Jerry Corelli & MERGE

Saturday, the 29th of August, I had the pleasure & privilege of sharing an evening concert with the Praise & Worship band MERGE. Most of the email I received from those who attended used words like "Awesome Concert" or "Awesome Ministry" when describing Merge, myself and the evening in general.

For me, it was "Awesome" to share with those who came up to me later and expressed how something that was said or how a song that was shared touched their heart.

We also recorded the evening for a possible "Live" CD, which we did, and now I have to mix it and see what we have. We also planned on taking pictures but in the end there was a problem with the camera that was used so no pictures came from the concert.

Pastor Noel Villarivera asked me afterward if we could do another concert around Christmas time so look forward for the date and time on that one.

The Gathering of the Church 2009

Well to start off with it was an absolutely glorious and beautiful day. The sun was shinning and there was a gentle breeze. It was my first time at Magnuson Park in Seattle and the stage was in a perfect location. We didn't think of bringing any chairs to sit on and the closest place to sit, besides the ground, was about 200 yards away on a bench. You couldn't see the people on the stage that well but the distance seemed to mix the sound perfectly. I started out with a melody of "Come to Praise the Lord" & "This little Light of Mine".

I came to praise the Lord - Jerry Corelli

I then did my own rendition of "Amazing Grace".

I didn't know at the time but Brent Rakestraw & Bob Jorgenson of God's Truck, the sound stage you see in the picture, were recording the event and gave me a copy before we had to take off. They did a great job recording and left the mix dry so when I got home I put a little mix to it for ambiance. I was the first to take the stage at around 1:15 and did a 30 minute set and was able to debut two songs going on my next CD. The first was "I saw Jesus walk on water".

I saw Jesus walk on water - Jerry Corelli

The next song was "I'm not dead yet". Both songs are very raw cuts but I like the simple recording so I decided to post them to see what you think of them.

I'm not dead yet - Jerry Corelli

I really enjoyed the no non-sense sermon pastor DJ Rabe from The House Lake Stevens gave. He's a very gifted speaker and used props that helped drive home his message of being a hypocrite in the Church.

Prisoner's For Christ Ministries

I received an email from Prisoner's For Christ Ministries explaining that their funding is very low for the month of August. Please, if you can, help support their ministry. All of us artists that sing for PFC Ministries do so voluntarily. So no money goes to us. I've linked a web site that you can click onto if you can contribute. Thanks.

Monroe Minimum Security Unit

I sang at the Monroe Minimum Security Unit or (MSU) yesterday August 8th for Prisoners for Christ Ministries. I can't begin to tell you how blessed I feel each time I sing at one of the many sites Prisoners for Christ sends me.

After we minister in word and in song I always get a bunch of men coming up to me and expressing their feelings about many of my songs. They understand homelessness, divorce, despair and hopelessness as I did when I wrote the songs I sing to them. They seem to get the feeling that I'm not just a songwriter who sat back and made up a song about those things. They know from the words that I truly lived what I wrote about. They receive a deeper meaning in understanding what Christ did and who he was, and is, for their life.

It touches my heart beyond words to hear them tell me how much "Kingdom of Grace" and "The Rock" spoke to their hearts. I debuted "Son's of Men" & "I'm not dead yet" and received the same response with those songs as I have with "Comfort in You", "Can you see through the sin" and others I've mentioned. As a songwriter that does my heart good.

Today I feel just as my new song says, "I'm not dead yet" there's more for me to do.

Carpentry by Jerry Blogspot

As some of you may already know I'm a member of the Carpenter's Union Local 470 in Tacoma, WA. I've started a new blog to show my work. It's www.CarpentrybyJerry.Blogspot.com or you can go to it by clicking my profile and finding it there too. Check it out if you want to see some of my work.

The end result

When I first starting writing songs I recall the feeling I had about people listening to my music. As a teenager, writing songs, I thought of thousands of fans and spreading the message of Christ to everyone who listened to music on the radio.

Today the time has passed for those thousands of fans and even hearing my songs on the radio. But, every now and then someone comes along who really loves a song I've written and recorded. And when they do they don't just want one CD they want all of them. That's happened to me yesterday.

You know who you are and I want to say thanks for getting the CD's and the excitement you displayed when you told me you couldn't wait to open them and start listening.

Now when I write songs I think of that one person who will really enjoy what I've written and love what the message has to say.