The 270-voice Grammy Award-winning Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir, which thrilled Bermuda during its last appearance here, will be returning to the Island for another concert at the National Sports Centre on September 2, during which local singers will have an opportunity to perform with the Choir.

The Choir, which performed to a sell-out audience at the same venue two years ago, will join with churches from across the Island for ?I?m Amazed!?, a spectacular celebration of dance, song, and service.

The concert will be the climax of ?Bridge the Gap ? Unity On Every Level?, a special convention for Bermuda?s children, teens and adults to be held from August 31 to September 2 at the Fairmont Southampton hotel.

?Bridge the Gap? will aim to close the gaps which separate the community ? our youth, our children, our adults, and our families. The convention will include seminars and workshops carefully chosen for each age group. Subjects addressed will include gang issues for teens, bullying issues for children, and insightful communication techniques for adults on marriage, leadership and raising children.

There will also be open clinics and rehearsals with the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir and its director Carol Cymbala. Bermudians are invited to join a combined choir which will sing with the six-time Grammy Award winning Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir in two special selections on the night of the concert.

In September 2004, Cornerstone Bible Fellowship, together with other local churches, community organisations, and business sponsors, hosted the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir in concert at the National Sports Centre. The event, ?Triumph Over Tragedy ? Voices of Hope?, attracted a sell-out crowd of more than 8000 people. It was a call for Bermuda to turn from violence to peace, encouraging the community to celebrate their lives together, and focus on the similarities rather than the differences.

Pastor Gary Simons, Cornerstone?s senior pastor, said at the time: ?Two years ago we took the time to remember those who lost their lives in both the Word Trade Centre and Hurricane Fabian. This year we would like to remember two groups in our community: those who have touched the lives of others by playing a special role in giving to the community, and our young people that have lost their lives on our roads, in order to bring comfort to families and to encourage our youth to support one another to drive responsively. This is an area dear to my heart, because I also lost a brother at the age of 16 on Bermuda?s roads.?

Today, Pastor Simons reminds the public that ?the 2004 concert by the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir was one of the biggest community events ever staged in Bermuda, and touched every part of the community?, and he is urging everyone to again turn out in force.

?We are delighted that the Choir will be returning to Bermuda to bring a message of hope and unity through song to all who will be present at the concert, and it is our desire that everyone will seize the opportunity to attend this powerful event,? he says.

Not only is the return of the famous Choir good news, but also, in order to encourage maximum support and make the event affordable for all, the ticket price has been lowered.

?Once again ticket price has been subsidised,? Pastor Simons says. ?We are pleased to offer the $70 tickets at $40, or $30 if purchased before August 15. We would like everyone to be a part of this special event.?

Since the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir was established by Carol Cymbala in the 1980s it has become one of the world?s most popular and successful choirs. Although composed of vocally untrained church members, the Choir has brought its message of hope in song not only to the inner-city of New York but also to audiences around the world.

The Choir has recorded three videos and numerous albums, six of which earned it Grammy Awards, and it has also won two Dove Awards. It has performed to sell-out audiences at New York?s major venues, including Carnegie Hall, Radio City Music Hall, the Paramount Theatre and Madison Square Garden, as well as overseas in Jamaica, Taiwan, Korea, and Bermuda. The Choir?s latest album and concert DVD is entitled ?I?m Amazed ... Live?.

Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir is an ensemble representing an unlikely cross-section of humanity ? everyone from attorneys to street people, nurses and former crack addicts.

?It represents all different walks of life, and people who have experienced every kind of failure,? Pastor and founder-director Ms Cymbala says. ?You name it and we have someone who has been saved out of it, standing beside others who?ve grown up in the church. None of us would have met if it weren?t for Christ. Our backgrounds are just too diverse. These are all people who have been changed, so they?re singing ? not about a theological position, but about things that have happened to them. It?s not a theory, it?s an experience. This is why the Choir is once of the ultimate examples of what unity is all about as it is made up of diverse backgrounds and races, which makes it a perfect fit for what we are trying to do: ?Bridge the Gap?.?

Clearly, an event of this magnitude requires a great deal of support to put on, and Cornerstone Foundation, the local and internationally-approved charity of this event, has already received significant support from the corporate community, including the Bank of Bermuda Foundation, Butterfield and Vallis, Jet Blue, the Fairmont Southampton hotel and the Department of Tourism, but more is required, so other businesses wishing to partner with Cornerstone Foundation to bring this outstanding event to the community and be included in the concert programme should ( 295-9640 by August 7.

Meanwhile, tickets for the September 2 concert are available at: All Cellular One locations, the Christian Book Store, Cornerstone Bible Fellowship, Foreign Cargo, G&M Beauty Salon, Court Street; Jamaican Grill, Court Street; Esso service station, Collector?s Hill; All Talk, St. George?s, and online at www.boxoffice.bm

For further information on the concert, and registration for the ?Bridge the Gap? convention, please ( Cornerstone at 295-9640 or visit website events.cornerstone.bm.