Episode 2
Songs of Hope: Music, Service & Hope
Published June 23, 2026
Brother Andrew Miller talks with President Roland King about Songs of Hope — a free community evening of music, service, and family history on June 27. Come, and bring a friend!
Published June 23, 2026
Brother Andrew Miller talks with President Roland King about Songs of Hope — a free community evening of music, service, and family history on June 27. Come, and bring a friend!
“…it is by faith that miracles are wrought…”— Moroni 7:37
Host: Brother Andrew Miller · Guest: President Roland King, First Counselor in the Stake Presidency
The Gather and Belong podcast features Brother Andrew Miller, the stake communications director, and President Roland King, first counselor in the Mount Vernon Washington Stake presidency, discussing an upcoming community event called Songs of Hope. Held Saturday, June 27 from 6 to 8 PM at the Mount Vernon Library Commons, the free event centers on a rebroadcast of the Tabernacle Choir’s Hollywood Bowl concert, paired with a hands-on service project and a family history station. Area leadership has ranked it the second most impactful community-outreach opportunity available to the stake, surpassed only by a future Marysville Temple open house. Members are encouraged to pray for inspiration about whom to invite, then extend simple, low-pressure invitations to friends, neighbors, and community leaders.
Songs of Hope is deliberately designed as a welcoming open house in a public venue, so community members can encounter music, service, and family history as natural on-ramps to hope and the Savior without feeling pressured. President King frames member participation as an act of faith grounded in Moroni 7 — praying for and expecting miracles right here in Skagit County, not only in distant places.
Framed as a community activity hosted by the Church rather than a typical stake meeting, to lower the barrier for friends and neighbors to attend.
Area President Elder Wada and Elder Anderson affirmed this as one of the highest-impact outreach opportunities in the US West Area.
President King anchors the event in scripture: the day of miracles has not ceased, for it is by faith that miracles are wrought.
Music (the Tabernacle Choir rebroadcast), service (blanket-making for local nonprofits), and family history (four-generation printouts) each invite a spiritual experience without overt preaching.
Holding the event at the Mount Vernon Library Commons, rather than a church building, removes the discomfort some feel about crossing a religious threshold.
President King shares his tested approach: invite friends to something the Church is sharing with the community. Even those who decline feel honored to be thought of.
6–8 PM, no registration, no dress code, come-and-go — with families and young children warmly welcome, even for a short visit.
Success is positive community energy and perception for the stake; genuine follow-up interest from guests is welcome icing on the cake.
Gather and Belong is a podcast for families and youth in the Mount Vernon Washington Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.