Singers attend conference

Group has attended six years in a row

For the sixth consecutive year, the singing group Amazed will perform at Rock This House, set for July 24 and 25. From left are Lane Grant, Shona Covington, Theron Isaacs, Jan Haney, Ruth Rogers, Clark Sanders and Karen Sanders.
For the sixth consecutive year, the singing group Amazed will perform at Rock This House, set for July 24 and 25. From left are Lane Grant, Shona Covington, Theron Isaacs, Jan Haney, Ruth Rogers, Clark Sanders and Karen Sanders.

— At the end of the month, women from around the region will make their way to Ash Flat for the annual Christian women’s conference Rock This House. This will be the seventh year for the conference. The first year, organizers brought in a singing group to perform and lead worship, but since then, the conference has had its own singing group called Amazed, which comprises singers from around Ash Flat.

“We were looking for good singers,” Jan Haney, event organizer and Amazed member, said of the group’s formation. “We’re really blessed with a lot of good singers in our area, so we didn’t have a problem finding people.”

Currently, Amazed includes eight people ranging in age from a high-schooler to a retired teacher. Haney said this range has helped the group bring different styles and flavors to their song selections, and the singers focus on a blend of contemporary Christian music and hymns.

“We are a variety of ages,” Haney said. “We have such a variety of ages that attend Rock This House, so we try to appeal to all ages. I think our best attribute is that we just love to praise the Lord through song.”

Amazed is an a cappella group, meaning they perform without musical accompaniment. Each participant has a background in music, and in its first year, Amazed put out a CD. The members have switched in and out, but the quality has remained, Haney said.

Theron Isaacs is a local insurance agent who has been a part of Amazed since the beginning, and he said he looks forward to the chance to perform at Rock This House every year.

“I was excited when we started Amazed, but I didn’t see it becoming as big a deal as it is,” Isaacs said. “It’s really awesome. I never would have thought we’d still be doing this six years later. Jan [Haney] has really been a special part of keeping it all together.”

The group has been asked to perform elsewhere, but Haney said it can be difficult to get everyone together for rehearsals throughout the year. Isaacs echoed that sentiment, but he said the group members always have a good time when they get together.

“It’s almost like a big party every time we get together and practice,” he said. “We’re just laughing and having fun. We’re always trying something new.”

Shona Covington, another member of the group, has been a professional actress and theater teacher, and she said the camaraderie in Amazed is similar to the closeness one achieves in being part of a cast.

“When you do theater with people, you become a family,” she said.

In fact, two of the other members of Amazed were Covington’s students at one point. While being a part of Amazed is similar to being in a theater production, Covington said, the performance at Rock This House is very different.

“When I’m singing about the Lord, it’s never like a theater performance,” she said. “You’re not putting on a persona. You’re just yourself, and you have to be vulnerable.”

Rock This House will be held July 24 and 25 at Ash Flat Church of Christ. Tickets are $10 to $20, depending on seating, and the price includes both sessions, a light dinner Friday night and breakfast Saturday morning. Tickets can be purchased at the Ash Flat Church of Christ office by calling (870) 994-2430. The church office is open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday through Friday More information can be found at the church website — www.ashflatcofc.org — or on the Rock This House Facebook page.

Staff writer Angela Spencer can be reached at (501) 244-4307 or aspencer@arkansasonline.com.

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