St. Ambrose hosts rock, praise, Unity Awards

By Mary Louise Speer | Sunday, October 22, 2006

Catholic rocker John Flynn of the John Flynn Band praised God accompanied by the vibrant bass of guitar and drums during the seventh annual Unity Awards on Saturday night at St. Ambrose University in Davenport.

The electrifying sound was slightly toned down from the band’s usual style, he confessed, but people applauded the performers at the end of “My Soul Rejoices.” His album “Cry Out” received a Unity nomination as the Best Praise and Worship Album, and “My Soul Rejoices” for the best Praise and Worship Song.

“We do a lot of shows where kids aren’t into their Catholic faith — maybe they come because of the blonde sitting in the front row — and they leave thinking, hey, this is pretty cool,” Flynn said.

Entertainer Pollyanna Dorough, the sister of Howie D. of the Backstreet Boys, and the Rev. Miguel Gonzalez, a radio show host and priest in the Diocese of Orlando, Fla., emceed the program.

The Unity Awards is sponsored by the United Catholic Music and Video Association, or UCMVA, and gives awards in 50 categories to top Catholic artists. The categories range from sacramental music to contemporary, video, and best female and male recording artists.

The ceremony was held in previous years in Washington, D.C., Ohio and Minnesota. Davenport was chosen as the 2006 site in recognition of Davenport Diocese Bishop William Franklin’s service as a spiritual advisor to the UCMVA.

Sister Ludmilla Benda and John “Jack” Bush of the Quad-Cities also received inspiration awards for their efforts in giving of themselves and their talents to the Quad-Cities community.

Those special awards were presented by actress Mandy Bruno of CBS’s “Guiding Light” and Tom Price from the Eternal Word Television Network.

Franklin offered a prayer of thanksgiving during the ceremony.

“I’m glad the program is being presented (for the first time) in Davenport because it opens up an opportunity for  people to experience music — and it may be music they’re not used to,” he said. “God is                 infinite, and there are a variety of ways to get to know and love God more. One is the music we share tonight.”

Dorough understands how it feels to clown on the outside while weeping on the inside.

She wrote her first song, the award-winning “Fly to Heaven” after her sister, Caroline Cochran-Dorough, died unexpectedly of lupus, a chronic autoimmune disease in 1998. She recalls trying to lighten her                sister’s spirits in the hospital room as other family members cried. “I was trying to tell her you’ve been a wonderful sister,” she said.

As a child, she encouraged Howie D. to come up front in the sanctuary and perform with the youth choir at their church. “He could barely read, but he would practice with me,” she said. Being his sister “makes it cool to be Catholic in the eyes of fans, especially with Backstreet Boys’ fans.”

“The other part is it puts a face to Catholicism in the pop music world.”

The city desk can be contacted at (563) 383-2450 or newsroom@qctimes.com.