Spalding music benefit to feature, Christian singing group, comedy act
Posted March 28, 2002

GRANVILLE - God calls everyone to be his witness. For three women here, God has called them to speak out through their talents.

"Through our music," said Alicia Schemper, "we get to be a witness for the Lord."

Two years ago, Ruth Grady, Alicia Schemper and Pam List started singing together, each contributing their own qualities and desires to form LIFE Ministry, a contemporary Christian singing group. (LIFE stands for Living In Faith Everyday.)

Schemper brought the humor, List brought the flexibility, and Grady brought the organization. Together they manage to have fun while being successful.

"We are trying to convey God's love to people and we do it in both serious ways and fun ways," said Grady.

"We had always talked about getting together," explained List. "A lot of Christian groups are made up of three or four people. We each bring our own talents to the group and that is what makes us so unique."

Grady said that her job as an alto is to bring harmony into the group. "I also bring organization," she said. "It's important to have flow and order to your music."

Music has been a part of Grady's life since she was just a young girl at home doing the dishes with her mom and sisters.

"All of us girls took turns doing the dishes, and to pass the time we would sing," said Grady. "Another person who was a big influence on my musical talent was my grade school music teacher, Sister Elise. She took me aside one day and told me that I had a beautiful voice. She helped me get the lead in our school plays and gave me the confidence to perform in front of people."

List also said that she has been involved in music all her life.

"I came from a very musical family," she said. "They have been involved in and very supportive of all that I do," said List. "My mother has not only been my accompanist, but also my biggest fan."

List said she feels that she brings non-structure to the group, allowing them to be more laid back. She said that she also feels that one of her more important jobs, besides using her voice to create high harmony, is to interpret the music for the group.

Providing melody for the group, Schemper, said that she is known to the group as the crazy, fun person. "I hope they feel that I am a fun-loving person, upbeat, and with a really extraordinary sense of humor," said Schemper laughing.

She said that she feels that her mother has had an influence on her music. "My mom sang from the day I was born," said Schemper. "She was always singing different hymns, and that is where I found my love for Christian music."

One of the group's mottos is to take one day at a time and put their total trust in God that He will lead them.

"People are just starting to find out that we are a trio, and all of a sudden we're really taking off," said Schemper. Since there weren't any other female trios that sang Christian music, the demands for the group began to increase.

An upcoming event for LIFE Ministry is performing at the annual music boosters concert program on April 3, at 7 p.m. at Spalding High School, Granville.

"We feel that this event is a great way to involve people, especially kids of all ages," said Grady. "We hope this will open the door for us to be involved in more youth oriented groups. The more that we do, the more we will branch out, and it is really important to us that our message reaches someone because that is our whole purpose."

"We hope everyone comes and gets involved," said List.

Tickets are available through any Spalding office or students, grades 5 through 12, that participate in music programs. Tickets are $5 for students and $8 for adults. Proceeds will go to the school's music departments.

Along with the LIFE Christian singing group, the April 3 event will include the Buffalo Show that features three college students from Northwestern College. The young men feature improvisational acting.