At 6 feet and 5 inches tall, Shawn Thomas stands out in virtually any crowd, but there are several things that
make him unique among Christian recording artists. He writes and records his own songs, he tours at no cost, and his ministry includes an outreach to the GLBT community.

Thomas, a Florida-based singer-songwriter with ten solo CDs to his credit, will visit MCC of the Quad Cities in
Rock Island to deliver his message of inclusion at 11am on Sunday, May 5th as part of morning worship, and
again that evening with a full concert benefitting the church at Fargo Lounge in Moline at 5pm.

A four-time Pride in the Arts Awards recipient from The Stonewall Society and fourteen-time nominee, Shawn
Thomas' newest musical effort is a praise and worship collection of original songs called, "Voice of Worship."
The lyrics for each song on the project are based on one or more texts from Old and New Testament scripture.
He explains, "In the past few years there've been a few choices I've made in expressing myself a little more
openly that have brought on a bit of (for lack of a better word) 'controversy' to what I was doing - whether it
be from the Christian community or the GLBT community. I realized as a result, focus was being taken away
from the grace message that is what I truly hope to be able share; So, I thought for this project, why not go
directly to scripture and let that be the lyric and completely take my 'voice' out of it."

On December 19, 2012, Shawn Thomas was officially inducted in to the GLBT Hall of Fame. According to the
press release posted on the Hall of Fame website, he was approved for membership based on: "...the work
Shawn Thomas has done to provide a positive and healing atmosphere for today's GLBT Christian... [including building] bridges of understanding and acceptance for the GLBT community within the non-GLBT Christian community... [and highlighting] the negatives thrust onto out GLBT Christians by the GLBT community."

With a minister as a father and a talented musician as his mother, Shawn's ministry is the natural combination
of his musical and spiritual influences. A member of the Grammy Recording Academy, Shawn Thomas emerges not only as an outstanding performer and singer, but as a dynamic and versatile worship leader and presenter His intention is to share the message of God's of love and grace through music in order to build unity, understanding, and acceptance while still encouraging personal responsibility, self-reliance, and the
development of conviction and values.

"Voice of Worship" and other CD releases are available for sale on popular internet sites including iTunes.com
and Amazon.com, and is distributed by Aaron's Rainbow Project and Shawn Thomas Studios, West Palm Beach, FL. For more information about Shawn Thomas and his ministry, visit www.shawnthomasonline.com and www.aaronsrainbowproject.com.

MCC of the Quad Cities is currently worshipping at the TriCity Jewish Center, 2715 30th St., Rock Island, and
the Fargo Lounge is located at 4204 Ave. of the Cities in Moline. The Benefit Concert is part of a chili cook-off
beginning at 4:30pm. For more information, contact the church at 563-324-8281.

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