Barlow Girl - Sunday Night in Worcester!

Just a quick reminder that Barlow Girl is returning to Worcester, MA on Sunday, January 31st at 6:30PM - presented by WYCM, 90.1FM Visit First Assembly of God's website for directions to 30 Tyler Prentice Rd. (of of Lincoln St.) in Worcester.

Visit the SoulStore or WYCM's website for more information and to order tickets.

SoulFest Ticket Special

We are quickly coming to the close of the first month of 2010... which means that today is a great day to take advantage of great ticket deals for SoulFest 2010.

So... before February hits, you have the chance to get a free Multi-Day Pass when you order 3 Multi-Day Passes. Call the SoulFest office at 987-346-4577 to order yours today.

SoulFest 2010 has an incredible line up scheduled including: Jars of Clay, Mercy Me, Toby Mac and Switchfoot!

Don't miss it!

A Prayer For Haiti - Part 3

A PRAYER FOR HAITI - Dan Russell, founder of the SoulFest (a 3 part series)

SoulFest Invites you to join Mission Of Hope:

Get Involved
We are pledging to support Kevin and his team's effort to help address this crushing reality in Haiti. We're asking for your help. There are no administrative fees to any of the money we give. 100% of the money is wired directly to an account that has been set up for the Mission to draw on for medical supplies, food and water. We have set up a Pay Pal account that can take credit cards and we can take checks as well.

Through SoulFest, we've got a matching $1,000 donation. If you can give $10. now, that will turn in to $20. Call our office for more details 978 346 4577. We have this $1,000 through the weekend. Please do what you can to give extra and we promise to give 100% to Kevin on Monday to fuel further efforts to address this crisis.

Love Your Neighbor
While there are several organizations that you can support, whether you join us to support the Mission of Hope or not, we ask that you set aside a few moments, search your heart and link directly to the people of Haiti through one of the relief efforts and stay connected. Please don't throw a few dollars at it and turn away. Stay connected. Tune your ears to hear the cries for help. We cannot let go of the hands of those who are pleading to be lifted up out of the devastation. Kevin is our SoulFest first responder. Again, 100% of the funds are going directly to this effort. None of the team are on salary and all of them are covering their own travel expenses. I'm sharing this because it just happens to be what presented it's self to us here at the SoulFest office.. A few days ago I was in a meeting with Kevin when this happened. He said he had to go and is on the ground there right now.

As a Soul-connected risk taking believer in the Revolution Jesus started, we are asking for your help and encouraging you to be the Gospel and stand up for True Love here and now.

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you,

Dan Russell

A Prayer For Haiti - Part 2

A PRAYER FOR HAITI - Dan Russell, founder of the SoulFest (a 3 part series)

SoulFest Invites you to join Mission Of Hope:

Meet our Friends
Here's how and why we're supporting and asking you to support The Mission of Hope. Kevin and Tammy Groder, who have been working with us at SoulFest since the beginning, Kevin - all things technical, computer, the store, communication, general advice and leadership and Tammy, she helps on any front that's needed, steadfast and generous. Kevin pastors a church local to our office here in Merrimac, MA. Their church, the North Shore Christian Fellowship, has adopted the Mission of Hope and handle all the state side administration work. They also travel to Haiti several times a year doing whatever they can.

When quake hit, Kevin dropped everything and worked along with a few others to assemble a medical team of 13 doctors and nurses, all the medical supplies they could carry and scrambled to get transportation into Haiti. Yesterday, they left from Logan to the Dominican via Puerto Rico. With help from Audio Adrenaline's mission Hands & Feet, a 7 passenger plane shuttled Kevin, the team (a few trips) and supplies, landing 2 towns over on a street in Leogane a few hours ago, just after another 6.1 earthquake hit. Kevin is on site now and has reported that they have one make-shift clinic set up and immediately addressing the most severely injured. (BTW - good news, even though all the buildings at the mission were either destroyed or severely damaged, their WELL is working and this mission has become the center of relief for the entire town, the entire area.) Here are pictures of the mission and surrounding area after the quake. Tremors continue.

(more to follow on the SoulFest Blog tomorrow)

A Prayer For Haiti - Part 1

A PRAYER FOR HAITI - Dan Russell, founder of the SoulFest (a 3 part series)

SoulFest Invites you to join Mission Of Hope:

We've all heard about the devastation in Haiti. Report after report; rescues, chaos, cries for help, for medicine, for clean water, for funds and this isn't going to stop. The ripple effect of such a disaster will go and on, but first things first. The relief efforts are finally getting traction and this is the beginning.

Many of you have already responded, some of you have made financial donations, some of you have gathered supplies and clothing. This is great, but not enough. You and I are going to be hit with wave after wave of pleas for help. Right now the country of Haiti is worse than you and I imagine or any TV image convey.

The point of this email to you is to ask for further help. Your action reflects your prayers. It's vital that you and I don't stop praying and that we don't stop acting/responding. We cannot grow deaf to these cries. We must not turn a blind eye or build a rationalization for not responding. At SoulFest each year we talk about Matthew 25, sometimes with frightening conviction. In this case ... I am naked, thirsty, buried under concrete, starving, my bones broken, my lungs full of dust, everything I own gone, my hope drained, I can't find my daughter, my mother, my husband, my son, I haven't eaten in days, my mind is broken....... I called out for you and you didn't answer, I'm calling again now, please take my hand and lift me from this nightmare.

I've given money, clothing, supplies and have spent time helping to organize relief, but as I think about it, I've slowed, I've stopped, I've growing deaf. The clutter of my own day to day produces a white noise that can take me away from what I'm called to do. As I pulled into Starbucks for a $3 coffee, talking on my phone about yesterday's election, about football this Sunday, I'm hit with this wave and I realize I let go of the hand that I was holding in Haiti. I got a text from a friend about seeing a movie this weekend and before I responded I thought about the American Red Cross Haiti Relief fund raising effort via text message. Text message "HAITI" (90999) to donate $10 to the American Red Cross relief effort in Haiti. I hit it again, only my 2nd time, but when I think about the itunes and apps I've bought on this same phone, I am not going to let go of this hand. I do not want to walk away from the cries of Jesus in the broken place of Haiti.

Maybe you're thinking something similar to me. We so easily grow deaf to the cries for help. These cries exist in our homes, families, our neighborhoods and beyond and right now, HAITI needs you and I to not let go. In this email we're asking for you to help further, to help again, to sacrifice something you have (a meal, a coffee, a date this weekend) and join us in supporting a specific relief effort in Grand-Goave Haiti, called The Mission Of Hope.

(more to follow on the SoulFest Blog tomorrow)

Great Camping Sites Still Available

100 of the best SoulFest 2010 sites at Gunstock are still available! Reserve now before these sell out!

Click here for site information, and to make reservations, or call Gunstock at 603.293.4341.

Campside – Majority of these sites are located within the gates of our campground. Site size is approximately 30’ x 30’ and does not include a fire ring or picnic table. No open flame is allowed on site. Onsite parking is probable but not guaranteed due to changing weather and ground conditions. Site bases range from blacktop to grass to gravel with varying shade cover. These sites are appropriate for either tent camping or for trailers that do not require hook-up.

Mountainside – Sites are located on Soulfest Venue side of the property. Approximate site sizes is 30’ x 30’. These sites are well suited for large groups as well as individuals. These sites are on the level portions of our ski trails so some hiking may be required. The majority of the sites will be grassy. No onsite parking is available; however, convenient equipment unload/load areas will be available. These sites do not have fire rings and picnic tables so no open flames will be permitted on the sites. These sites are appropriate for tent camping only. No wheeled equipment will be permitted on these sites.

These sites are available only during Soulfest - August 4-7, 2010. Camping at Gunstock during SoulFest is reserved exclusively for multi-day SoulFest ticket buyers. All campers should plan to arrive by late afternoon Wednesday August 3, 2010.

Click Here for more information on camping at the SoulFest.

Mission E4 Update from Haiti

Click here to read an update from Scott Long: Haiti Team Updates

Mission Teams in Haiti

I am so overwhelmed after seeing the images of devastation from the earthquake in Port-au-Prince and the surrounding areas in Haiti. I'm truly at a loss for words but I did want to pass on some information about local organizations already on the ground to aid in preexisting conditions in this poor country.

One organization based out of central Massachusetts is called "Mission E4" and led by a long time friend Scott Long. He and 36 others from this area are in Haiti and were there during the earthquake. They are all safe at this time. Please pray for the continued safety, provisions of food and shelter, and that God would use them to aid Haitians in need. I'll be sure to pass along any updates as I receive them via Twitter and here on the blog.

Another organization many in the area are also very familiar with is New Mission founded by The DeTellis family. Tim DeTellis has been able to assess some of the damage done there. Everyone is safe, however they have damage to numerous facilities including a now structurally compromised medical clinic. Follow their updates at their website and Twitter page.

Also, please continue to monitor the SoulFest Facebook page for more information on "Mission of Hope Haiti" with which the SoulFest is coordinating fund raising and relief efforts. Also follow along for update on several members of the SoulFest family including Roger that have trips planned to Haiti.

Barlow Girl returns to Worcester

Yesterday, I posted on the news of WYCM, 90.1FM expanding to two new signals in Southern New England. Now, in order to celebrate that news and help fund the expenses of the expansion, Barlow Girl is returning to Worcester, MA on Sunday, January 31st at 6:30PM. This time they'll be at First Assembly of God on 30 Tyler Prentice Rd. (of of Lincoln St.) in Worcester Visit WYCM's website for more information and to order tickets.

WYCM Expands in Southern New England

Big news for fans of WYCM, 90.1 FM in the Southern Central MA, a locally owned and operated Christian music radio station. Over the past couple of months the station has been able to secure 2 additional signals in Southern New England, 96.7FM in Rhode Island and 104.1HD3 in Connecticut. I had the honor of working with WYCM for many years. I am very excited for this news as they have been waiting for a long time for radio signals to become available in order to expand the reach of the station.

Check out WYCM's website for updated coverage maps.

Tomorrow I'll post a concert/fund raiser announcement to support the expense of the new signals.

SoulFest Banner Ad

Interested in spreading the word about SoulFest? SoulFest has a great looking banner that you can add to your website or blog. Head to this link: http://www.thesoulfest.com/2009/concerts/pages/e.html

for the full res version of the banner. Right click over the image to download or copy the image URL. From there you'll be able to add it to your website or blog.

To Know That You're Alive - Kutless

Kutless will be in Portland, ME on Sunday, February 21st ... 2010 (Happy New Year)! Now, in an effort to get you warmed up for the show, I thought I would share the title track from the 2008 album, To Know That You're Alive. Then... head over to the SoulStore to order your tickets today to see Kutless and Casting Crowns at the Cumberland Civic Center in Portland, ME.

To Know That You're Alive from Kutless on Vimeo.