Music/Cultural Exchange

In June-July 2007, seventeen adults and youth from the Plymouth Church UCC in Framingham spent two weeks in Tanzania. This mission trip was an extension of work begun in Tanzania by Bob Ahearn, a longtime member of our church in conjunction with Global Volunteers and the Iringa Diocese of the Lutheran Church of Tanzania.

While visiting a small, remote village called Pommern, the folks from Plymouth Church were embraced by the residents and made to feel a real part of this community. This 2007 mission trip was a moving and life changing experience for the congregants who traveled to Tanzania. It also marked the beginning of a journey for the entire Plymouth Church family, expanding our understanding of what it means to be Christian “neighbors.”

One of the distinctive strengths of Pommern is the rich choral music which it produces. The secondary school in the village routinely wins the regional choir competitions. With this in mind, the Plymouth Church Africa Mission Group formulated a challenge to deepen the relationships begun last summer. On October 10, 2008 we welcomed a choir from the village of Pommern.

The choir, hosted by families of Plymouth Church, spent a little over four weeks visiting and performing 32 concerts in a variety of churches, schools and community organizations in Eastern Massachusetts.

The Pommern Village Choir produced an audio CD which is available for purchase. Proceeds from the Songs for Fresh Water tour will be used to bring life giving water to Pommern and surrounding communities. Additionally a DVD is available of the choir perfoming at the Framingham Civic League during their Eastern Massachusetts tour. For more informaiton or to purchase the DVD click here. To learn more about the Plymouth-Pommern relationship and the water project, click on the Fresh Water in the sidebar.