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CONTACT US
800-321-2500
CONCERT SCHEDULING
Judy Buratovich
Ext. 4006
CREDIT CARD
DONATIONS & PURCHASES
Chelsea Stemkoski
Ext. 4013
SPECIAL SERVICES &
DONOR RELATIONS
Joe Enea
Ext. 4023
ADMISSIONS DEPARTMENT
Myriam Stemkoski
Ext. 4017
DIRECTOR of MINISTRY
ADVANCMENT
Barry Sjostrand
Ext. 4005
NEWSLETTER EDITOR
Melissa Murphy
Ext. 4031
STONE MINISTRIES, INC.
Celebrant Singers
P.O. BOX 1416
Visalia, CA 93279-1416
Volume VII Issue 3 June/July 2016
News from Jon Stemkoski and Celebrant Singers News from Jon Stemkoski and Celebrant Singers
GREECE OUTREACH! Please pray for our 10-week team this summer
Greece Statistics
Languages:
99% Greek + English, French
Religions:
98% Greek Orthodox
1.3% Islam
.7% Other
Capital: Athens
Population: 11 Million
This summer, as our 10-week
Celebrant Singers head out
across the United States to
once again share the gospel
and the love of Christ, they
will also be spending ten days
in the country of Greece.
Greece is the southernmost
country in the Balkan
Peninsula, located in Europe.
Comprised of more than
1,400 islands, ancient
mythology, delicious eats, and
thousands of years of history,
Greek culture has definitely
made a staple in the world.
The last time Celebrant
Singers visited Greece was in
the early 80’s. Greece is
currently facing two very
serious issues and Celebrant’s
feel 2016 is the perfect time
to bring love, hope, and God’s
presence to both the Greek
residents and Syrian’s
seeking refuge on their many
islands.
Currently, Greece has been
struggling with an economy
crisis for the last few years.
Being in major deficit caused
the Greek government to
reduce minimum wages and
to layoff over 150,000
government employees. The
current unemployment rate is
25% in comparison
to the United States
5.2%, while the
population’s
poverty rate stands
at 36% in
comparison to the
United States being
15.1%.
Between unemployment rates
and the economy crisis
causing riots and violent
rebellions, Greece is also
facing the needs of Syrian
refugees seeking to flee the
Syrian crisis. Greece currently
houses 157,396 Syrian
Refugees and Celebrant
Singers have made plans to
travel to the island of Lesvos,
currently populated with two
of the largest refugee camps
in Europe.
Between the economic crisis
and the Syrian Refugees in
Greece, we hope to bring
God’s presence to the hearts
of thousands this summer.
Please pray for our 10-week
team who started rehearsal
camp on June 6th and will
tour through August 17th.
Greece
Syrian Refugees flooding into the Greek Islands
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EL SALVADOR: A City of Violence Seeking God
El Salvador Statistics:
Languages: Spanish
Religions: 57.1% Roman Catholic 21.2% Protestant 1.9% Johovah’s Witnesses .7% Mormon 19.1% other/none
Capital: San Salvador
Population: 6.1 Million
As the 10-week team travels across the United States and to Greece, preparations are being made for our Reprise! Team to travel to El Salvador in mid-July. The Reprise! Team spends 5 days in rehearsal camp, as well as a few travel days and local concerts and then travel to El Salvador to minister to the country for 10 days. Often outreaches in the
Central America region are demanding, calling Celebrant Singers to perform 1 to 3 concerts a day bringing the gospel, love, and hope to God’s people.
El Salvador, the smallest country located in Central America, is also the
most densely populated country. The population struggles with gang violence and poverty and is growing to be one of the most violent in the world. There is no doubt that God
is needed there!
Celebrants have spent many years sending teams to El Salvador. Since the late 1970’s, just after our ministry was founded, teams have
traveled to El Salvador several times. The last outreach occurred about ten years ago. God is sending us out to El Salvador again to revive His spirit and share His love to the people of the nation.
Your prayers are absolutely needed for our Reprise! team as they begin their outreach on July 24th, 2016 and end their mission at our local Visalia, CA homecoming concert on August 12th, 2016.
JUNE 25-26
Saturday:
6:00 PM Mass
Sunday:
9:00 AM, 10:45 AM, 12:30 PM,
5:30 PM
7:00 PM Concert St. Mary Magdalen Catholic Church
1710 Clower Street
San Antonio, TX 78201
JUNE 28
7:00 PM Concert
St. Genevieve Catholic Church
815 Barbier Avenue
Thibodaux, LA 70301
JUNE 30
7:00 PM Concert
Our Savior Catholic Church
1801 Cody Road South
Mobile, AL 36695
JULY 1
7:00 PM Concert
Good Shepherd Catholic Church
4665 Thomasville Rd.
Tallahassee, FL 32308
JULY 3
6:30 PM Concert
Cornerstone Community Church
1333 East Crown Point Rd
Ocoee, FL 34761
JULY 5
7:00 PM Concert
Holy Infant Catholic Church
5000 S. Park Dr.
Durham, NC 27713
JULY 6
7:00 PM Concert
St. Paul Catholic Church
3005 Country Club Rd
New Bern, NC 28562
JULY 8
7:00 PM Concert
Revealed Word Christian Center
98 230th Street
Queens – Cambria Heights, NY
SAVE THE
DATE!
Salvadorian Police outside of a crime scene
Salvadorian gangs are the main reason for high violence in El Salvador
The country of El Salvador in Central America
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We are very pleased to announce a
winner in our Fiat 500 Campaign.
The winning ticket was drawn by
Rev. Harry Wood, now retired, who
has been a ministry supporter from
its inception. We are proud to
announce that the winner is Lewis
“Earl” Mann.
Earl has been a Celebrant Singers
supporter for over twenty-five years.
He had taught high school in
Woodlake, California, for over thirty
years. Upon his retirement, he ran
for and was elected to the Woodlake
High School Board of Education. He
served several terms and then ran
for and was elected to the Governing
Board of the College of the Sequoias.
He is still serving on that Board.
Earl is a very accomplished
photographer. He used to teach
photography at College of the
Sequoias. He has used his talents for
many years, volunteering as the
Celebrant Singers photographer. If
you have been reading our
newsletter, you have seen many of
his photos.
We would like to express our
thanks to all that supported our Fiat
500 Campaign. The funds raised are
being used to replace parts of our
sound systems. We would especially
like to thank the Stone Family, the
owners of Merle Stone Chevrolet in
Tulare, California, for having donated
the car for our campaign.
WE HAVE A WINNER! - Earl Mann
Earl Mann receiving the keys to his
raffle winning Fiat from Larry Stone Jon & Harry picking the winning ticket from the bowl
JULY 9-10
Saturday:
5:00 PM Mass
Sunday:
9:00, 10:30 AM, 12:00 PM
7:00 PM Concert
St. Augustine Catholic Church
140 Maple Ave
New City, NY 10958
JULY 23-24
Saturday: 4:00 PM Mass
Sunday:
8:00, 9:30, 11:45 AM Masses
3:00 PM Concert
St. Brigit of Ireland
278 Strawberry Hill Ave
Stamford, CT 06902
JULY 25
7:00 PM Concert
Community Park Bandshell
St. John’s Lutheran Church
201 E. Main Street
Kutztown, PA 19530
JULY 26
7:00 PM Concert
Pittsburgh Tarentum
Campmeeting Association
1451 Main St.
Natrona Heights, PA 15065
JULY 27
7:00 PM Concert
St. Cecilia Catholic Church
628 Virginia Ave
Rochester, PA 15074
JULY 28
7:00 PM Concert
St. Trinity Lutheran Church
7925 Sashabaw Rd
Clarkston, MI 48346
JULY 29 (Reprise!)
7:00 PM Concert
Woodland Drive Baptist Church
1436 S. Woodland Drive
Visalia, CA 93277
JULY 30-31
Saturday:
5:00 PM Mass, 7:00 PM
Concert
Sunday:
8:00, 10:45 AM, 1:00 PM Mass
St. Bartholomew Catholic Church
1306 27th Street
Columbus, IN 47201
AUGUST 3
7:00 PM Concert
Bethel Worship Center
415 S. Memorial Drive
Tulsa, OK 74112
AUGUST 4
7:00 PM Concert
St. Patrick Catholic Church
314 N. Rusk
Denison, TX 75020
AUGUST 6-7
Saturday: 4:00 PM Mass
7:30 PM Concert
Sunday:
10:00 AM, 5:00 PM Mass
St. Paul the Apostle Catholic
1132 W. Oro Grande Dr.
Pueblo West, CO 81007
AUGUST 8
7:00 PM Concert
Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe
Del Valle de Pojoque
9 Grazing Elk Drive
Santa Fe, NM 87506
AUGUST 10
7:00 PM Concert
Trinity Life Center
1000 East St. Louis Avenue
Las Vegas, NV 89104
AUGUST 11
7:00 PM Concert
Grace Baptist Church
2550 Jewetta Ave
Bakersfield, CA 93312
AUGUST 13-14
Saturday:
5:00, 7:00 PM Masses
Sunday:
8:00, 10:00 AM, 12:00 PM
5:00 PM Masses
7:00 PM Concert
St. Peter Claver Catholic Church
5649 Pittman St.
Simi Valley, CA 93065
AUGUST 13-14 (Reprise!)
Saturday: 4:00 pm Mass
Sunday:
11:30 AM Mass
6:00 PM Concert
Our Lady of the Sierra
40180 Indian Springs Road
Oakhurst, CA 93644
Grand Homecoming Concert
August 12, 2016
7:00 PM
LJ Williams Theatre
Visalia, CA
WorldTouch Partner’s
Banquet
August 16, 2016
7:00 PM
Gateway Church, Visalia, CA
Call for ticket reservations:
(559) 740-4000
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SUPPORT OUR FOREIGNERS!
Celebrant Singers, since 1989,
has invited foreigners to join our
teams both in the United States
and overseas. Many of our
foreigners come from countries
that cannot afford to send them
off. Because of this, we need your
help! In order to help pay for
their travel expenses and other
expenses of joining the team,
most of our team members raise
a third of the finances necessary
to travel. Since our foreigners are unable to raise
support due to economic standards, we ask that you be
willing to join us in bringing these incredible musicians
and providing them an opportunity to minister with
us!
One of our Reprise! team
members, Samuel Opara, met
us during our winter outreach
in Guyana. He decided to join
us this summer in El Salvador.
When asked what he felt about
joining Celebrant Singers, he
said, “…most times it occurs to
me that God in heaven
programs my life events. Many years ago a great
woman of God prophesied to my mother about me
saying, ‘…very soon a band will come and take
you.’ After the service my mother laughed and
said the prophesy may not be for her because
she is not a musician, it must be for her
children. So I know travelling with Celebrants
was programmed by God. I enjoy worshiping
and praising God always. Travelling with
Celebrants will create room for me to use my
talents to worship God.”
Not only do we need your help sending Samuel
out, but this summer we have four foreigners
traveling.
This includes:
On the 10-week team:
Jacquez Bernier from Haiti
Reprise! Team:
Otty Lopez from Guatemala
Dominique Bovard from
France
Ana Avisc from Slovenia
When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not
mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be
treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you
were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.
Leviticus 19:33-34
SUPPORT A CELEBRANT! Sponsorship Needs for Foreigners
SPONSOR A CELEBRANT:
YES, Jon, I would love to support the world missions ministry of CELEBRANT SINGERS and sponsor a Celebrant!
Name ____________________________________ I’d like to sponsor:______________________________ (Name of Celebrant)
Address ____________________________________
___________________________________________ If donating by credit card, please provide:
___________________________________________ Card Name/Number _________________________
Phone _____________________________________ _________________________________________
E-Mail ____________________________________ Expiration date_________/_________ Thank you & God Bless you!
Jacques Anderson Bernier
Samuel Opara & Josiah Smith
after a concert in Guyana
Jan 2016
Otty Lopez in Guatemala in
2015 Reprise