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2014 SESSION


HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 370
Commending Minister Earl Bynum and The Mount Unity Choir.

 

Agreed to by the House of Delegates, February 28, 2014
Agreed to by the Senate, March 5, 2014

 

WHEREAS, on January 18, 2014, on the occasion of the 29th Annual Stellar Gospel Music Awards, at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee, Minister Earl Bynum and The Mount Unity Choir from Chesapeake received the Contemporary Choir of the Year 2014 Stellar Award for their debut CD/DVD, Bishop K.W. Brown Presents Earl Bynum and The Mount Unity Choir Live; and

WHEREAS, the Stellar Gospel Music Awards, the Gospel music industry’s celebration of its most accomplished vocalists and musicians and creative individuals and groups, is the only Gospel music television awards program syndicated in over 140 markets nationwide; and

WHEREAS, Minister Earl Bynum and The Mount Unity Choir, under the anointed leadership of Bishop Kim W. Brown, senior pastor of Mount Lebanon Missionary Baptist Church in Chesapeake, was also nominated in the Choir of the Year and Recorded Music Packaging of the Year categories; and

WHEREAS, under the pastoral leadership of Bishop Kim W. Brown and the musical direction of Minister Earl Bynum, The Mount Unity Choir released its debut CD/DVD in May 2013 on their own recording label, “K.W. Brown Ministries,” which was an eight-year vision of Bishop Brown; and

WHEREAS, the inaugural CD/DVD was recorded live at Mount Lebanon Missionary Baptist Church, affectionately known as “The Mount,” which has locations in Chesapeake, Newport News, and Elizabeth City, North Carolina, and a congregation that has grown from 75 to over 10,000 members during Bishop Brown’s pastorate; and

WHEREAS, the more than 100-member dynamic choir’s 13-track CD features the chart-topping song “Bless the Name of the Lord,” which is being hailed as “The Worship Anthem of the Year”; the CD ranked eighth on Billboard’s Top Gospel Sales Chart and is filled with other powerful and sweet worship ballads and passionate Gospel and contemporary worship songs, featuring Evangelist Lemmie Battle, Dr. Judith McAllister, Charmaine Swimpson, Cora Armstrong, Slater Johnson, and Lady Tibba Gamble; the DVD includes exclusive behind-the-scenes bonus material; and

WHEREAS, the multi-award-winning project includes sheet music, a youTube video, iTunes singles, and a performance track; Minister Earl Bynum and The Mount Unity Choir became the first choir in the Commonwealth to receive the prestigious Stellar Gospel Music Award; and

WHEREAS, Minister Earl Bynum and The Mount Unity Choir have honored God, the Mount Lebanon Missionary Baptist Church family, the community, and the Commonwealth by using their outstanding musical talents to sow the Word of God through the gift of music into the lives of others; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend Minister Earl Bynum and The Mount Unity Choir on the occasion of receiving the Contemporary Choir of the Year 2014 Stellar Award at the 29th Annual Stellar Gospel Music Awards; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare copies of this resolution for presentation to Bishop Kim W. Brown, senior pastor of Mount Lebanon Missionary Baptist Church, and Minister Earl Bynum, musical director of The Mount Unity Choir, as an expression of the General Assembly’s congratulations and admiration on the choir’s impressive accomplishment.