Word: music
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Nobody would accuse Rick Garson of thinking small. The Las Vegas-based music producer is planning a benefit concert in Beijing on April 17 that will rival - and possibly exceed - such celebrity-spangled extravaganzas as Live Aid and Live 8. The ebullient Garson is well aware that China has what might politely be described as a mixed record when it comes to public performances by foreign artists; 2009 alone featured a trail of government last-minute cancellations. Notable among them was the nixing of Oasis concerts in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong, reportedly because of one band member's attendance...
...roll call of the industry's biggest names: Beyoncé, Coldplay, Green Day, Kanye West, Lady Gaga and a host of lesser-known performers from Africa, Asia and the Americas. Garson is well-known in the industry - among other things, he has been executive producer of the Billboard Music Awards and the World Music Awards - and he appears confident the big names will show up. The all-day event is scheduled to be held in front of the iconic Bird's Nest Stadium in the grounds of the Olympic Training Center. Admission will be free, with some 5,000 tickets...
...neither Hybels' sermon, nor his 23,400-person congregation, is as white as he is. Along with Jesus, he invoked Martin Luther King Jr. Then he introduced Shawn Christopher, a former backup singer for Chaka Khan, who offered a powerhouse rendition of "We Shall Overcome." As the music swelled, Larry and Renetta Butler, an African-American couple in their usual section in the 7,800-seat sanctuary, exchanged glances. Since Hybels decided 10 years ago to aggressively welcome minorities to his lily-white congregation, Renetta says, few sermons pass without a cue that he is still at it. "He always...
...many minorities have scant desire to attend a white church, seeing their faith as an important vessel of cultural identity. But those many who desire a transracial faith life have found themselves discouraged - subtly, often unintentionally, but remarkably consistently. In an age of mixed-race malls, mixed-race pop-music charts and, yes, a mixed-race President, the church divide seems increasingly peculiar. It is troubling, even scandalous, that our most intimate public gatherings - and those most safely beyond the law's reach - remain color-coded. (See the top 10 pictures of the year...
There were also larger race-oriented seminars and reconciliation-themed book clubs. Bibbs founded an annual "Justice Journey," busing Willow staff and black Chicago pastors together to bloodstained civil rights pilgrimage sites. Hybels added black, Hispanic and Asian performers to Willow's music and worship teams. In 2006, Willow introduced a Spanish-language service for Latinos, who were streaming into the area...