The celebration at Etoug-Ebe Baptist Church, Yaounde was chaired by Prime Minister Philemon Yang.
The National Combined English language Choir, NACOMEC, of the Cameroon Baptist Convention, CBC is 10 years old. The theme of the anniversary that was celebrated last weekend at the Etoug-Ebe Baptist Church, Yaounde was “Oh come, let us sing to praise the Lord” taken from Psalm 95:1.
To mark the anniversary, the group that is made up of members from English language choirs in CBC churches in the country, organised a special concert on Saturday, May 4, 2013 under the patronage of Prime Minister, Head of Government, His Excellency Philemon Yang. The event also saw the release of NACOMEC’s sixth album, the raising of about FCFA Five million for the choir’s activities and dedication of anniversary uniforms.
According to the National Coordinator of NACOMEC, Mrs. Etombi Ikome Gladys, its main objectives are evangelism, discipleship, winning souls for Jesus Christ, edifying those already won, and reaching out to the needy and less privileged through songs and the donation of gifts. The choir, she explained, now has 700 members. Over 500 of them took part in last weekend’s concert.
Their achievements in the last 10 years include the release of six albums and the setting up last August in Buea in the South West Region of what Mrs. Etombi described as Cameroon’s first music centre. The over FCFA 35-million centre provides voice training and in the use of different instruments, writing and reading music, and also carries out recordings. So far, over 100 people - Christians and non-Christians alike - have been trained in different aspects and levels of music literacy.
NACOMEC also organises music workshops every year in the North West, South West and Centre regions to attend to the needs of its large membership and interested members of the public. So far, hundreds of people have been trained in music literacy at such workshops. NACOMEC’s songs are Biblically-sound and can touch people’s lives, Mrs. Etombi Ikome Gladys explained. The songs include soul-searching hymns, anthems and Negro-spirituals. Some 10 per cent of them are composed by the group while the remaining 90 per cent are from different hymnals and music books.
