Nevins is co-publisher of The Fulcrum and co-founder and board chairman of the Bridge Alliance Education Fund.
An unlikely friendship of two secular artists drives a musical outreach program from the U.S. Episcopal Church. Kory Caudill is a self-described “Appalachian hillbilly” raised in Kentucky who plays blindingly fast and beautiful piano. Anthony “Wordsmith” Parker is a Baltimore Hip-Hop artist, State Department cultural Ambassador, and nonprofit leader.
Years ago their musical careers combined when they decided to team up to lead the eclectic mix of music that is the Concert for the Human Family (CFHF). This non-religious concert series features hip-hop, pop, rock, piano and country with a greater mission – to unite people of all faiths, races and political beliefs.
I first met Wordsmith years ago when we teamed up to create a video protesting the shameful and now eliminated pro-Confederate state song, “Maryland, My Maryland.” As Director of the Bridge Alliance sponsored project Light4America, I saw the great potential of their musical vision for opening hearts and minds. I said I wanted to work with the CFHF to expand their interfaith reach and ties to secular causes. Together, we decided to launch the CFHF “Faith in Peace” concerts.
On February 17, 2023, Kory and Wordsmith joined forces with pop band “The Romantics” a week before the one-year anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine to host the first ever Faith in Peace Concert to support humanitarian relief through the nonprofit, United Help Ukraine. Wally Palmar, the band’s Ukrainian-American lead singer, presented the newly released anti-war anthem “No War” that he co-wrote with Canadian guitar wizard Jack De Keyzer.
Rotary was the next natural partner for promoting peace. Rotary International has long made promoting peace one of its core focus areas and has increasingly helped Americans promote peace at home, not just abroad. On June 17, 2023, Kory, Wordsmith and the CFHF team are joining Rotary District 7620 (Washington, DC and parts of Maryland) for a Faith In Peace Concert in the spectacular and historic Sixth & I Synagogue in Washington, DC. The live-streamed concert will highlight the Rotary values like the “Four Way Test”, focusing on truth, fairness, goodwill and inclusivity, with Rotarians participating in the show.
The concert will help tell the story of partner nonprofits like Citizen Connect and Rotary clubs, which also receive 50 percent of ticket sales. Country First, a pro-Democracy and pro-civility movement founded by former U.S. Representative Adam Kinzinger, will help boost the live-stream performance.
The "Shared Values" theme of the concert will focus on Democracy, Diversity and Decency with a special focus on Juneteenth and Pride Month. We’ll celebrate District 7620’s first openly gay outgoing District Governor and welcome the district’s first female African American District Governor. The concert will share the story of Black Georgetown, a DC nonprofit that supports the Mt. Zion and Female Union Band Cemetery, an African American cemetery saved from condo construction oblivion.
“This truly is a concert series I’ve been working towards since I was four years old,” says Kory Caudill. “I used to watch Yanni - Live at the Acropolis - every day and hope that I’d be able to create music like that someday. And now it’s a reality. But on an even deeper level, I hope that this concert series allows me to build a platform to make the world my kids live in a better place. And I believe the message and the music these concerts deliver can do just that.”
Get tickets here for the June 17, 2023 event and register here for the video stream airing at 8pm on Juneteenth, Monday, June 19, 2023.
Use the Discount Code faithinpeace2023 for a 50% discount.
Samantha Shepherd, a child care director in Savannah, Georgia, and a single mom of two girls, said rising gas prices are affecting families at her center, including one mother who may not be able to take her children to school. (Courtesy of Samantha Shepherd)
