By Wallace J A

The rural village of Mt. Horne, St.Andrew has, once again, another good reason to be proud. One of its own, Marcel Mc Guire Thomas, also known as ‘Sister Dianne’, has recently released a gospel CD – SHABACH PRAISE - with five high quality songs: You Are Beautiful, Let’s Build For God, Come See A Man, Shabach Praise and Hold On.

‘Sister Dianne’ - the sister of Pastor Laurie Mc Guire of the Chantimelle Pentecostal Church - was born in the village of Byelands in St.Andrew and attended the St.Michael’s R C School, the St.Andrew’s Anglican Primary School and the Junior Secondary School (Grenville Secondary School). She is married to Mr. Leary Thomas and presently resides in the village of Mt.Horne with her family. She has been a Christian for most of her life and is an active member of the Mira beau Pentecostal Church.

Mrs. Thomas revealed that she discovered her talent as a singer / songwriter since she was a student in school and actually wrote her first song while attending the Junior Secondary School (GSS) many years ago. She has been a prolific songwriter and has written songs for individuals and churches over the years.

The talented singer / songwriter chose the title ‘ Shabach Praise’ for her CD meaning ‘Shout Praise’ because she believes that “ God has been so good to us and has done so many good things in our lives that we need to just forget ourselves and shout praises to him; He deserves it.” She is convinced that Gospel music is a very effective way of spreading God’s message and showing people that there is a good and better way to live. Sister Dianne also believes that “Gospel music can reach deep down and touch the soul of people in a way that the physical can’t

Having the Gospel CD produced was not an easy task since by any means since it is expensive to put one song on a CD here in Grenada, let alone five. She had a very difficult time raising the funds needed for the exercise and thanks God and her family for coming to her assistance in her time of need. Her advice to young people with talent is to not give up when they encounter difficulties but to put their trust in God, who has blessed them with the talent in the first place, and continue to strive towards their goals.

A very talented group of singers and musicians worked with Mrs. Thomas on the production of the Gospel CD. Desmond ‘Jakie’ Wells helped with the arrangement and played the guitar while Joel Mc Guire played the keyboards and Brent Mc Guire played the drums. The background vocals were: Marcel, Dessie, Marian, Ferwishi and Rashida; they are all members of the same church.

The CD’s can be obtained at the Tivoli Gas Station from Mr. Leary Thomas, Mrs. Thomas herself or interested persons can call 473-442-7238 for more information.