WittFest the rapper, AGAPE, rapped about loving one another and God alongside Rachel.
As children ran and played, the sun gave light to the audience as they listened to the inspiring music. The event was created in part to raise money for earthquake victims in Japan and Ecuador, along with the idea of worshiping on a beautiful sunny day.
The event’s opening act was PROFOUND, a group founded here at Witt by senior DaShawn Glover and freshman Logan McCord. They performed three songs from their album, which got the crowd prepared for the theatrical duo AGAPE and Rachel.
Dressed in a grey top with the words Lutheran Seminary printed in red, darker grey joggers and a neon yellow truckers hat that read “Love my haters,” AGAPE led the crowd in what he called “Hip-Hop calisthenics.” At one point, he even did a few handstands and break dancing. All in all, it was a pretty amazing thing to watch as he moon-walked across the brick stage to show how much he loved his God. But it didn’t stop there. On a few occasions, he and Rachel tried to perform music that they’d just written on the way to campus.
Another memorable moment of the evening was when they were having some technical difficulties. It didn’t ruin the performance at all, and instead made for a chilling spiritual for the audience. The song performed during the moment AGAPE had written for his son and it touched on a prominent issue in the Christian community – LGBT rights. As the DJ cut the background track for Rachel to sing the chorus, the crowd fell silent as Rachel belted out the words “you will always be my child.” I can’t speak for most of the crowd, but I know this really struck me as her raspy voice echoed throughout the Hollow.
If you missed this lovely performance, I’m deeply sorry for you because I left the performance feeling 10 pounds lighter and happier. It definitely was an experience I’ll never forget, and what made it 10 times better was the fact that the audience and myself got the opportunity to help those in need overseas.
