Home The News Mt. Moriah A.M.E. Church Gospel Extravaganza

Mt. Moriah A.M.E. Church Gospel Extravaganza

Tuesday, 09 December 2008

by Michael Bouvier With the assistance of area churches, Cocoa's Mt. Moriah A.M.E. Church held a Gospel Extravaganza Saturday November 15th 2008. The gospel music was part of a multi-day celebration of the 122nd anniversary of the church. A hint of sadness touched the celebration with news that Pastor Mary Robinson was due for transfer, with the Sunday service as her last. Pastor Robinson told the congregation that she would receive her next assignment the following week.   Dr. Leenetta Pennington, Chairperson of the Birthday Celebration Leadership Team worked with church members and area churches to organize the event. In her welcome, Mrs. Veronica Jenkins noted the church was founded by a woman 122 years ago and then 118 years later welcomed their first female pastor, Rev. Robinson. In her opening scripture reading, Psalm 98, Sister Amicita Malcolm-Gibson included this verse: “Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise.” Choirs from neighboring churches brought traditional gospel music. In addition to the choral music, there were solos, dramatic readings and mime presentations. The words of a gospel song by the Metropolitan Missionary Baptist Church Choir set the tone for the celebration: Clap your hands, Stomp your feet, Give Him praise, Bless His name. For her inspirational reading, Sister Gloria Johnson-Jones of Zion Orthodox Primitive Baptist Church selected The Negro Mother by Langston Hughes. Here are the opening lines: Children, I come back today To tell you a story of the long dark way That I had to climb, that I had to know In order that the race might live and grow. Look at my face -- dark as the night --   Yet shining like the sun with love's true light. I am the dark girl who crossed the red sea Carrying in my body the seed of the free. I am the woman who worked in the field Bringing the cotton and the corn to yield. I am the one who labored as a slave, Beaten and mistreated for the work that I gave --   Children sold away from me, I'm husband sold, too. No safety , no love, no respect was I due. Three hundred years in the deepest South: But God put a song and a prayer in my mouth . God put a dream like steel in my soul. Now, through my children, I'm reaching the goal. Reacting to the music, Master of Ceremonies Brother Dennis Young of Shiloh A.M.E. Zion Church said that when we become converted, it should not be the music, but the Spirit of God that moves us. In remarks at the end of the Gospel Extravaganza, Rev. Robinson thanked the congregation for the way she has been received during her years of service at the church. She thanked God for his guidance. She thanked the community of Cocoa and her brothers and sisters. Programs distributed for the Birthday Celebration gave a brief history of Mt. Moriah A.M.E. Church. It was founded by Mrs. Malissa Moore in 1886. Mother Moore came to Cocoa from Georgia.

 

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