Friday, September 26, 2008
Yme? Presents Fundraising Concert for Good News Jail & Prison Ministry
Featuring former Miss Alabama and Nashville recording artist Denise Davis
In Mark’s gospel, Jesus says, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.” Since 1961, the international Good News Jail & Prison Ministry has been witnessing to inmates and their families, aiding in a physical and spiritual rehabilitation of men and women upon their release from an institution, and providing educational programs to encourage continuance of formal education among inmates.
From its inception, the organization has been primarily funded by the gifts and donations of interested individuals, businesses and churches, with occasional support from foundations and grants. Throughout its history, the ministry has not accepted any financial support from federal, state or local tax revenues, but rather has provided annual services worth hundreds of thousands of dollars at no cost to the local tax-paying citizen.
To assist the Good News Jail & Prison Ministry in its mission, Yme? Productions will present a fundraising concert Saturday, Oct. 11, at Lockport High School. The show begins at 7 p.m. in the auditorium at 250 Lincoln Ave. The evening’s headliner is Denise Davis, a former Miss Alabama and CMT star – and a treasure-trove of good news.
Several years ago, Davis was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, which caused her to lose sight first temporarily in her left eye and then completely in both eyes. Doctors didn’t know if she would ever see again.
“I had anticipated having to learn to use a wheelchair because of the MS, but the thought of being left permanently blind was devastating,” Davis says. “I didn't know what the future held, but the one thing I was sure of was that I needed to have God close to me.”
She says that's when having a personal, one-on-one relationship with God became her sole desire in life. Davis finally said the words she believes God had been longing for her to say: “I give up.” She fell to her knees in desperation and cried out to her heavenly father that whatever He wanted her life to be was what she wanted it to be.
After several months, her sight returned – along with a desire to sing Christian music.
Today, Davis is a recording artist in Nashville. She has opened for John Anderson, Lee Greenwood, George Jones and The Gatlin Brothers, and has two albums (“I Refuse to Be Afraid” and “Eternally Grateful”) with songs in regular rotation on inspirational and praise and worship radio stations.
Tickets for the fundraising event are $12 and can be purchased at the following locations: Middleport Family Health Center, 81 Rochester Road, Middleport; Firth Jewelers, 2435 Military Road, Niagara Falls; Benders Christian Bookstore, 8550 Sheridan Drive, Buffalo; Pathways Christian Bookstore (in Lincoln Square), 1181 Lincoln Ave., Lockport; and The Beacon (in The Summit), 6929 Williams Road, Wheatfield.
For more on Davis, visit http://www.denisedavis.com/. To learn more about Good News Jail & Prison Ministry, visit http://www.goodnewsjail.org/.
Over the past three years, Yme? Productions, a branch of Yme? Ministry, has produced more than 10 charity concerts, raising in excess of $120,000 for groups such as Canine Helpers for the Handicapped, House of Hope and the American Cancer Society.
In Mark’s gospel, Jesus says, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.” Since 1961, the international Good News Jail & Prison Ministry has been witnessing to inmates and their families, aiding in a physical and spiritual rehabilitation of men and women upon their release from an institution, and providing educational programs to encourage continuance of formal education among inmates.
From its inception, the organization has been primarily funded by the gifts and donations of interested individuals, businesses and churches, with occasional support from foundations and grants. Throughout its history, the ministry has not accepted any financial support from federal, state or local tax revenues, but rather has provided annual services worth hundreds of thousands of dollars at no cost to the local tax-paying citizen.
To assist the Good News Jail & Prison Ministry in its mission, Yme? Productions will present a fundraising concert Saturday, Oct. 11, at Lockport High School. The show begins at 7 p.m. in the auditorium at 250 Lincoln Ave. The evening’s headliner is Denise Davis, a former Miss Alabama and CMT star – and a treasure-trove of good news.
Several years ago, Davis was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, which caused her to lose sight first temporarily in her left eye and then completely in both eyes. Doctors didn’t know if she would ever see again.
“I had anticipated having to learn to use a wheelchair because of the MS, but the thought of being left permanently blind was devastating,” Davis says. “I didn't know what the future held, but the one thing I was sure of was that I needed to have God close to me.”
She says that's when having a personal, one-on-one relationship with God became her sole desire in life. Davis finally said the words she believes God had been longing for her to say: “I give up.” She fell to her knees in desperation and cried out to her heavenly father that whatever He wanted her life to be was what she wanted it to be.
After several months, her sight returned – along with a desire to sing Christian music.
Today, Davis is a recording artist in Nashville. She has opened for John Anderson, Lee Greenwood, George Jones and The Gatlin Brothers, and has two albums (“I Refuse to Be Afraid” and “Eternally Grateful”) with songs in regular rotation on inspirational and praise and worship radio stations.
Tickets for the fundraising event are $12 and can be purchased at the following locations: Middleport Family Health Center, 81 Rochester Road, Middleport; Firth Jewelers, 2435 Military Road, Niagara Falls; Benders Christian Bookstore, 8550 Sheridan Drive, Buffalo; Pathways Christian Bookstore (in Lincoln Square), 1181 Lincoln Ave., Lockport; and The Beacon (in The Summit), 6929 Williams Road, Wheatfield.
For more on Davis, visit http://www.denisedavis.com/. To learn more about Good News Jail & Prison Ministry, visit http://www.goodnewsjail.org/.
Over the past three years, Yme? Productions, a branch of Yme? Ministry, has produced more than 10 charity concerts, raising in excess of $120,000 for groups such as Canine Helpers for the Handicapped, House of Hope and the American Cancer Society.
