"Souled Out" for Jesus! ~ Choir Anniversary Concert

The church was packed! There was standing room only in the rear of the sanctuary and the choir loft was filled with folks who had found no room downstairs! The date was September 26, 2010 and the St. Elizabeth Gospel Choir was celebrating its 19th Anniversary!

The choir is actually 33 years old, having been organized in 1977under the pastorship of Fr. Mike Schmied. We did not celebrate our anniversaries with concerts in the early years; but once the tradition began, we have gotten better and better both as a gospel choir and as people who really know how to celebrate with music and a delicious repast afterwards!

We have always invited other choirs to celebrate with us and they have added their unique styles of Gospel music to ours, so that our celebrations are a spirit-filled and glorious tribute to our God.

This year our guest choirs were the Youth & Children's Choir of Union Baptist Church, The Gospel Voices of Glen Allen, The Maggie Walker Alumni Gospel Choir and The Tribe of Judah of ROK Church Int'l of Ashburn Va.

In addition to the choirs, we were graced with beautiful presentations by the Praise Dance & Flag Ministry of Ministers Iris Pollard and Geri Gatling. The huge white flags, which gave the appearance of wings, accented the music and dance in a stunningly beautiful way. The congregation showed their appreciation with standing ovations!

Our theme this year was "Souled out for Jesus!" and our choir led off with our theme song, "Souled Out!" featuring Jordan Walker-Rowe as lead singer. This rousing gospel song was followed by the beautiful "It Ain't Over Til It's Over" featuring our own Kim Ford. We closed out our portion of the concert with "I Will Bless The Lord." All of our hard work in learning these three new songs was rewarded by the appreciation shown by our parishioners and guests!

After the concert, a wonderful repast awaited our guests. The decorating committee had done a great job in making our parish hall festive and beautiful. An abundance of good food had been provided for our guests and all enjoyed themselves.

It was a wonderful evening celebration and we look forward to next year when we celebrate our 20th Anniversary!