‘I’m still standing’
That’s a familiar phrase in the Black Church. This phrase came up at the Gospel Fest on Sunday, Oct. 8, which The Chronicle helped sponsor.
We didn’t have Kirk Franklin or any of the hugely popular gospel singers. The performers at Gospel Fest were largely local and offered a variety of gospel singing over two Sundays.
Bishop Grossjean Stephens made the statement about still standing. He is a local pastor who sings.
The various singers had one thing in common – lifting up the name of Jesus. It was a hopeful event, upbeat despite what is happening around them and to them. That’s what the bishop was talking about.
The audience was upbeat, too, dancing and lifting hands in the air.
Unlike in some places, when the people in the audience raised their hands, they were not shot.
When the people in the audience danced, they were not mowed down in a mass murder.
The Dixie Classic Fair provided a good place for people to freely worship, despite the world in chaos.
And that’s how it should be.
That’s the American way.
