Tag: News

Donald A. McClurkin, Sr., father of Donnie McClurkin, has died

Donnie McClurkin

Bob Marovich of The Black Gospel Blog shared the sad news of the passing of Donald A. McClurkin, Sr., father of gospel singers Donnie McClurkin and Andrea McClurkin-Mellini.  The patriarch died this morning, November 13.  The matriarch of the family, Frances McClurkin, passed in January.

Last week, Donnie petitioned his friends and fans for prayers on Social Cam, after disclosing that his father had undergone emergency surgery in South Carolina.  In the days following, he excitedly shared that his father was “full of faith” about his health situation.  


A couple of years ago, we at GMF talked with Donnie, and he had some very candid things to say about his dad (see Donnie McClurkin opens up about his father).


GMF extends condolences to and prayers for the McClurkin family during this time of transition.  

As they become available, you will find additional details at The Black Gospel Blog.

Pringle preps for cancer awareness benefit; father diagnosed, dies of it within days

Desmond Pringle, gospel singer who recently became a spokesman for Cancer Treatment Centers of America, mourns the passing of his father Bishop Lavern Pringle, Sr.  Bishop Pringle died last Monday, October 7, from stage IV colon cancer.  Only five days prior did he learn of the malignant mass.  Bishop Pringle was 66 years old.

“We’re in a state of shock,” Pringle says. “This was totally unexpected because he was just diagnosed Thursday and passed on Monday. He didn’t seem sick on the outside and was doing all of his regular things until this past week. He’s representative of the husband, the father, the brother, the uncle, the son and friend who are being diagnosed too late in the game. It’s horrible because he didn’t have to die. So, a few days before my last Cancer Treatment Center concert of the year, I get this news and I’m going to push this message so that my father’s death is not in vain.”

Pringle headlines “A Night of Hope & Inspiration” concert this Friday, October 18, at 7 PM at West Angeles Church of God in Christ. Psalmist Nikki Potts of the Kurt Carr Singers will perform.  Additionally, there will be a tribute to the late Bishop Walter Hawkins who passed away from pancreatic cancer in 2010. You can register for the free concert at www.ourjourneyofhope.com.

Arrangements for Bishop Pringle are as follows:

Viewing (No Wake Service)
Friday, October 18, 2013
6 – 8 PM
William A. Holmes Memorial Chapel/Suburban Funeral Home, Inc.
2336 Meeting Street Rd
Charleston, SC  29405

Homegoing Service
Saturday, October 19, 2013
1:30 PM
Royal Missionary Baptist Church
4761 Luella Ave
North Charleston, SC  29405

GMF extends condolences to Bishop Pringle’s wife, children, other relatives, and friends.  GMF also lifts Desmond in prayer as he continues to raise awareness about cancer prevention and treatment throughout the faith community.

Minister Charles Brown of the Fantastic Violinaires passes

Minister Charles Brown, lead and background singer of the Fantastic Violinaires, has died. 


Brown joined Robert Blair and the Fantastic Violinaires in 1969. He was formerly a member of the Pilgrim Jubilees.  According to his bio, shortly after joining the Violinaires he introduced the song “Separation Line,” which the group subsequently recorded.


GMF extends condolences to Brown’s family, friends, the Violinaires, and the quartet community.


According to a message from the Violinaires, arrangements are as follows:

Wake
Friday, October 18, 2013
7-9 PM
Dobbs Sterling United Methodist Church
3272 Brown Mill Road
Atlanta, GA 30354


Homegoing Service
Saturday, October 19, 2013
12 Noon
United House of Prayer for All People
2719 3rd Avenue SW
Atlanta, GA 30315

VA area recording artist and pastor Ray Jackson passes on

GMF has learned by way of Pastor Jermaine Parker that Bishop Ray Jackson of Danville, VA passed today after a period of illness.  Bishop Jackson was well known throughout the NC/VA area as a singer, songwriter, promoter, musician, radio personality, and pastor.  He was 66 years old.

For more than 40 years, Jackson traveled with his family group, The Jackson Brothers Quartet, as well as performed as a solo artist and keyboardist.  His most recent project Some Day was released last year on Nu Vision Records.

We extend our heartfelt sympathy to Bishop Jackson’s family, friends, and many supporters.

Homegoing
Saturday, August 31, 2013
1 PM
Fisher and Watkins Funeral Home Chapel
707 Wilson St.
Danville, VA 24541

GMA announces 44th Annual Dove Awards nominees

Nominees for the 44th Annual GMA Dove Awards have been announced.  The awards show will be held Tuesday, October 15, at 7:30 PM CT, at Lipscomb University’s Allen Arena in Nashville.  It will air Monday, October 21, at 8 PM EST on the UP! Network.

You can view the list of nominees here.  Second ballot online voting opens September 3, from which the winners will be chosen.

Earnest Pugh headlines "The Men of Worship" tour, promotes new CD

Earnest Pugh

It was announced today by Bill Carpenter that Earnest Pugh is headlining “The Men of Worship Tour,” which kicks off with an appearance at Bishop T.D. Jakes’ MegaFest on Friday, August 30, at 8:30am.  Joining Pugh on “The Men of Worship Tour” will be EPM Music Group recording artists Keith Williams and Vincent Tharpe & Kenosis. Williams releases his sophomore urban contemporary CD Tone For Worship on September 10, and Tharpe is pushing his current CD Live in Memphis.

From there, Pugh will weave fifteen listening party concert dates for his forthcoming CD The W.I.N. (Worship in Nassau) Experience into his regularly scheduled touring dates.  The new CD is produced by Grammy winner Cedric Thompson and features appearances by Shirley Caesar, Rance Allen, LeJuene Thompson, and Vincent Tharpe & Kenosis.

You can get news updates on Pugh, book “The Men of Worship Tour” for your church, and or his confirmed tour dates at earnestpugh.com or by calling 301-259-1419.  You can also stream snippets from the new album at https://soundcloud.com/earnest-pugh.

Jonathan, Jason Nelson and family present ’13 Full Nelson Worship and Word Summit

The Nelson Family
Stellar Award winning recording artist, Jonathan Nelson, who recently
topped Billboard’s Top Gospel Albums chart with his latest CD Strong
Finish, and his twin brother, Bishop Jason Nelson (currently rising on
the charts with “Nothing Without You”), are partnering once again with
their siblings to present the second annual Full Nelson Worship and Word
Summit taking place September 19-21, 2013, at the CFSMM Worship Center in the Baltimore, MD area.
 
“It
is our vision to come together to impact God’s people with key tools
for successful ministry as well as empowering a new generation to
establish Kingdom principles and best practices in the 21st century,”
the Nelson family says in a unified mission statement. The family
is bringing together an astounding array of today’s top psalmists,
intercessors, facilitators and speakers for this unique gathering.
 
Last
year’s summit was a rousing success and this year’s event promises to
be just as memorable and life changing.  The opening night speaker is
Bishop Marvin L. Winans. Each morning begins with a prayer session
facilitated by Pastor T. Renea Glenn of the Life Center in Greenville,
SC. There are daytime sessions with Dr. Carolyn Showell, musician Mike
Clemons (Israel Houghton & New Breed) and Pastor Hart

Click to enlarge

Ramsey. The
night services open with praise and worship led by Sha Simpson. There’s
special music by Grammy Award nominee Vashawn Mitchell, Kierra Sheard
and Kirk Franklin protégées The Walls Group. Bishop John Francis is also
an evening speaker.

 
Joining the Nelsons in coordinating this
year’s event are their brothers Bishop James Nelson (Pastor of Destiny
Christian Church in Baltimore) and Pastor Anthony L. Trufant (Emmanuel
Baptist Church in Brooklyn, NY); their sister Janice Nelson Briley
(Co-Pastor of New Harvest Ministries in Baltimore, MD); and their cousin
Floyd E. Nelson II (Kingdom Harvest Ministries in Landover, MD).
 
The summit takes place at the CFSMM Worship Center, 701 Cherry Hill Road, Baltimore, MD 21225. Obtain registration information by calling (443) 468-7167 or emailing [email protected].  You can also visit the website at www.fullnelsonsummit.com.

Gospel artists react to the death of keyboard great George Duke

Multi-talented singer, composer, and musician George Duke has died.  According to media reports, he passed yesterday at the age of 67. 

While Duke was widely known as a jazz virtuoso, his music-making extended across many genres with gospel being no exception.  Among his credits are The Keynotes’ Get on That Gospel Train (sideman), Various Artists’ Handel’s
Messiah-A Soulful Celebration (producer), Kenny Lattimore’s “Healing” (co-writer and co-producer), and Smokie Norful’s Nothing Without You (producer).  Duke is also credited with arranging and producing all the gospel songs for the 1990’s dramedy film Leap of Faith and serving as the music director for BET’s 3rd Celebration of Gospel.

Earlier today, John P. Kee shared via Twitter, “Just finished a great session to find out my personal friend, ‘TheDuke’
is gone on to be with The Lord! Honored to have worked with him! RIP”
“George Duke opened my ears to the possibility that jazz
music could be cool, melodic, & produced like R&B. Will miss
him. We lost a legend,” tweeted pastor and musician Hart Ramsey.
J Moss took to Twitterverse to share a musical tribute that he says is “laced with George Duke.”
Remembrances will most certainly continue to pour in as news of his passing circulates.

Duke is survived by sons Rasheed and John as well as other family and friends.  His wife Corine preceded him in death just over a year ago; he paid tribute to her on his latest project, Dream Weaver, released last month.

GMF sends to condolences to the family, friends and fans.  George Duke will be remembered as a trendsetter in American music.

Read more about his passing and accomplished career here: www.jazzwisemagazine.com

Agnostic subway posters prompt “God Belongs In My City” movement, anthem (video)

(Brooklyn, NY)  Youth pastor Daniel Sanabria, a co-founder of the “God
Belongs In My City” prayer movement, and other Big Apple youth
evangelists have pooled their diverse resources to create a new
recording label, In My City Records.

The company slogan is, “Sounds that
connect people to God and invoke change.” Those vibrant sounds are
youthful rhythms that span the gamut of faith-fueled hip-hop songs to
rock-edged praise and worship anthems. Various artists affiliated with
the movement or the label are hitting the concert trail in August and
the first recorded offering will be the October 15th digital release
of Korean-born female rapper HeeSun Lee’s debut CD, Stereotypes.

The
God Belongs in My City movement began in October 2009, when
members of a Christian youth group saw a billboard in the New York City
subway system that asked the question, “A Million New Yorkers Are Good
Without God. Are You?” They were so angered by the ad that they
complained about it to their youth pastor who in turn started to ask
area church leaders, “What are we, as the body of Christ going to do
about this?” Those leaders galvanized young adults from all five New
York boroughs to hold a prayer walk where participants wore T-shirts
simply declaring, “God Belongs in My City.”

On November 14,
2009, over 1,500 youth trekked down from Harlem and up from Battery Park
and met in the middle–Times Square–to make their voices heard
through public prayers and music. “It’s like the civil rights movement
but from a spiritual perspective,” says In My City Records CEO
Jeremy Castro. At that assembly, a rapper named Andy Mineo, free styled
the song “In My City” that’s become the movement’s anthem. A YouTube
video has nearly 700,000 hits to date. (Watch the video below.)  The walk
was duplicated in other cities and has now mushroomed into a
national movement for the millennial generation to evangelize a society
that is increasingly losing its religion.

“Diversity
is the heartbeat for us,” Castro adds. “This has become a global
movement. We have people from Brooklyn to Botswana. A lot of young
people are trying to find out who they are and where they fit in the
world. HeeSun Lee was born in Korea and was in the foster care system.
Then, she was adopted by Chinese parents on Staten Island so those are a
lot of different cultural clashes but she found an identity in
Christ where all believers become one family following Him.  For more news on the movement activities, log on: http://www.godbelongsinmycity.com

The Wardlaw Brothers release song to support cancer patients and families (video)

(Lyons, GA) Cancer is a group of diseases that in one form or another has affected loved ones, friends or even oneself.  Cancer does not respect age, ethnicity or gender.  Millions all over the world have suffered, but, millions are surviving!  The popular gospel group The Wardlaw Brothers (TWB) are among those who have experienced this painful disease within their own family and are on a mission to spread hope and assist those who are suffering, as well as to celebrate those who have survived. 

To honor all persons who have been touched in some way by cancer, The Wardlaw Brothers have written and released a special song, “We Will Survive.” The single is available only on iTunes with portions of the proceeds from the sale of the single to benefit two Georgia-based foundations.  TWB has partnered with The Nick Eason Foundation and The Pretty in Pank Foundation who are on the same mission, to offer support to those affected by this disease.
TWB is requesting that everyone partner with them in support of this effort by not only downloading the single, but by watching and sharing the companion video.  “We Will Survive” has a poignant and inspiring video that features friends, family and those TWB admire who are cancer survivors, currently fighting cancer and those who have succumbed in their fight.


TWB are five biological brothers (Tony, Luther, Jamie, Carl and Rodney) from Georgia who have recently garnered success with their Top 20 Billboard Gospel Radio Chart hit “Right Now Lord” from their God’s Been There CD.  The brothers have also had key appearances on national TV shows–BET’s Bobby Jones Gospel, The Word Network and TCT TV Network.  TWB will be featured as musical performers at the Bill Pickett Rodeo in Atlanta, GA, on  August 3-4 and have a special performance appearance in the forthcoming film Angel’s Wings, featuring noted actor Reginald VelJohnson (Family Matters TV show) and actress Robin Givens.

Founded in January of 2012, The Nick Eason Foundation has a mission to assist families with loved ones fighting cancer.  The foundation helps families financially as well as spiritually and emotionally to try and relieve some of the immense pressure that comes with managing such a critical family time. 

The inspiration for The Nick Eason Foundation comes from Nick’s own experience losing his mother to breast cancer in 2012.  He also lost his uncle to cancer, and has lost other friends to the illness over the past few years.  Through his experiences, he realized that many families cannot manage the struggle alone, whether from the financial or emotional stresses the consistently arise. 

Nick Eason is a native of Lyons, GA and played football for Clemson University before going on to play in the NFL for the Denver Broncos, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Arizona Cardinals.

The Pretty in Pank Foundation was begun in Georgia in 2007 by three friends–Ann Owens, Jill Murphy, and Pete Frost–whose families had each been greatly affected by breast cancer. Although Jill’s mother had lost her battle, Ann’s niece and Pete’s mother had recently been diagnosed.

And so it began, three friends enlisted local talent and other volunteers to plan a variety show FUNdraiser to “raise a little money” for the ladies affected in their small town. Ann, the owner of the local theater, afforded the use of the perfect venue. The first Pretty in Pank variety show was held, selling out and making $3,000, and thus launching future events to support the foundation’s goal: to bring help, hope, and humor to those battling breast cancer.