The Harvest is Great (In Detroit) with Love for My ELCA Family and Detroit

My new song, The Harvest is Great (In Detroit), is streaming sitewide at MarcosandlaGuagua.com in celebration of the 2015 Youth Gathering, Multicultural Youth Leadership Event (MYLE), and Definitely-abled Youth Leadership Event (DAYLE) of our Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). I came to a faith of conviction in God's surprising, gracious love in Christ at a MYLE gathering years ago. I believe God is doing something new in the hearts of thousands of youth and adults as our church gathers in Detroit this week as well.

My mom taught in Detroit in the 1970's and I feel a strong affinity for the Motor City, as someone who grew up in the Mid-west and was born into the Bronx. God is already at work in places the dominant powers of this world have cast aside, even before churches can schedule time to discuss it.

I pray that this and every week in Detroit may be a foretaste of the feast to come for visitors and locals alike.

The current Harvest is Great demo was recorded in the acoustically gracious sanctuary of Trinity Lutheran Church in Manhattan using the talents of four mid-westerners gathered together in NYC. Thanks to Horace Beasley, piano and backing vocals. Leanna Hieber, vocals. Dash Lea, sound engineering. I wrote the song and sing lead vocals. Thanks to Abe Cáceres for his mentorship, and my mom, Carolyn Wille-Rivera for sharing her Detroit memories with me.

We believe that Detroit is:

"Like a Garden
Planted by a Great Lake..."

and that there is

"So much soul food at God's table,
Everyone can fill their plate!"

This is what love does, God's work our hands.

For me, I say, this is most certainly true. Amen.

Thanks for listening,

Marcos

The Harvest is Great (In Detroit) copyright Marcos de Jesús 2015
SDG

1 comment