Reflections from our 2025 Concert Gala

October 17th, 2025 marked Renovare Music’s fourth annual fundraising gala. FOURTH. That is crazy to me. I still remember our first one in October of 2022, and how that night began with me ruining my dress carrying appetizers to the venue. I held in my arms a platter of delicious bacon wrapped dates (made by one of our board members) and as I walked, I tilted the pan ever so slightly and ended up pouring bacon grease all down the front of my dress. I gasped and froze while Rebecca grabbed a towel and began dabbing at the large grease stain. It was literally minutes before people started arriving so we just had to keep moving. The miraculous thing was that the stain blended in with my dress and no one seemed to notice. I just smelled like bacon all night. 

This year, I resisted the urge to help with the appetizers, and thankfully, I did not spill anything on my dress! But what continues to be miraculous is how God shows up in such powerful ways for each one of these galas. Not only have we met our financial goal each year - we’ve welcomed new people to Renovare’s community and I’m blown away by the number of people who have come alongside this work. 

I often joke that planning these fundraising galas feels like planning a wedding. Ironically, I am also currently planning my wedding! As I plan, I continue to notice the similarities between the events. Both require attention to detail, many months of planning, and a solid team (thank you, volunteers!). However, one obvious difference between the two is that one is an effort to raise funds. It’s easy to focus on the financial goal and view these galas through that one lens. But I was reminded this year that there is another lens to look through. Just like a wedding is a sacred covenant AND a celebratory party, Renovare’s fundraising gala is an event to raise funds AND an opportunity to connect people across seemingly impenetrable barriers. It is an opportunity to bridge the divide between the suburbanite and the urbanite, the incarcerated and the free, the unhoused and the housed. Renovare’s gala is for each person in attendance AND for the men and women Renovare gets to work with, because we ALL need one another. It isn’t one or the other, it is both/and. 

That is what encourages me each year as we take months to plan and prepare. We are preparing for an evening of connection, an evening of impact, and an evening that helps sustain this work even as more people are invited to walk across that bridge. 

Thank you again to each and every person who came out on October 17th to engage with Renovare. We are grateful for you, your generosity, and for the many ways that God is using this community of people to build bridges in His kingdom.