Members of several faiths and religions in a Virginia community came together to share musical talents and celebrate Christmas at a meetinghouse of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Gainesville, Virginia, on Dec. 10.
The Gainesville community interfaith concert featured holiday messages from faith leaders and music from several church choirs, including Little Zion Baptist Church, Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church and the Church of Jesus Christ.
The interfaith community concert was one of several similar events throughout the United States in recent months.
The concert opened with remarks by President Devin R. Toma, president of the Church’s Gainesville Virginia Stake, and an invocation by Pastor George D. Carlisle of Mount Pleasant Baptist Church.
In his message, Pastor James L. McCray, of the Little Zion Baptist Church, said that “Christ for Christmas is the perfect gift.”
“The real true reason we observe Christmas is the birth of Jesus Christ,” Pastor McCray said. “The gift will give you joy that is continuous in season and out. The gift will give you peace that will surpass your own understanding, The gift will give you love beyond measure. The gift will strengthen you in long suffering, victory over your trials, and deliverance in tribulation. It is the gift that gives you temperance, the power to hold on to and even see what the end is going to be and the exposition of this task. The point is that the gift was profoundly given. The gift was given without question. The gift was given free of charge. The gift was given by the grace of God. The gift was given to unworthy patrons. The gift was given in spite of a world and all its wickedness ... Jesus is that gift that was given.”
Along with music from the choirs, Pastor McCray and his wife performed an arrangement of “O Holy Night,” Candace Hunley sang “Mary, Did You Know,” and a trio of President Toma, Alex Fuhrman and Jonathan Austin performed a rendition of “Silent Night.”
The Gainesville Virginia Stake presented a book of the Hezakiah Savage family history to special guest The Rev. Keith Savage of First Baptist Church of Manassas, Virginia. He was grateful for the gift and encouraged those in attendance to research their family history.
“As an African American man, family is important. The history for us, as African Americans, a lot of that has been stolen,” Rev. Savage said. “With the blessing of FamilySearch, new technology and swabbing of DNA, I know who God made me to be through my ancestry. I want my church to learn the same thing. To be able to know a third or fourth generation and with the ability to now learn through African ancestry DNA, it tells me which tribe I am. I can return to the motherland and have that connection. That means a lot to me — beyond words.”
— Dee Wightman, communications council of the Church’s Gainesville Virginia Stake, contributed to this report.
