Outreach gospel event gets down with God

A hole in the side of a building told Officer Roy Shipp that he wasn't alone. Up until that point Shipp had thought everything was routine, and it was just another check-up on a usually faulty alarm. Then he was pursuing a suspect on foot. A block and half later, he was in a physical fight with the suspect. The fight lasted for thirty minutes and ended with the suspect putting a gun to Shipp's head. Shipp thought about the life he'd never have. Then the gun went off.

Although the gun was at point blank range, the bullet missed, and Shipp went on living.
"After all of that, I know that God is good," said Shipp to the audience at the Tenth Annual Gospel Extravaganza.

Shipp was the Master of Ceremony at the extravaganza which took place on Feb. 6 at Eastview Campus. The event showcased 15 talents from Austin and surrounding areas. There were performances by singers, dancers, rappers, and mimes. Using music to praise God, they all worked together to kick off Black History Month.

The event was hosted by Austin Community College's Community Outreach program.
"This is our way of opening the month, by making a joyful noise," said ACC Director of Community Outreach Loretta Edelen.

Edelen explained the importance of music for the African American people.
"Through music, we as people have not only gotten through trials like slavery or discrimination issues, but music has been a strong influence on us," Edelen said.

Edelen opened the event by telling the audience that it was time to get their praise on. The audience responded by shouting praises throughout the entire three hour plus extravaganza.
The first performer, Blue, talked about the hood as an acronym for "habitat of oppressed dreamers."

"The hood isn't a place but a state of mind where people with big dreams settle for less," said Blue. "I was from there, but to be from somewhere, you have to have left it."
Shipp believed that the attendees would benefit from the event.

"People need encouragement, and I can't think of any better encouragement than what we're doing today," Shipp said.

The music from the auditorium attracted some ACC students who knew nothing about the event.

"There were students who were cutting from class who came to see what was going on, and they thought it was great," said ACC student Monique Maxey.

One group called God's Grace was composed of 11 young girls wo danced to the song "The Sound" by Mary Mary. The audience participated with the performance by shouting praises and moving to the music.

Another group called Sky Choir voiced a general theme shared by some of the performers: have fun.

"If I thought heaven was going to be boring, I wouldn't want to go there, but I know it's going to be fun," said a woman in the choir.

Correy Wilson, and ACC student, Amber Perkins, performed at the event in a group called New Era. They thought the extravaganza was an important way to show where they came from as people.

"I believe that this will really get everything going in the community and in Austin period," said Wilson.

Phyllis Clark, Administrative Assistant in the Community Outreach Department, said that a lot of planning went into the event.

"We've advertised it on various websites.  We've sent save the date postcards to churches in Austin and the surrounding areas," said Clark.

Edelen was pleased with the turnout at the event.

"It was exciting to see so many people who had never been to this campus before," Edelen said. "We're hoping people will feel comfortable coming back."

Edelen summed up the purpose of the event by explaining the importance of gathering people from the area together.

"Our middle name is Community, and that's what it's all about," Edelen said.