Worship Together: Global Easter Celebration Rocked Easter with Uplifting Musical Performances

 Gospel superstar Jonathan McReynolds hosted an inspiring concert featuring internationally acclaimed musicians and recording artists who rocked the Easter holiday in with some great worship music. To view the video go to the web version of this blog by clicking the link provided at the bottom of this page or viewing on your desktop version. You may also click on Vision TV at this link.

Kicking Off Poetry Month with Poem About Public Health

 This week’s Poetry Saturday entry is from recent archives, Saturday,March 6, 2021 entitled, “We Shall Not Be Overtaken by Coronavirus or Its Progeny”   The video was on our You Tube station.

Related artwork which is being imprinted on merchandise like t-shirts, caps and cups and will be available in the near future in our online store. Percentage of proceeds from sales will be donated to COVID related charities and programs. Stay tuned.

“Coronavirus Banned”

You may join a coronavirus prayer group that has been started on Facebook. It’s called “Pray in Place”. Prayers for coronavirus are there for you to read or link provided to audio to listen to.

“Were You There?” Easter Spiritual Hymn

 I awakened early this Easter morning with a classic Negro Spiritual spinning in my heart and on my mind. It takes me back, way back to the small neighborhood church where my grandmother would have my older sister and I starring in the annual Easter programs. Anyway, this is a song that always instilled me with awe and brought me to tears. I recorded it by God’s grace and the prompting of the Holy Spirit, that I pray God will keep my soul and spirit in alignment with. After searching this morning for the complete lyrics and curious also about how many versions of the song had been done, since it is over 100 years old and in the public domain, I found quite a few. There are renditions by Mahalia Jackson, Willie Nelson, Sam Cooke, Three Mo’ Tenors, Jessie Norman, Johnny Cash and quite a few others. But my favorite version was shared by a helpful friend. It starts out with an instrumental jazz intro, a surprising vocal solo, additional brief solo parts and expands into a choir of many. It was beautiful to behold everyone singing, some their own special solo parts, coming together in unison on the shore at sunrise singing the last verse about how Jesus arose.The You Tube link is here.

 Your comments and emails are always welcome. Feel free to send feedback via email or in the comment box below. Not just on this Easter greeting. But on any other post or side-column you have an interest in on this blog. [Repost to right column.]

Let There Be Joyful Noise:Celebrating Easter with Own

Make a joyful noise to God,all the earth! 

Psalm 66:1

 This Easter holiday season, I vowed to listen to and share as much music as possible and lift the Easter holiday up while working on my Easter reflection. I even curated a playlist to share for the season. Watching Own's Easter concert was icing on the cake and spurred me on to complete the music playlist project for family, friends and hopefully for inclusion in my Apple radio station. It is actually a compilation of all of my jazz,r&b and inspirational music. 

So, you could say that my Holy week celebration got off to a great start watching Own network's concert starring  legendary gospel royalty from the Winans' family including BeBe,  CeCe and Deborah Joy Winans.  CeCe sang while BeBe and Deborah hosted the inspiring line up of performances by Stellar and Grammy winning recording artists including Kirk Franklin, Travis Greene,Jonathan McReynolds, Koryn Hawthorne,Fantasia, Anthony Hamilton and the Hamiltones, Lewis, Michelle Williams, Cedric the Entertainer, and several others including some amazing pastors and spiritual leaders who shared some of their enlightening and educational perspectives on Easter. It was an enriching experience all the way around with music and Biblical education. 

Own network has the full video up on their website. If you missed the original broadcast a complimentary viewing  will be available at this link until the end of this month. Enjoy!

On Racism and Cancel Culture Osborne and Morgan Style with Weigh Ins from Fox on Soul Queens

 

While the media stratosphere and blogosphere is rife with incidents sparking debates and “cancel culture” actions, I thought it important that I dig into my archives and share some commentary on racism from some of our great leaders. I found an essay I wrote about how Obama handled and weighed in on the outcome of the Trayvon Martin trial. Although that verdict is now unbelievably 8 years old, it is relevant as the incident that sparked this modern debate and stirred a controversy on racism of the police and auxiliary police that has expanded to other areas of our lives and provided the impetus for the Black Lives Matter movement. The recent swift release of Sharon Osbourne a co-host of the Talk for her aggressive questioning of Sheryl Underwood about what Piers Morgan did in Underwood’s view that was racist caused enough of a stir to have her leave the show she has been co-hosting for 11years even though Underwood in her media remarks had no objections to Osbourne’s line of questioning. Nor did she seem to have been offended. Likewise, the abrupt and seemingly heated and non-sensical rift that occurred between Morgan and the Duchessof Sussex has resulted in the same course of swift firings or resignations without any  follow up dialogue.

On a healing note, I think we have to be very careful about alienating potential allies and folks of other races by knee jerking in the course of sensitive dialogue that may not be intended to cause harm, but is merely person’s trying to get to the heart of the issue without any racist intentions or objectives . Hear more on my upcoming podcast at a forthcoming link. I also mention a commentary I wrote about President Obama’s response to Trayvon Martin’s disappointing verdict which many thought was a racist and unfair outcome and what measures he thought could be taken to bring healing to the situation.