(747) AME-CAMP (263-2267)
ANGELOS MISSION ENSEMBLE
a New Jersey Christian Youth Chamber Music Program
(747) AME-CAMP (263-2267)
AME Commission Artist Award History!
In 2024, the Angelos Mission Ensemble (AME) celebrated its 20th anniversary with gratitude for the artistic expression that had shaped its journey beyond chamber music. In that year, AME introduced a creative writing commission award in memory of longtime friend and colleague Lee Hoeting, who had served AME selflessly for many years as its writer and editor.
To commemorate Lee’s legacy, AME established a tradition of commissioning distinguished creative writers to craft original works of prose or poetry inspired by its annual theme, honoring Lee’s enduring contributions and celebrating the power of the written word within its artistic community.
AME Commission Artist Award Recipient
2026 The Steadfast Heart - Kayla Lee
2024 The Celebrating Heart - Isabelle Lazor Portis
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Kayla Lee, writer & poet (2026)
Kayla Lee is an 18-year-old college student and a lover of poetry whose work explores themes of faith, hope, and healing. At sixteen, after suffering prolonged illness, she temporarily lost the ability to write, along with other impairments. As she slowly regained her ability to write, poetry became more than an art form but a way to process her emotions, discover her voice, and encounter God's hope through every season.
Kayla is deeply honored to receive the 2026 AME Commission Artist Award and to present an original poem inspired by this year's theme, The Steadfast Heart. Through her writing, she aspires to encourage others to find hope in uncertainty and peace in the steadfast love of Jesus Christ.
The Steadfast Heart
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Inspired by Lamentations 3:22–23
“The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end; they are
new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”
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Rush of rivers, roaring streams,
The Lord’s mercy flows:
Compassion,
Strength,
Faithfulness.
Strong currents surge,
The Rock stands firm.
Resilience breaks the waves.
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Paths of sediment and sorrow,
Pain and suffering—
Press on.
Droughts return,
But Your well never runs dry.
Trusting God,
Sustained by His everlasting spring.
​
I stumble,
Struggling against the undertow.
A charted voyage,
Following the One unseen.
Crashing riptides,
Surrounding me.
Grasping,
Holding tight,
Even as violent winds rage,
My heart remains anchored.
Waves surpassing the shoreline;
Storms erase the blue skies,
Still morning breaks again.
​
Lord, help me pass
Currents too mighty for me alone.
Let Your mercy shine
From the heavenly heights.
With You,
My heart beats alive:
With love,
With joy,
With grace.
​
A heart,
Broken, made whole,
Enduring,
Everlasting.
Lord, make me steadfast.
​​
From an early age, Isabelle Portis has been writing stories, poetry, and songs, seeking to glorify God by delighting in the glory and mystery of the natural world. She is an award-winning writer, winning Cairn University’s JMF Writing Award four times for her short stories and poetry. After graduating from Cairn University in May of 2024 with a BA in English, Isabelle will teach high school English at Esperanza Academy Charter School in the fall of 2024 and will begin Saint Joseph’s Masters of Writing program in the spring of 2025.
Isabelle Lazor Portis, Writer, Author & Poet. (2024)
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A Song Between
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When I happen upon rivers
that curve through a wooden kingdoms
crystal clear beneath the skies,
I pause to hear voices in the waters
that sound like thunder
cascading down in silver streams.
They may be words of praise or hunger;
an outcry for the end of things.
Trees fringe the river where time is frozen,
sheathed within a wooden womb.
I cannot help but wonder
whether eternity should fill the branches’ golden fruit.
When a breeze wanders into the tangled limbs
it shakes the leaves as if to say,
How long? How long shall we remain this way?
Above the trees, clouds gather like a council.
They swell and sigh, ever drifting,
as the screaming wind passes by,
every vapor yearning to be gathered
beneath the feet of the descending Majesty.
​
The birds brave the bitter breeze,
again suspended between the heavens and reality.
After this cycle of flight and teeth,
when lions and lambs coexist in peace,
when the strong will not consume the weak,
there will be newness though the earth will cease.
​
Somewhere between the ache and praise,
between the rising and dying of the days,
there is joy before the end of things.
Like picturing the coming colors of a sunset
or waiting for the undying star
to again prove its excellence at resurrection,
parting the thick curtains of night and
lighting the stage after a mere intermission.
There are songs to sing before the wedding,
before heaven and earth coalesce.
The beauty of the earth is ever a delight:
to see the hands that shaped us
before we feel His caress,
to offer praise before the eternal celebration,
when our Warrior swallows the space between
breath, death, and eternal devotion.