For Immediate Release
December 10, 2014
Dove Award winner Matthew Ward to sing
at Jan. 22 National Prayer Service
WASHINGTON, D.C. –
Christian music chart-topper Matthew Ward will sing during the
interdenominational National Memorial for the Preborn and Their
Mothers and Fathers on Thursday morning, January 22, 2015 at
Constitution Hall.
In the 1970s and 80s, Matthew, a
singer, songwriter, recording artist and music producer, helped
create the sound that came to be known as Christian Contemporary
Music. Now his faith-infused music will fill the majestic
Constitution Hall as people of all denominations gather on the
morning of the March for Life to pray for all children in the
womb and their parents.
The service will run from 8:30
to 10:30 a.m. ET, leaving plenty of time for attendees to get to
the March for Life rally at noon. The morning will begin at 7:30
a.m. with a Catholic Mass.
Matthew grew up on a farm in
North Dakota, the youngest of nine siblings. Losing both of his
parents by the age of 12, he and a sister, Nelly, went to live
with an older sister, Annie Herring, and her husband Buck, a
music producer. Their therapeutic nightly sing-a-longs led to
the creation of the band Second Chapter of Acts, a group –
featuring Matthew, Annie and Nelly -- that became wildly
successful in the 1970s and 1980s.
When the band
disbanded in 1988, Matthew embarked on a solo career that has
taken him around the world, and into the studio with a
wide-ranging roster of performers, including disco diva Donna
Summer, country crooner Leann Rimes and a host of Christian
artists.
Matthew is a member of the Gospel Music Hall of
Fame, the winner of a Dove Award, helped lead 500,000 men in
worship as a member of the Promise Keepers Praise Team in 1996,
and has two songs that made it to No. 1 on the Christian music
charts. Many might remember him from his appearance on the 1996
Billy Graham TV Christmas special, “A Season For Peace,” when he
sang the title song.
Matthew had to take time out of his
busy career to battle a deadly cancer, but as soon as he was
able, he was back in the studio recording “My Redeemer,” with
songs about his fight to live and the comfort of his faith. It
became the most widely acclaimed work of his solo career.
Dozens of clergy from across the denominational spectrum
also will take the stage for the 21st annual National Memorial,
which will feature a sermon by Father Frank Pavone, President of
the National Pro-Life Religious Council and National Director of
Priests for Life.
“This service is a prayerful yet
powerful way to begin the March for Life,” Father Pavone said.
“Having a singer of the spiritual caliber of Matthew Ward will
help carry our prayers to the Lord, who is the only one who can
stop this holocaust visited on our land 42 years ago.”
The prayer service is organized by The National Pro-Life
Religious Council, The National Pro-Life Center on Capitol Hill,
Faith and Action, Priests for Life and Gospel of Life
Ministries. Co-sponsoring organizations include: American
Values; Jubilee Campaign Law of Life Project; Life Issues
Institute; Americans United for Life; National Institute of
Family and Life Advocates, and Alliance Defending Freedom.
Serving on the Host Committee are: Tony Perkins, President,
Family Research Council; Gary Bauer, President, American Values;
Archbishop Craig W. Bates, Patriarch of the International
Communion of the Charismatic Episcopal Church; Ernie Ohlhoff,
National Right to Life Committee; Alveda King, Director of
African-American Outreach, Priests for Life; Brad Mattes, CEO,
Life Issues Institute; Charmaine Yoest, Ph. D., President and
CEO, Americans United for Life; Alan Sears, President, CEO, and
General Counsel, Alliance Defending Freedom; Dick and Sherley
Bott, Bott Radio Network, and Rich Bott, President and CEO, Bott
Radio Network.
Constitution Hall is located at 1776 D
St., NW, at 18th Street, in Washington, D.C. No tickets are
required and large groups can be accommodated. For more details,
see
www.NationalPrayerService.com
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