he decision to participate in Inaugural events on a Sabbath was one of the most complex that Ring of Fire members and supporters have made in the group’s four-year history.

Last December, in fact, the group had declined an invitation to perform on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno because the only night offered was a Friday night.

“When we first sent in our demo tape in November, I never even looked at the calendar,” admits Carol Holm, the group’s publicity coordinator. “When we learned that we were being seriously considered for participation, we knew we needed to talk with school and church leaders about the appropriateness of performing at a national event on a Sabbath.”

Parents and support staff sought advice from Oregon Conference administrative and educational leaders and researched Spirit of Prophecy counsel that might help the group make the right decision. All the families of students playing in Ring of Fire were consulted to ascertain how each felt about the group’s possible Sabbath performance. The Tualatin Valley Junior Academy (TVJA) school board unanimously voted to support the trip and the Sabbath performance schedule.

“Ring of Fire has had a special history that includes performing on street corners on Sabbath afternoon for whoever would listen,” adds Holm. “We had already covenanted that we would be performing only sacred music, and we simply couldn’t escape the idea that God had directly opened up this opportunity to do on this special Sabbath what we have done on so many others.”

“We saw this as an opportunity to give our testimony for Christ in the heart of a nation that’s forgetting about Christ,” says TVJA principal Jesse Cone. “This group of young people has earned the right to be trusted, and we believed they could honor God on the Sabbath by participating in this event.

“I think the events of the inaugural weekend proved that’s just what they did.”