By Christina Smith
Staff Writer
SAN DIEGO– The Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church filled the sanctuary with worshipers for their 76th Annual Sanctuary Choir Day and 31st Black & White Musical. The Mount Zion choir, donned in black and white, marched into a sanctuary decorated with scriptures and black a white musical notes as they sang their very first song a cappella. Mount Zion celebrated the choir day with the theme, “Hallelujah! Many Voices One Song,” based on Psalm 85:6, and the motto, “Isn’t It About Time We Sing.”
And the Mount Zion Choir did sing. The choir presented several selections like Hezekiah Walker’s “O Give Thanks,” John P. Kee’s “Life and Favor” and Oscar Williams Jr.’s “Safety.” The choir sang under the direction of Janice Gabriel, with musical accompaniment from Lucretia Adams (piano), Gloria Harris (organ), Isaac Gutierrez (guitar), Jason Wilson (drums), Fabrous Blaney (drums), and Tim Bradley (guitar).
And the singing didn’t stop there. A triplet of singers welcomed guests to the musical with a medley of praise and worship songs, and attendees enjoyed the debut of Mount Zion’s male ensemble, the Men of Zion.
Lucretia Adams, the choir’s pianist and occasional director, said the choir started rehearsing for the musical in November. Preparing for the musical is a lot of hard work, but Adams knows it’s all worth it.
“It’s a rigorous schedule, I must say, but we get so much enjoyment out of it…and it’s for the glory of God anyway, so we can’t do enough for him,” Adams said.
It was an evening of praise, worship, and fellowship for everyone in attendance, but as much as the choir and the attendees enjoy the musical each year, they sing every song with a very specific purpose in mind.
“We wanted them to take away a blessing of some sort. Those that don’t know the Lord, we were hoping that we may have softened up their hearts and made them think about accepting the Lord in their life. That’s our main goal,” Adams said
Photos by Christina Smith:
