History

In The Beginning

In 1972 Calvary Temple, a small church located on the eastside of Allentown, PA, was the home for a very large youth choir.  One evening, after their rehearsal, a number of the young people gathered around a piano and started harmonizing to various gospel songs. People from the church liked what they heard, and it was not long afterwards that the group was asked to sing during church morning worship services. We were totally unaware that this would be the moment which would become the foundation for a gospel group to last for the next thirty-seven years. Originally there were seven members, three vocalists, and four musicians. New Dawn was the name selected for the group.   Soon we started receiving requests from other churches to come and share our song and testimony to their congregations. Within those first five years, the group developed a sizable schedule singing at various churches, Christmas banquets, camps, Calvary Temple’s weekly church TV show, and other church-oriented events.

Over the next thirty-seven years, the members would change, from time to time, due to schooling, family commitments, job issues, or relocations.  In the late 70’s there was another group based in Easton, PA, called the New Dawn Singers. In 1983, due to the subsequent confusion with this group name, we decided to change our name to Witness.  At this time, the members were Sharon Hannigan, Barbara Smith, Jack Hariton, and Terry Smith. This group stayed intact for almost the next twenty years ministering throughout the tri-state area.

Over twenty people have been a part of the group and the same vision was held by each one, which was to share the love of Jesus to as many as possible through music and testimony.  To this day, most of those individuals are currently involved within their own churches as pastors, members of music ministries, and church leadership positions.

For those who might be interested in our history, we have included group pictures depicting the transition of the team down through the years, pictures of various places where we have sung, and music from the two LP’s made in 1973 and 1977.

Hope you enjoy!

Here is the list of all the past and current members. Most of the members appear in the photos: