NFL Gospel Choir participates in UN Sport Development for Peace

BRADENTON — The Original NFL Gospel Choir, dignitaries, athletes and international game changers joined the Global Action Initiatives for an Olympic style celebration to kick off the opening ceremonies for the United Nations Office in Sport for Development and Peace earlier this month at the Bradenton Area Convention Center.

In grace and elegance, Bishop Randy White took the stage to introduce the Original NFL Gospel Choir, but not without first thanking Irene Pridgen for a job well done in organizing the choir’s appearance. He went on to say the choir was inspired by NFL great, the late Reggie White (Minister of Defense). The choir was developed by football players to show their love for God and express their faith through music.

The angelic voices of the choir, backed up by Without Walls Community Choir, performed featured “Total Praise,” “Oh Happy Day” and “It’s Time for a Change” under the direction of renowned music director Mark Payne.

Youth from 60 countries appeared to be mesmerized by the energy and exhilarating dancing and praise of the choir. They began to dance all over the arena.

Henry Lawrence, a founding member of the NFL Choir and three time Super Bowl champion and Florida Sports Hall of Famer said: “It was incredible to watch youth from other countries of the UN enjoy gospel music.”

The choir set out to touch their spirits.  The youth came from, Africa, Angola, Australia, Canada, Colombia, Barbados, Botswana, Brazil Cambodia, Cyprus, El Salvador, Ghana, Honduras, Kenya, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Nepal, Trinidad, Saint Kitts, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and Grenadines, South Africa, Sweden, Venezuela and more.

The perfect evening came to an end with performances by American Idol’s Sam Wolfe and Elliot Yamin.

United Nations Office on Sport for Development and Peace (UNOSDP) serves as the intergovernmental liaison to the 183 UN Member States and Organizations.  UNOSDP’s core functions on behalf of issues related to the platform of sport include advocate, articulate and promote the adoption of policy recommendations made by UNOSDP to governments for the integration of sport and physical activity into their domestic and international development strategies and programs, facilitate the activations of such recommendations, and represent the intersection of public and private sectors at high-level gatherings and events giving voice to the universal language of sport.