Professor to lead Handel’s Messiah in China this Easter

If you heard a Baylor music professor was conducting an Easter Sunday performance of Handel’s Messiah, you probably wouldn’t be surprised. But if I told you that he was doing so in China… Well, that might catch your attention.

That’s exactly how Dr. Alan Raines, director of choral activities at Baylor, is spending his Easter — leading the famous oratorio at the opening of a large church in Suzhou, China. Raines was invited by Tim Conkling, a missionary with China Ministries International.

While many Chinese Christians meet in underground churches, Chinese adults are permitted to be involved with officially sanctioned Christian meetings through certain organizations. And though 75 percent of Chinese report no religion, those numbers can be misleading — which is one reason why the Baylor Institute for Studies of Religion is studying spirituality in China.

Sic ’em, Dr. Raines!