There is one thing that feels better than giving food to the needy; getting to listen to a free concert for doing so.

That is just what the St. John Student Parish Catholic Church, 327 M.A.C. Ave., will be doing at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

The admission charge is for people to bring canned goods for the St. Vincent De Paul food cupboard.

The St. Vincent De Paul food cupboard serves between 80-100 families per week and according to Patrick Lucas, the director of music at the church, it is happy to do so.

“We do it as an outreach to the community,” he said. “We do what we can.”

Education senior Emily Wilk said “the concert is a really neat thing for our choir to do.”

The theme for the concert will be “All things bright and beautiful” and the “Beauty of Earth.” The concert theme will tie into helping those who are less fortunate.

This is the third consecutive year that the church has held a concert, but the first it has benefited the food cupboard.

“Things are incredible right now,” Lucas said. “This is shaping up to be one of the best concerts we’ve done.”

The music ministry program at the church, made up of mostly graduate students, has approximately 100 members, 80 of which will be performing tomorrow night.

“It is an opportunity for people who love music to get involved,” Lucas said.

Lucas said St. John’s is not only helping the needy with this concert, but also attempting to bring students and other people into the church.

“The parish is a mixture,” he said. “It is an opportunity for students to get involved in the church.”

Barb Monroe, a staff member in the vice president’s office for computing and technology, said along with the joy singing brings her, it has helped in her ministry as well.

“I see my involvement in the choir being a part of ministry,” she said. “All 103 of us (members of the choir) are doing what we can to bring people closer to God through the music that we sing and the messages that we bring.”

Wilk believes the concert gives the church a positive look and makes it appeal to the community.

“If nothing else, the concert will bring people together,” she said. “Its a nice fellowship here, and it would be wonderful if it brings people to the church permanently.”

Monroe said that the music is a powerful tool in bringing people into any church.

“If people are in that point in their lives, but they aren’t there just yet, music may be the last hurdle,” she said. “If our music is a strong enough call, it’s possible that it can happen.”

With the world still grieving over the Sept. 11 attacks, Wilk said, “It allows everyone to come together in the spirit of giving.”

The spirit of giving may be a different way to give but with the concert, the church is doing an adequate part in helping those in need.