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THURSDAY. OCTOBER 17. 2013 PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS PAGE 13A
Bent Tree’s John Ellison discusses trip to North Korea/China
John Ellison on the Great Wall of China. Ellison performed in
North Korea with the Sons of Jubal, a 300-plus member male cho
rus composed primarily of ministers of music who serve in
churches of the Georgia Baptist Convention.
By Hank Hollensbe
Progress Contributor
Late morning on a late day in
August. There were no falling
leaves yet, but I thought I de
tected a hint of different weather
on the way. John Ellison and I
were benched, waiting for our
time to trot onto the tennis court
at Bent Tree. I had heard a bit of
his recent trip to the Orient and I
wanted to know more about his
recent trip visit North Korea and
China and the organization that
made the visit possible.
John, a Bent Tree resident,
sings with the Sons of Jubal, a
300-plus member male chorus
composed primarily of ministers
of music who serve in churches
of the Georgia Baptist Conven
tion. The group also features a
brass choir, the Jubal Brass, an
ensemble, the Jubal Tones and
the Jubal Handbells.
When a small group of music
ministers met in 1954 to form a
male chorus, guidelines for
membership were drawn up,
plans made for concerts in the
following year, and a name was
chosen. Inspired by Genesis
4:21, the first group of its kind
among state conventions in the
Southern Baptist Convention
was named “Sons of Jubal.” In
February 2002, Dr. Jon Duncan,
a native of Oklahoma, began
serving as Music & Worship spe
cialist (director of the depart
ment) in Music & Worship
Ministries of the Georgia Baptist
Convention.
Because Sons of Jubal is pri
marily a music/missions organi
zation, its members are
committed to both worship en
richment and gospel proclama
tion. The Sons of Jubal annually
present concerts in Georgia Bap
tist churches and have presented
concerts in Alaska, Brazil, Ar
gentina, Chile, Peru, Italy, Israel,
Canada, Costa Rica, Panama,
Germany, Moldova and France.
Christianity came to the Ko
rean peninsula in the 1880s. Re
vival broke out in 1907,
particularly in the north, where
2-3,000 churches were started.
Pyongyang became known as the
“Jerusalem of Asia.” The Japan
ese annexation in 1910 mandated
that the people worship the Em
peror and persecution of Chris
tians began. Despite this,
Christianity grew. After WWII,
the Communists invaded, led by
Soviet trained Kim II Sung.
After the Korean War, perse
cution intensified, citizens were
required to swear allegiance to
the Leader and his “Juche” ide
ology. Juche is now a religion
signifying a spirit of self-re
liance. According to Kim II
Sung, Juche is based on belief
that man is master of everything.
Open Doors Ministry lists North
Korea as the “World’s worst re
ligious persecutor,” yet Billy
Graham was allowed to enter Py
ongyang in 2000 to preach and
Franklin Graham preached there
in 2008. Why did Sons of Jubal
go? To make a positive influence
as ambassadors for the United
States and for our Lord.
Our invitation to sing at the
international music festival in the
Democratic People’s Republic of
Korea came through the recom
mendation of Global Resource
Services (GRS), a Humanitarian
Aid and Cultural Exchange or
ganization. This event took place
in April of 2012. One hundred
forty-six members of the Sons of
Jubal traveled to Beijing, China,
and to North Korea. The chorus
was one of the largest groups of
Americans ever invited to enter
the DPRK.
Members of the chorus were
divided into three groups to fly
on three different carriers. We
flew different routes, but all ar
rived in Beijing without incident
- unless one considers lost lug
gage. One person’s luggage went
back to Atlanta - yes, that was
mine. Fortunately, it arrived the
day before our flight to North
Korea. During the few days in
Beijing the chorus had to arrange
for visas to enter North Korea
and re-entry visas to return to
China, become acclimated to the
time change and rehearse. We all
flew together to Pyongyang via
the North Korean airline. Air
Koryo.
My first impressions of North
Korea were how drab and austere
the countryside was as we drove
the fifteen miles into Pyongyang.
All available land was being
tilled and/or planted. So much of
North Korea is mountainous, so
even hills were being terraced
and tilled in order to try to feed
the 25 million population.
Though I saw less than two
dozen cars and few bicycles,
some street corners had female
uniformed monitors to control
traffic. I saw one electric trolley
and only one intersection with a
traffic light. Though nighttime
satellite views of North Korea
are dark, the lights were turned
on in Pyongyang while we were
there.
Twenty-four countries sent
delegates to perform at this Fes
tival. Most or all of the delegates
were housed in the Yanggakdo
Hotel on Yanggak Island in the
Taedong River. The first morning
there, I awoke to military bull
horns and singing. Since we
flew in the day after the failed
missile launch and did not know
the world’s nor the U.S.’s reac
tion, it was more than a little un
settling. As it turned out, Py
ongyang was preparing for the
100th birthday celebration of
their dear leader, Kim II Sung.
During our stay in North
Korea we were allowed to visit
the DMZ. During the 2-plus hour
drive, I saw no other vehicles on
the four-lane divided highway.
There was a smattering of vil
lages or communes along the
route with people in the fields
tilling the land. We were allowed
to sit at the table where the
armistice was signed in 1953
with two North Korean soldiers
at the door on the north and two
South Korean soldiers at the
south door.
During our stay we were en
tertained at an outdoor park by
an all-female band and Korean
dancers and acrobats. The partic
ipants came from various coun
tries to compete in races and
other games. We were treated to
a state dinner for all Festival par
ticipants and a grand perform
ance to celebrate the 100th
birthday of the late Kim II Sung.
We were also given tours and
performances at the Music Con
servatory and the Children’s Art
Palace.
When our director told the
Organizing Committee that we
intended to sing Broadway hit
songs as they had requested and
three of their favorite songs - in
Korean they saw it as a sign of
respect and asked what songs we
preferred singing. When Mr.
Duncan stated that we prefer
singing songs of faith, they asked
to see our repertoire. They then
gave permission to sing anything
from our repertoire and asked
that we do two concerts at their
symphony hall. The group used
Korean translators in the U.S. to
prepare three compositions to be
sung in Korean. We performed
two full concerts at the DPRK
Spring Friendship Arts Festival
in Pyongyang. The full concert
of the Sons of Jubal was broad
cast on North Korea’s national
television. The CEO of GRS
stated that he had never seen an
audience in North Korea give a
standing ovation. The Organiz
ing Committee was so impressed
that we were asked to sing for the
Closing Ceremonies (which we
were unable to do because of
concerts scheduled in Beijing)
and given an award for the best
group in the Festival.
Though we had little direct
contact with individuals in North
Korea, one of our tour
monitor/translator shared that be
fore our arrival she was scared of
us and having to tour with us for
the six days but, after her time
with us, she now felt that she had
sons, brothers and fathers that
were American friends. Over all,
the people that we had contact
with were all very warm and re
ceptive to the group. We then re
turned to Beijing.
Beijing is a city of 14 million,
with not one or “perimeter”
roads but six with plans in the
works for a seventh. We experi
enced Atlanta-type traffic at
10:30 p.m. During our time here,
we were able to visit the Great
Wall, the Ming Tombs, Tianan
men Square and the Forbidden
City. We performed a concert at
Hadian Christian Church before
an estimated crowd of over one
thousand. We also had two con
certs with the Beijing Conserva
tory Chorus. Andy, one of our
translator/tour guide who ap
peared to be an agnostic, had the
opportunity to observe the peo
ple’s response to our concert at
the Christian church and witness
our final concert at the Conser
vatory. He later stated that he had
accompanied many groups from
around the world, including the
United States, but he saw some
thing very different, something
very positive during his time
with the Sons of Jubal. During
our farewells, Jim, a Jubal, said
“Andy, I hope to see you again
someday.” Andy pulled Jim close
and said very clearly, “Jesus will
arrange for us to meet again, if
not here, then in Heaven.”
All members of the entourage
returned to Atlanta safely. If you
are interested in learning more or
in hearing the Sons of Jubal,
please Google us. Our next con
cert will be in Hiawassee at the
McConnell Memorial Baptist
Church on Thursday, Oct. 24.
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Tate Day 2013: Renewals and Beginnings
—
Front view of the 1928 Tate School.
By Lawton Baggs
Tate Day
When Tate Day Homecoming
Festival 2013 opens on Nov. 2,
some popular events from past
festivals will be present com
bined with some new ones for
this year. Repeating from previ
ous years will be the opening pa
rade and the Open House feature
at Tate Elementary. New for
2013 will be a play involving
students from Tate Elementary
and festival participation by Tate
United Methodist Church.
The student play being coor
dinated by faculty member
Nancy Tatum Teague, a Tate na
tive, is entitled Highlights of
Tate. The production involves
live action, projected images and
written information. Without re
vealing the plot, Mrs. Teague
says that the audience will have
visual/verbal contact with im
ages of Col. Sam Tate, the Geor
gia Marble Company, the Pink
Marble Mansion, Tate Clinic and
the Old Tate Cemetery. Students
and staff will be donating a Sat
urday morning to this endeavor;
hopefully, many viewers will be
in the school auditorium to enjoy
and express appreciation for the
effort. Curtain will rise at 9 a.m.
Thanks are expressed by Mrs.
Teague.
Following the play, the Tate
School will remain open for any
wishing to walk through the his
toric structure. The school, built
by carpenters from the Georgia
Marble Company, was com
pleted in 1928. It is thought to be
the only marble school in the
world and is listed on the Na
tional Register of Historic
Places. Marble Valley Friends
greatly appreciate the willingness
of Principal Dr. Deb Longshore
and the Pickens County School
System to allow the Open House
feature.
Georgia’s “Largest Small
Town Parade” (self-designated)
will depart from the parking lot
of Cool Springs Baptist at 10
a.m. It will travel through several
of the residential areas of Tate.
MVF members James Morris,
Peggy Andrews and Lawton
Baggs are organizing the parade.
Mr. Morris is contacting parade
participants from the past. New
entrants - autos, floats, walking
units, motorcycles and others are
welcome. For further informa
tion or to enter call Lawton
Baggs at 706-692-6598. The
Grand Marshal for 2013, as se
lected by MVF, is Lawton
Baggs. Mr. Baggs was chosen for
the honor because of his long in
volvement with MVF and be
cause of his great interest in the
history of the area. Those prepar
ing the justification of that selec
tion also notes regarding Mr.
Baggs:
• his more than 40-year in
volvement in Pickens County;
• his 50 years of service as
teacher/administrator in the pub
lic schools of Georgia - the last
35 in Pickens and Cherokee
counties;
• his commitment of time, ef
fort and resources to local civic
organizations including Jasper
Lions, LEO clubs, Pickens
County Retired Educators and
Marble Valley Friends; and
• his work in fundraising for
MVF, primarily through the
twice-yearly BBQ chicken
lunches he organizes.
Their concluding statement
reads, “For his tireless energy
and support, Marble Valley
Friends is proud to salute Lawton
Baggs as the Grand Marshal of
the 2013 Tate Day Homecoming
Festival.”
Marble Valley Friends is
pleased to welcome Tate United
Methodist as a cooperating par
ticipant in this year’s Tate Day
festivities. The church is located
just east of Tate Elementary and
will host these events between
the hours of 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.:
tour of the church sanctuary built
in the 1880s; an outdoor yard
sale; a hot dog lunch; and chil
dren’s activities.
Profits from the yard sale and
the hot dog lunch will benefit the
Weekend Snack Program previ
ously reported in this newspaper.
The addition of the church to the
day’s schedule will enhance the
celebration and provide needed
assistance to area children.
Seeing young students on
stage, touring the world’s only
marble school house built in the
1920s, enjoying the parade
through Tate and visiting the his
toric Tate United Methodist
Church with its variety of attrac
tions will add immeasurably to
the pleasure of a day spent in a
beautiful North Georgia setting.
Be sure you are one of those en
joying it.
MV)
A6IAK
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