For choir members at historic Detroit church, Faith, family and music are harmonious

Yahoo

20-04-2025

It was 1919 and George and Minnie Kinney, along with their 12-year-old son Richard, were new arrivals to Detroit from Georgia as part of the Great Migration.
For Black families establishing roots in Detroit heading into the 1920s — a period when the city's Black population would quadruple from about 41,000 residents to roughly 150,000 by 1930 — finding a space to bond with fellow community members spiritually and emotionally to foster a sense of shared purpose often was just as important as securing employment.
The Kinneys would soon find such a space, at Plymouth Congregational Church. The church's Detroit history goes back to May 4, 1919, when nine former Alabama Congregationalists, led by Edward M. Dole, met in the home of Mrs. Carrie L. Thompson, at 620 Melbourne St., to begin the organization of the first Black Congregational church in Michigan.
Today, the Kinney family still is proudly represented at what is now Plymouth United Church of Christ, whose current membership includes 90-year-old Marian Kinney Stephens, who says her church addresses the same fundamental community needs that it did more than 100 years ago when her grandparents and father joined.
'We use our church as a way of gathering and being with other people, leading to relationships that are lasting,' Stephens, who has been a member of Plymouth her entire life, explained. 'You begin to feel like it's your family, which is so important with the number of displaced people we have in the world right now.'
As Stephens spoke on three consecutive days beginning April 15, she was looking forward to coming together with her "Plymouth family," at 600 E. Warren — Plymouth's home since March 24, 1974 — for a special Easter Sunday service. And while Stephens will no doubt have many stories to share about Easters past celebrated at Plymouth, most of her storytelling will have to wait until she carries out an important mission as a member of a Mass Choir that will be performing during Plymouth's 9:30 a.m. Resurrection Sunday Worship Service presided over by the Rev. Nicholas Hood III.
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Resurrection Sunday, or Easter Sunday, is one of the biggest and most important holidays in the Christian church, celebrated with solemn reverence; in some cases, praiseworthy pageantry; and typically, in high fashion, especially in Black churches where the holiday takes the phrase "Sunday best" to a whole other level. And then, of course, there's the music.
'You always look forward to seeing all the people dressed in their finery,' said Stephens, a product of Cass Technical High School (Class of 1952) and Wayne State University, whose illustrious career as an educator and artist has included being named 'High School Art Teacher of the Year' by the Michigan Art Education Association when she was a teacher at Cass Tech. 'But singing on Easter is more than singing to entertain. We're singing to help our people gain more religious strength. It's food for the soul and we all need that.'
On the evening of April 15, shortly before 6 p.m., Stephens settled into a seat in the first row of a cozy section of Plymouth's sanctuary near a piano. Stephens and her fellow choir members that sat alongside her appeared to be cool, calm and collected just minutes before a scheduled rehearsal was about to begin. However, one Plymouth choir member seated near her pointed out afterward that looks can be deceiving, especially when an Easter performance is nearing.
'I'm a little nervous because I'm still not as familiar with some of the music that we will be performing as a mass choir that I would like to be, but God always makes it work,' 78-year-old Brenda Jett, a 1964 Cass Tech graduate who was christened at Plymouth in 1947, said. 'And I just love being a choir member (since 1980) at Plymouth. I got my love of music from them.'
Jett, who normally sings soprano with Plymouth's Renaissance Choir — known for its stirring renditions of praise songs in the tradition of spirituals and anthems — has followed in the footsteps of her mother, Margaret Turner Thornton, as a renowned soloist at Plymouth. Jett says her preparation for the Easter performance also provided an opportunity to reflect on the ways Plymouth choirs have impacted Detroiters outside of the church through the years: This includes a long-standing relationship that has taken some choir members across town on certain Sundays.
'We had a nursing home ministry, and every fourth Sunday we were on West Outer Drive (at the Hartford Nursing & Rehabilitation Center). It was my favorite Sunday of the month.' recalled Jett, a retired Detroit educator who taught English at Western High School and was an English teacher, librarian and English Department head at Chadsey High School. 'Margaret Lockard was in charge of our nursing home ministry all the way up until the time she passed away at 85. And we would have a complete service with music and a homily. We even had a printed bulletin. It definitely contributed to my spiritual growth because it was more than singing; I also was doing prayers. So, it made a big difference in my life, like the entire choir experience, it's been life-altering for me.'
Like Jett, Cassandra Rimpson, a pioneering member of Plymouth's Gospel Choir, explained that preparing to sing with the Mass Choir on Easter requires some additional study and other adjustments here and there. But the 72-year-old, lifelong Plymouth member says the space she will be occupying on Easter, along with the people that will be around her, made all of the extra effort more than worthwhile.
'There's nothing like being in the House of the Lord, and our church is a family,' stated Rimpson, a 1970 graduate of Mackenzie High School who is now retired after a long career in the financial services and real estate services industries. 'As a choir member you feel so bad if you have to miss even one rehearsal because of the love we share for each other.'
The smile worn on the face of Joseph Hurst as he played the piano and exuded positive energy and support throughout the April 15 rehearsal seemed to indicate that he has already come to love being the music director at Plymouth since assuming the position in February 2024. The lifelong Detroiter also seemed to have no doubt that members representing an array of Plymouth choirs — Renaissance, Gospel, Men's Chorus and Water — will not have a problem presenting an uplifting musical program that celebrates and reflects 'what Jesus did for us,' perhaps because of his unshakable belief in a Higher Power.
'I try my best to allow the Spirit to lead us to where we need to go,' explained the Osborn High School graduate (Class of 1990), who has already spent 30 of his 52 years of living as a 'minister of music' for various Detroit institutions and organizations.
While further explaining how he was preparing for the Easter choir performance, during the afternoon of April 16, Hurst also expressed his gratitude for the ongoing feedback he receives from Rev. Hood and others that are responsible for maintaining the high standard of music performed at the church, including Kyle Rushing and Damon DeBose, who direct the Gospel and Renaissance Choirs, respectively.
For DeBose, the Easter service and his continued work with the Renaissance Choir presents an opportunity to build on the rich musical tradition at Plymouth, which is part of an even larger legacy that covers the entire city of Detroit.
'It's an honor to be able to put my influence and fingerprints on so much history and tradition,' DeBose, a 1993 graduate of Renaissance High School, who also directs United Voices of Detroit, said. 'And it's also extra special to be a part of all the music that will be performed in Detroit on Resurrection Sunday. There will be all-star performances in churches throughout the city.'
Gloria Cooley, a choir member at Plymouth since the early 1970s, knows all about Plymouth's rich musical history. But when she discussed her feelings leading up to the Easter service, she spoke mainly about doing what comes natural to her and keeping a promise that Cooley made to a man who is special to the entire Plymouth family.
'When I first started singing in the choir, Rev. Nicholas Hood II (June 21, 1923-April 10, 2016; Minister Emeritus of Plymouth United Church of Christ) said, 'I like your voice,' " Cooley recalled about an unforgettable interaction she had with a gentleman who also served Detroit as a city councilman and his nation as a longtime civil rights activist. 'Then he said, 'Do me a favor, I want you to always sing in the choir.' And that's what I have done and I have always looked forward to doing it.
'Music is just so much a part of me, like breathing.'
Scott Talley is a native Detroiter, a proud product of Detroit Public Schools and a lifelong lover of Detroit culture in its diverse forms. In his second tour with the Free Press, which he grew up reading as a child, he is excited and humbled to cover the city's neighborhoods and the many interesting people who define its various communities. Contact him at [e-mail] or follow him on Twitter @STalleyfreep. Read more of Scott's stories at www.freep.com/mosaic/detroit-is/. Please help us grow great community-focused journalism by becoming a subscriber.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Rich musical tradition continues on Easter at historic Detroit church