Thirty years ago, Robert Ray sat down to write Gospel Mass, an experimental work, for a one-time performance. To his surprise, the piece caught on and became a seminal work of African-American music, ...

At a time when many Christian communities seek to make diversity a crucial aspect of ecclesial unity, belonging, and participation, Rebecca F. Spurrier makes a poignant contribution. Rooted in her ...

The historian of liturgy Hughes Oliphant Old once observed that “prayer, particularly Christian prayer, uses biblical language. . . . The Bible contains a vast number of paradigms for prayer and a ...

The Deer Park High School Choral Department will perform Dr. Robert Ray’s The Gospel Mass on Monday, May 19, at 7 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center at DPHS-South Campus. “Our students have performed ...

Charles Thomas Hayes, director of the College of Lake County’s gospel choir, said he “had the privilege” of performing piano while Robert Ray directed his original gospel Mass. Ray wrote the piece ...

It might seem something of a jump that we’ve gone from the beginning of Lent to Palm Sunday in one week. But — unless your parish has adult catechumens preparing for Baptism at the Easter Vigil (in ...

Our congregations should be formed by the Word, not by the flashiest technology. Again I was reduced to silence. Clearly I was missing something. “Do you mean electricity? Like, instead of candles?” I ...

The Harlem Gospel Travelers. "Rhapsody," the new release from The Harlem Gospel Travelers. The Harlem Gospel Travelers isn’t your typical gospel act. Whether it’s on-stage or on its stellar new LP ...