REFRESHING WORSHIP
SAT-7’s weekly worship programme We Will Sing – a favourite of many viewers – has begun a new season with an updated format and a new name, Keep on Singing.
SAT-7’s weekly worship programme We Will Sing – a favourite of many viewers – has begun a new season with an updated format and a new name, Keep on Singing.
Over several years the Egypt-based programme has been loved for both the high quality of its musicians, including its hosts Maher Fayez and Nassif Sobhy, and the authenticity of its worship and spirituality.
It was this programme that the brother of two Egyptian Christians called after they were executed by so-called Islamic State. On air he thanked God that these martyred believers had been faithful to Christ right to the end.
While the previous series featured Fayez and Sobhy as the regular worship leaders and invited guest singers from Egypt and other Arab countries occasionally, the new format will introduce many new bands and artists. “The aim is to introduce praise and worship both through well-known singers and through new talents from different churches,” Producer Andrew Gamal says.
Diverse
The musical mix will also be even more diverse, spanning contemporary and traditional styles. Further variety of styles will come from the international input of Iraqi singer Kahtan Adnan, Nasser Moussa from the Holy Land, Thamar Zananeery, Eissa Kaabar and Zyad Shehata from Jordan, and Egyptian singers living abroad, such as Manal Samir and Hany Nabil.
Gamal also wanted to give the new series a contemporary and more intimate visual look. “I wanted to break up the old set and get closer to the viewers,” Gamal says. “I want to break down the barrier between the screen and the viewer and say to those watching, ‘We are with you. You are here, sitting with us. We are not separate from you’.”
The previous dark-tiled, brightly-lit set has been replaced with a cosy wooden background and warm lighting. Whereas the camera used to sweep in past the supporting musicians at the sides of a deep room to the singer-presenters in the centre, now all the musicians will be closer to the camera on a more shallow set. Gamal believes that praise and worship need not be restricted to formal settings but can also take place in casual, friendly surroundings.
Also integral to the programme’s relationship with viewers is a behind-the-scenes prayer room where three volunteers are receiving phone calls and praying for viewers.
Keep on Singing will air for 26 episodes, each 85 minutes long.