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Multifaith: A unique concert for a unique organization

Multifaith: A unique concert for a unique organization
by Phyllis Franklin - Special to the SGN In April of 2003, I responded to an ad and found myself in a life-changing two weekend-long training to be a volunteer with Shanti, a program of Multifaith Works. Shanti volunteers work in a one-on-one relationship with people who are affected by life-threatening illnesses. The majority of Shanti's clients are people with AIDS. The training covers issues of life and death, mental illness and substance abuse, suicide and intolerance. It was intense. I was quickly matched and began my journey with clients. I've learned to be supportive, as I've heard about losing everything and about finding the resourcefulness to continue forward. I've seen the frustration of having to navigate public assistance programs, which are difficult under the best of circumstances; and I have witnessed how illness and isolation can make a large world very small. This fall, my husband and I trained to be on a Multifaith Works AIDS CareTeam. We were assigned to a team of seven with three Care Partners living with AIDS. Two of our CarePartners are isolated men. Our team members have coffee with them, clean, and cut their grass. I visit a woman very similar to myself. We sit and drink tea and laugh at the antics of her new puppy. When I offer to help with housework, she asks me to help her walk her dogs. Our CareTeam has made plans to bake cookies for the "Many Voices, One Song" concert with her five year old son. Cookies for a concert? You bet! The AIDS CareTeam volunteers, along with their CarePartners, provide homemade cookies to be served at the "Many Voices, One Song" Concert intermission. This year we'll serve about 100 dozen. Talk about group effort! Seattle's most unique concert is fast approaching. "Many Voices, One Song," is the annual fundraiser for Multifaith Works. The concert brings together a diverse group of musicians to celebrate Seattle's diversity. Multifaith Works was founded to promote diversity by creating an alliance between the agency, other AIDS organizations and the interfaith community. Programs of the agency include: Shanti, AIDS CareTeams, five houses for people with AIDS (one for Spanish speaking), Ariel House for people with MS, and the Multifaith Alliance of Reconciling Communities. The agency has a dedicated staff, but the majority of the work is done through the efforts of over 550 volunteers. The annual concert helps to sustain our programs. This will be my third year to munch cookies and to enjoy the concert's diverse rhythms along with 800 or more other attendees. Last year during intermission, I visited with the mother of a gay son who told me about her work to promote tolerance through PFLAG. I also talked to a woman who was part of an AIDS Careteam present at the bedside of their dying CarePartner. Witnessing his death had changed her life. Volunteers, Multifaith Works staff and board members, clients, CarePartners, and families mingle with ticket holders from throughout western Washington. We invite you to join us for an evening of fun celebrating our diversity. We will enjoy performers from a variety of musical traditions, including the incredible Seattle Kokon Taiko Drummers; Diverse Harmony, a gay/straight youth chorus; Epic Klezmer with Cantor Wendy Marcus; Captain Smartypants, an ensemble of the Seattle Men's Chorus; and the FAME Choir from First AME church, directed by Lance Jackson. The concert will be held Thursday, April 20, 2006, at 7:00 pm at Seattle First Baptist Church, 1111 Harvard Avenue, First Hill. Tickets are $15 in advance or $20 at the door. Tickets can be purchased by calling 206-324-1520 x303. More information about Multifaith Works, including the many faith communities involved and volunteer opportunities, can be found at www.multifaith.org.