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2012 Carmen Jarrell Brown Memorial Gospel Sing
March 2, 2012
Living Hope Bible Church
5722 Stiles Drive
Huntington, West Virginia
On March 2, 1931, my mother was born in a small farmhouse along the banks of the Tug River in Martin County, Kentucky. Her father, Tivis C. Jarrell, worked at various times as a coal miner, carpenter, or handyman, to support his family of twelve children. But Paw-paw Jarrell was first and foremost a Methodist preacher. Every Sunday my mother heard a brand of Gospel music that is special to the people of the hills and hollers of Appalachia.
A Gospel Sing is a wonderful form of this music. People gather to worship in song and to testify about the great things that God has done. Unlike the jaded commercialism and feel-good entertainment of much of today’s Gospel music, these sessions were about expressing the deepest feelings of faith, Christian love, and adherence to the Holy Book that God has written. This was not about entertainment or musical showmanship; this was something real.
I found faith as a young man, and I attended church so often that my brother said I should put up a cot. During these years, Christian music became so much a part of me that I can still sing from memory hundreds of hymns and choruses that I love to this day.
It is through the love for these songs of testimony and a desire to honor the memory of my dear mother that I started a memorial Gospel Sing five years ago. CTK has been so kind to allow me the use of church facilities. We have had a beans 'n' cornbread meal as part of the memorial, and some brothers and sisters in the church have participated as singers and musicians. It is not about being loud or entertaining or musically correct. It is about expressing faith, remembering my mother and other loved ones who have gone before us, and worshiping Jesus Christ through song.
If you would like to participate by sharing a Gospel song, joining an ensemble, becoming part of an adhoc Gospel choir, planning, or cooking, please let me know.
But I would be just as happy to share this music with you in an intimate setting without a lot of big production. For me it is about the power of music to heal, comfort, and strengthen us as we share our testimony of faith together.
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