Covenant News

Covenant Ministers Chorus Completes European Tour

CHICAGO, IL (October 10, 2001) - A group of 45 ministers and their families have returned from the 2001 Covenant Ministers Chorus tour to Europe, a trek that included stops in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Germany.

The Ministers Chorus presented 11 concerts, according to LeRoy and Colleen Carlson. LeRoy Carlson booked the concerts, most of which were held at Covenant churches or churches affiliated with the Federation of Free Evangelical Churches.

The choral team sang September 23 in morning worship services at the Immanuelskyrkan in Stockholm, a large Swedish Covenant church. The group informally sang at the Church of the Rock in Finland, surprising a number of tourists. They also worshiped at a Lutheran church in Wittenburg, Germany - the place where Martin Luther started the Protestant Reformation. Church services in Halle and Berlin, Germany, were also highlights. Conductor Royce Eckhardt led the group in mostly Christian songs, but during nearly every concert the group sang "America the Beautiful." That song was also sung in Oslo, Norway, across the street from the American Embassy.

"In Halle (where Covenant missionaries Richard and Jan Epps-Dawson serve), our concert was really an evangelistic event and they completely filled the place. Their church has about 20 attending and there were close to 100 others that weren't from the church," said Kendall Dahlstrom, pastor of the Evangelical Covenant Church of South Bend, Indiana. "Steve Swanson (a Covenant missionary in Germany) said that there had been some rancor between local churches and they cancelled their morning services and chose to come together for the concert. It was a small church, but we practically had to step over people to get to the front of the church."

"We found and sympathy for America and gladness that we had come," said Barbara Johnson, an administrator for the Evangelical Covenant Church Department of World Mission. "In Eastern Europe, those churches were really glad we had included them on their trip. We sang in a Baptist church and Lutheran churches, a very ecumenical group."

Like many, Dahlstrom had mixed emotions about taking the trip. Following the September 11 terrorist attacks the group wondered if they would be allowed to fly to Europe.

Dahlstrom's goddaughter, Mari Rae Sopper, died when the plane in which she was a passenger crashed into the Pentagon. He left home with the chorus on the day of his 36th wedding anniversary to wife Nancy, one day removed from officiating at Sopper's memorial service. And he arrived to find that O'Hare International Airport had upgraded security measures to guard against terrorist activity.

Fortunately, said Dahlstrom and Johnson, air travel to and from Chicago went smoothly and the group had a positive experience during their trip.

"Going to Chicago, we were a little nervous," Dahlstrom said. "Once we got on the plane and our course was set, we felt confident we were doing the right thing. I was glad we went. We went to the Baltic States and saw nations in transition. These are countries that have never been their own, but they have a history and the church is there - perhaps not real strong - and there are very alive people who are highly committed. I think we became a source of encouragement for them."

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