Rhythm & Revival
R&B concert (Chase Soyle Chee/The Puma Prensa)
By Chase Soylu Chee, staff writer
On February 22, the Calvary Chapel The Rock Church hosted the Rhythm and Revival event featuring a concert, testimonies from students including a Maria Carrillo High School student, and gourmet ice cream. Student speakers spoke about heartbreaking topics ranging from trauma to substance abuse; experiences that forever changed their lives.
The event started with icebreakers, fresh tacos, and lemonade. People introduced themselves and played eight ball and handball games, or simply connected with friends. Afterward, attendees saw themselves gathering in a concert hall. The event started with one of the sponsors, Mount Gilead Bible Camp & Conference Center, playing a game called “Pick A Chair If You Dare.” Someone blindfolded would pick chairs that participants were sitting in. If your chair were called, you would be out. The person who won got a Mount Gilead Scholarship for winning the game of luck.
Mount Gilead is a Christian Summer Camp and Program Center where people of all ages can have fun with friends and family while learning about Christianity through prayer, mass, and fun activities.
After the engaging game, the long-anticipated Christian rapper BoyOutWest approached the stage and started the concert. He played hits from his catalog like the single “Rocks” and the single “Way For Me.” Playing more upbeat rap and low-fi emotional music, BoyOutWest showcased his artistic talent and gained a ton of popularity and hype from the audience.
Unfortunately, the audience soon had to witness the end of the concert. Afterward, they were offered a range of gourmet ice cream sandwiches: red velvet, chocolate chip, and cookies and cream. These sandwiches topped off the amazing fresh tacos from the event's start.
After the blast of flavor harmony, the audience gathered in the worship room. The Fragrance Worship Collective lead introduced themselves to the audience: “We are a band together, for an audience of one.” Student speakers from our district, and neighboring ones, began coming up to give testimonies about life experiences that geared their lives towards faith.
One speaker, a native of MCHS, was Senior Isabella “Izzy” Caceres. She spoke about experiencing traumatic events regarding friends and loved ones. During these catastrophes, she took a missionary trip to Mexico where she experienced the love of the Mexican people. This experience influenced her to become a Christian and help people in tough situations find hope at the end of the tunnel. Caceres, a part of the Youth Group at Calvary Chapel The Rock Church, was asked to speak at the event due to her involvement in organizing it. Testifying about something tragic in her life made her very vulnerable, especially when speaking to a huge audience. “I also felt this peace because it was something God wanted me to share with people, and I think it felt kind of powerful because I would be able to touch one person’s heart. I really wanted to share the word and help people know they’re loved,” said Caceres.
Along with her experience testifying in front of the audience, she was proud of the other students who testified about struggles, traumatic events, and heartbreaking stories. “God spoke through them to help them speak about their past… and they went through a lot of the specifics which I think is really nice too, something [like] [that] is really used to reach out to people,” said Caceres.
Caceres was deeply impacted by this event, not only because she spoke about something troubling to her, but, because of it, she was also able to strengthen her connection with friends, family, and God. Hearing other similar stories showed that she was not alone in her hardships.
Caceres recommended, regardless of affiliation to religion or questioning the presence of God in one’s life, that people should try out these events. “You never know how God is going to speak to you, especially through these testimonies… Just being at these events you kind of feel a spirit in your heart, and I think that it could be very powerful for people even if they do not believe in Jesus,” said Caceres.
At the end of those gut-wrenching stories and testimonies, Pastor Joe DuCharme spoke about the story of King Uzziah of the Kingdom of Judah. King Uzziah was known for his military success and strategic leadership. Yet, he was struck with leprosy, a bacterial disease. Right when he died, the prophet Isaiah had a vision of God seated on his throne, signifying God’s ultimate authority and the coming of Jesus Christ.
The event concluded with the idea of our society becoming more and more corrupt and sinful; as seen in the years before the coming of Jesus Christ. Pastor Joe DuCharme advised the audience to find faith and to continue following good morals and values in a society that is plagued with problems and corruption.
Emily Rebello, a junior at MCHS, attended the event representing the Love Outreach Christian Club (LOCC) at Carrillo. She helped advertise the event with her club and peers. “It was for as many people to know who Jesus is and just to be a light for a community in such a dark time; we noticed [that] Sonoma County has not been looking pretty recently,” said Rebello. Helping spread the word to help others in these dark times, Rebello and others alike had personal reflections and heartfelt emotions for the speakers giving off testimonies. “[The event] definitely revealed a lot of things in my life that I wanted to change and it definitely got me closer to God,” said Rebello.
Rhythm and Revival is not going anywhere, as the second event Rhythm and Revival Two will be held on September 6, 2025. For further information, or to learn about the Christian community of MCHS, attend the LOCC meeting every Wednesday at mathematics teacher Diane Holly’s Classroom G4.