By Chris Dale Peñacerrada Patriarca, BA Comm-4 OJT
LoveCon participants singing Bethel Music’s, “Homecoming.”
The University Church Youth along with the Young Professionals Church members conducted their 23rd Love Concert (LoveCon) last Sunday, March 06, 2022 with the theme, “Breakthrough,” held at the University Church, Central Philippine University.
LoveCon, debuted in 1998 to celebrate and testify God’s love, is usually celebrated in February, but was pushed back to earlier this March because of the pandemic.
Rev. Cris Amorsolo V. Sian, Senior Pastor of the University Church, graced the program by welcoming the audience, which was then followed by a prayer led by Rev. Ruth G. Lunasco, Director of Christian Education of the University Church.
The event proceeded with the University Church Youth singing their hearts out to the Lord with praise and worship songs, which included their renditions of, “On Earth as in Heaven,” “Mercy,” “Reason to Praise,” and a lot more. The Church’s dance group, Praise in Motion, also accompanied the youth group’s song performance for “Hymn of Heaven,” and, “The Lion and the Lamb,” with a dance.
Charlotte V. Gadian, one of LoveCon’s singers and a 4th year Bachelor of Arts in Communication student, delivered Brian Vee’s spoken word poetry, “Tapos na,” in which she described as, “Overwhelming but super worth it gid kay damo ang nag feedback sakon after the concert nga na touch gid sila sa message. The fact that I can deliver it well means that I’m connected with it and I can also reflect sa mga gin panghambal ko on stage, not only the audience.”
Gadian also shared that her Love Concert experience last Sunday was different from her past participations and that she felt more connected with the songs, saying, “I was more connected sa songs and naga speak gid ang messages sang songs sa akon especially that I am going through something gid. The bond with my fellow Love Concert members was also much deeper than before.”
Another singer who performed during the event, Julia Marie G. Quimpo, a 4th year student of Bachelor of Special Needs Education, shared how she was influenced by her older siblings to join LoveCon when she was only 10 years old, expressing that, “I became a part of LoveCon because halin sang gamay ako, amo na nakita ko, nga gina enjoy sang mga mga manong and manang ko sa Church and sa teenage years ko, nabalan ko na ang reason ngaa gina enjoy nila: it’s not just performing, it’s always worship, even when practicing. Also, ang friendships nga ma build mo kay LoveCon is open to everybody.”
For Quimpo, choosing to be a part of LoveCon is the blessing of fulfillment after singing for the Lord and being instrumental for random persons who go through challenges in life and also saying yes to serve the Lord.
“Because in LoveCon, we sing, we lead people in worship and we always pray that people will leave the concert blessed and hopeful again despite sa mga circumstances in life,” she added.
Social distancing and health protocols were observed during the program.
The event was also live-streamed via The Centralian Link’s and CPU TV Channel’s respective Facebook pages to accommodate those who want to experience the LoveCon 2022 in their own homes.
The program ended with a closing prayer and benediction by Reverend Roger T. Quimpo, Associate Pastor for Outreach of University Church and a reprise of Bethel Music’s, “Homecoming,” where the audience joined in worshiping and praising God.