East Lansing Drumming Event to Feature Francis Kofi

The community is invited to join Fellowship for Today for a drumming celebration to kick off 2012 Season for Peace and Nonviolence. Drum Crazy Percussion Ensemble will perform with special guest Francis Kofi. Reverend Karen Arndorfer and Rob Curtner will facilitate the event including a heartbeat meditation and the opportunity for audience participation.

The Drumming for Peace event will be held as Fellowship for Todays Sunday service January 29th, from 5:30 to 6:60 pm, at 2400 E. Lake Lansing Road in East Lansing inside the Korean United Methodist Church. The event will also feature the inspirational words of Gandhi, Martin Luther King and other leaders of peace and nonviolence, said Karen Arndorfer, who teaches drumming locally. She added, Were into peaceful percussion persuasion and are thrilled that Francis Kofi will be joining us!

Francis Kofi is a performer from Accra, Ghana. Arndorfer and Curtner met Kofi when he was a guest lecturer in the MSU College of Music during 1996-97. Francis Kofi earned a Fulbright Fellowship with State University of New York Fredonia. In recent years, he has taught and performed primarily in the Minneapolis area and in his home base of Ghana, West Africa. Kofis broad background in African drum and dance will add lively introductions and transitional segments to our event, said Curtner. There is no charge for the event. Donations are welcome.

Reverend Brad Miller of Fellowship for Today explained, This is a chance to delve into our own inner search for peace through a heartbeat meditation, and to stretch out to celebrate peace with clapping, singing and stomping. Fellowship for Today is a local New Thought church. This is the second year they have participated in the Season for Peace and Nonviolence.

The Season for Nonviolence runs from January 30 - April 4 and is a national 64-day educational, media, and grassroots campaign dedicated to demonstrating that nonviolence is a powerful way to heal, transform, and empower lives and communities. It is inspired by the 50th and 30th memorial anniversaries of Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., this international event honors their vision for an empowered, nonviolent world

Drum Crazy is an East Lansing based percussion ensemble facilitated by Rob Curtner and Rev. Karen Arndorfer and is made up of hobby percussionists and drum students. The activities of the group include drum circles, performances, lessons, and learning about the health benefits of drumming.

For more information go to www.fellowshipfortoday.org or call Fellowship for today at 337-4070.