Dylan Wyka

🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼 Thank you for all your support that was, is and evermore shall be! 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼

This will be a great milestone for us, Dylywops!

In the Book of Wisdom, we hear: “But Thou sparest all: for they are Thine, O LORD, Thou lover of souls” (Wisdom 11:26). We truly love and need a God, Whose love and mercy know no bounds, Who seeks only our reconciliation with Him. There is an old hymn with lyrics by Charles Wesley and music by Simeon B. Marsh that has found its way into various arrangements, most notably one by Richard Smallwood that also quotes J.S. Bach’s timeless "Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring". It is also subtly quoted in this contemporary hymn popularly performed by Darlene Zschech, the writer of another praise and worship classic: Shout to the Lord. Meditate on how precious is your soul to the Almighty that He, as we hear in today’s Gospel verse, "gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). I have composed an original arrangement that fuses together Marsh's classic hymn and Zschech's beautiful contemporary tune.

So, they say "third time's a charm", right? My #lederhosen and I have been going strong, and therefore, we're celebrating this #Halloween2020 in #Bavarian style. My hair was looking too good for the hat this year, though...

YOUTUBE | https://youtu.be/r6iJsrH6wCA

I know that it is a sad day for the whole of humanity and that usually we recount where we were when we found out the horrible news on that fateful day. I could do that, but instead, I'd rather offer up a prayer. I'd rather not resurrect the dead but empower the living, the whole of us who live on each day with the memory of what happened on 11 September 2001. I pray that we learn to embrace our diversity and use it as the standard, by which we elevate our respect for one another. We need to lay down our hatred for those who are different from us in colour, gender, sexual orientation and creed; we must take up the weapons of love and peace. This may seem a childish ideal, but I'd rather aim for such an ideal than settle for a dismal reality. May we #neverforget 9/11 and the impact that it has had on our human race. May we #alwaysremember 9/11 and the lessons that it has taught us. I pray for a better day for us and our children and our grandchildren and so forth. May this eighteenth anniversary of #911 bring peace, solace, hope and strength to us who have suffered and to us who are fighting for a brighter future.

YOUTUBE | https://youtu.be/jzK6oT-Lylc

YOUTUBE | https://youtu.be/iXC7CnTH_p0

These ladies, Liz and Trudy, totally made my day. I played today at the inaugural open mic, and the Holy Ghost moved. They asked to sing with me, and we just sent out some 🔥 praise with "Amen" and "This Little Light of Mine". Bringin' the joy of gospel music to the SoulFest

These curls are feeling perky for the SoulFest. They seem to be as excited as I am to be performing again! Woot!

This post is arriving several days after the fact, but I needed to collect all the many photos and videos that came from my birthday celebration. Successfully was the 9th anniversary of my 21st birthday! From the family dinner with parents, siblings and 2 of my best friends to the clubbing with my other bestie and to the beautiful surprise party from my Coro Hispano at Church of St. Francis de Sales and the dinner out with my 11:00 choir, I cannot be more grateful for the many blessings that are the people in my life. You are all so dear to me, and I thank God for another year to spend with you all.

Relaxing now after a 4.5-hour drive down to DC/Maryland/Virgina for the Archbishop Lyke Conference, a.k.a. for black Catholic music ministers. I know! I know! I'm "light-skinned" for a "black music minister"... hahaha! We do gospel music at SFDS, and I am forever looking to grow in my ministry and to make those connexions. Let's get it!

LAST-MINUTE EVENT, DYLYWOPS! I will be performing this evening at Arturo's Restaurant in Midland Park, NJ, from 7:00 PM onwards. Come enjoy a wide variety of tunes in the bar area with delicious food and tasty drinks. Got any song requests in advance? Let me know. 👇🏼

Unfortunately, because of a conflict, my performance at the Vocalist Night showcase has been postponed; however, we are in the works for me to make an appearance soon. Thank you, #Dylywops, for constant support! Other big dates are forthcoming.

Remember that time I sang in front of literally 10.000 people an original song of mine ("Steer Me Away") and totally rocked it... well, after the keyboard failed and I had to regenerate my #adrenalinerush? This is ONLY the beginning. #mcdgospelfest #mcdonaldsgospelfest

For YEARS now, I have passed this statue at the student centre of St. Peter’s University in Jersey City, thinking it is a real person; so, finally I decided to sit down with him and have a heartfelt conversation... Felt like I was talking to a wall...

Check out the full video: https://youtu.be/MwWzE1VpXG8