On Aug. 13, the Sparks church youth choir, United In Christ, joined the cast of the critically acclaimed musical production, “God’s Trying to Tell You Something,” as the lead choir. A "light-hearted musical about slavery and racism" may sound like a contradiction in terms, but Delilah Rashell Williams insists that it's possible. She should know, since she’s written, directed and produced the musical.

"We go into slavery — the auction block, the master that sells the little girl with the mother crying, and songs portraying the grief and the faith," says Williams. "We do old gospel standards like 'Kumbaya' in the African tongue as well as the American tongue. Then we visit Harriet Tubman, who comes to take the slaves to freedom." Other notable historical figures, such as Sojourner Truth, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Rosa Parks, also make appearances.

Things brighten up after the intermission, though. "The second half is more light-hearted," says Williams. "We visit the church and talk about the tensions between uppity people, bourgeois people, and down-to-earth people."

Williams wrote the musical in 1986 while she was living in Anchorage, Alaska. "There's not a lot to do in Anchorage if you don't hunt and fish," she says with a laugh.

Encouraged by a strong positive response from audiences, Williams took her show on the road, complementing the touring cast with local performers in each city. "The entire show is anchored by a five-piece band," she explains, "and we normally use a local choir in each city that also shares the stage."

When first approached about the musical, United In Christ members thought they would be joining other choirs from the community to make a “mass choir,” but that was not the case. For the show's one-time performance at the Silver Legacy Hotel in Reno, local non-Adventist church leaders chose United In Christ as the sole representative of the local Christian community. “This is a real honor for our young people and our church,” says Pastor Kingsley Palmer. “Out of all the choirs within our community, they chose our kids, and they made us proud.”

Known by its initials (U.I.C), United In Christ was chosen as the group’s name because it “summed up the whole of our parts,” explains current director Fatai Finau. The group is representative of the cultural, ethnic and lingual diversity within the Sparks church. Members vary in age, shape, size and color and the group can be heard singing in English, Tongan, Spanish, Swahili and various other languages.

The diversity within the group was one of the reasons it was chosen to represent the community. “They have one of the best 'adult sounding' tones and harmony of any youth choir I have worked with,” says Palmer.

The group didn’t have much time to prepare, but they were ready when the curtains rose. In the span of three days, the group learned 18 songs. “I’m proud of our kids. They stayed late, worked hard, and their hard work showed,” explains Anita DuPree, Sparks church youth leader.