WS Chronicle

BY TIMOTHY RAMSEY

THE CHRONICLE

St. Paul United Methodist Church celebrated its Men’s Day on Sunday, Sept 18.  The J.L. Roberts Men’s Chorus from historic Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, helped them celebrate.  The men’s choir from St. Paul joined Ebenezer last year and now they are returning the favor.

Amid all the celebration was a mini reunion.

Stephen Michael, a member of the J.L. Roberts Men’s Chorus, was joined at St. Paul by his two sons, Justin and Langston.  Langston is a sophomore at Wake Forest University and plays the saxophone. Justin is a high school student and plays the drums.  Langston, who joined the Wake Forest Gospel Choir as their saxophonist, met his family at St. Paul.

Both young men played their respective instruments with the J.L. Roberts Chorus during the celebration.

The Michaels’ sons are part of a band in Atlanta named Anonymous DaBand and have opened for some of the top artists in the country.

The Michaels men have been performing for years but say they enjoy when they are all able to perform on the same stage.

“It was great first to all to be able to come to St. Paul with my church family Ebenezer Baptist Church and the men’s choir there is just phenomenal.  Of course to be able to perform with my sons was a great experience. Just see-ing them up there taking on new opportunities to play for the glory of God was just fantastic,” Steven Michael said.

Langston added, “I’m glad I was able to link up with my family, I’m at Wake Forest right now so it was good they were able to come to Winston and gather to praise’ God together.”

Justin said, “I enjoyed it, playing with my family and with my church. I really liked that experience.”

The choir performed a number of contemporary and traditional songs for the congregation.  William Lake Jr., St. Paul director of the Men’s Day Chorus, says this year was the largest year for the celebration since he has been with the church.

“The celebration was great, and it was nice to have so many people in attendance,” Lake said.  “When I was a kid, I didn’t like to hear the Men’s Choir at my church because they were boring, but our choir is one of the best men’s choirs.”

Lake said he and J.L. Roberts Men’s Chorus director Maurice Seay really hit it off when St. Paul visited Ebenezer.  All of the chorus members from both churches rehearsed together and fellowshipped with one another afterward by watching football.

Rev. Dr. Vance P. Ross, senior pastor of Gordon Memorial United Methodist Church, delivered the sermon for the Men’s Day celebration. The message of his sermon was “Embracing Pivotal Moments.”  He said we must embrace every minute as if it were a gift from God.  He spoke to the men in attendance by saying that they must “gather together with Jesus.”

When asked what inspired his message for the celebration, Ross said with the sign of the times nowadays, we are in a pivotal moment.  He said with our people being killed by law enforcement, why are people focused on the protest of Colin Kaepernick (a black NFL player who is protesting police violence against black men)?  He said people are miss-ing what’s really important.  Ross closed by saying, “Once you know what you’re to live for and what God has done for you, you share that so love and justice can live.”