TrulyGrace

Baptism of Our Lord--Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration 2009

A special Mass to celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was said today at noon at St. Paul Cathedral. Bishop David A. Zubik was the main celebrant. The St. Paul Cathedral, St. Charles Lwanga, and St. Benedict the Moor combined choirs provided the music ministry, led by our choir directors Don Fellows, James Avant, and Toni Long, respectively. We practiced together for an hour and a half before Mass, and all attending were spiritually moved by the music...I saw Carol B, whom I had invited from last night.

The entrance hymn was "We Have Come This Far By Faith" (A. Goodson)
Freedom Gloria
Psalm 29 (R. Kreutz)
Christmastime Alleluia (J. Chepponis)
Preparation of Gifts: Medley of "Certainly, Lord"
Acclamations from the Mass of Creation by Marty Haugen
Amen (R. Smallwood)
Lamb of God (R. Ray)
Communion, instrumental: "Wade in the Water" Spiritual "Fix Me Jesus" (V. Nix)
Post-Communion Hymn "Lift Every Voice and Sing," J&S Johnson
We ended the Mass with a rendition of "We Shall Overcome."
~~~
Bishop Zubic called for courage, compassion, and constancy in living our lives in his homily. A small disturbance by one man caused the Bishop to say, "We are celebrating the Eucharist," and various ushers leapt to get the man aid.
~~~~~
After retrieving our jackets, my friends Gloria, Alroy, Jennifer H., Nancy C., Alice S., and I headed downstairs to enjoy lunch, fellowship, and the program. The Central boys chamber singers welcomed us to the Social Hall space, there was an invocation, a liturgical dance of the Pater Noster by Evelyn Kitchen-Stevens and her friend, and all of us in attendance performed the dance with them, too. Greta Stokes-Tucker welcomed the students who won the essay awards, "What Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Means to Me," one at a time to the podium to read their essays.

Neal Huguley (music director of Northview United Presbyterian Church) led us in various songs, including: "We Shall Overcome," "Certainly, Lord," and "This Little Light."

The Rev. Dr. Ronald Edward Peters (director, Metro-Urban Institute, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary) delivered the keynote address. After closing, we sang "We Shall Overcome," and a benediction was given.

Afterwards, I noted that singing "We Shall Overcome" should be a requirement for US citizenship (along with the "Star Spangled Banner" and "America the Beautiful,") Jennifer noted that someone told her today that people would lock their arms, arms across their chests, as they sang "We Shall Overcome." I told her the only times I had sung the song (before at Church) were at protests; and locking arms created solidarity.
~~~~~
The next day, Lisa sent an email around noting that we made the first page of the Local News section of the Post-Gazette.

Labels: American history, Choir, Church, color, dining, diocese of Pittsburgh, international culture, Mass, music, St. Paul Cathedral, Zubik

posted by Grace @ 1/11/2009 05:49:00 PM