AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler
The collaboration of Wayman Good Hope AME Church’s Chozen Music Ministry with Woods Memorial Presbyterian Church for a concert featuring four well-known gospel groups made for a musically spiritual occasion on Saturday, August 21.
Organized by Chozen members Larry Coates, Gerard Coates, Dana Anderson, and Lewis “Moone” Day, the concert was meaningful on many levels. It was simultaneously a celebration of the gospel group’s 10th Anniversary, the release of its new CD “A Family That Prays”, and an opportunity to highlight the talents of other gospel performers.
The concert was also a tribute to original Chozen member and drummer Christoper “Jay” Johnson, Larry Coates’ grandson, who died in 2019.
Gerard Coates also wanted the occasion to be a salute by he and brother Dana Anderson to their father Larry who envisioned and was the inspiration for Chozen. He wanted his father to know how much he is loved and appreciated for the legacy of family and prayer that he passed on.
The atmosphere was festive as concertgoers began arriving well before the performances began in the spacious sanctuary at Woods Church. A line of colorful vendors’ tents dotted the lawn in front of the church along with a food truck.
The tents were colorful and offered shade for several independent retailers including The Oil Mill, Dee Dee’s Pop Up Boutique and Jewelry Designs By Helen. Many concert attendees were from Baltimore, some of whom had ties to Wayman Good Hope AME and others who were gospel fans. Most arrived early with plenty of time to check out the tents.
Inside there was a buzz of activity as ticket tables were set up and manned, a charity was set up in the vestibule, and guest performers – The Mighty Christianairs, The Faithful Boyz, and The New Ebony Gospel Singers – arrived and were welcomed by Chozen Music Ministry volunteers.
Things were jumping as the doors to the sanctuary opened and audience members began to claim their seats. Luckily, there was just enough time for an impromptu meeting between Chozen group members, Woods’ Associate Pastor Rev. Nancy Lincoln Reynolds, who would offer the tribute to Christopher Johnson, and her son Andrew Lincoln who would perform an opening song and another following the tribute.
Gerard Coates explained that Rev. Reynolds, who’d conducted the celebration of life when Christopher Johnson passed away, would deliver the tribute to him before Chozen began their performance.
Reynolds added that Wayman Good Hope AME and Woods Presbyterian have a long-standing relationship , occasionally sharing or supporting each other’s programs. Woods, in fact, provides the room in which Chozen holds its weekly practices. She said Wayman Good Hope’s new minister, Pastor Joseph Brown, hopes to partner with Woods even more in the future. Chozen will be performing at Woods’ annual Kick-Off picnic on September 12 – an event to which the entire community is invited.
At 4:30 pm, the concert began with a strong opening song by Andrew Lincoln. He was followed by The Faithful Boyz from Salisbury, Maryland whose rhythmic harmonies soon had part of the audience on their feet swaying to the music.
The Faithful Boyz 
The New Ebony Singers 
The Mighty Christianairs
Next to perform were The New Ebony Singers of Baltimore. The production was running a bit behind schedule but by the time the Baltimore-based Mighty Christianairs stepped into the spotlight, Chozen members and back-up musicians – James Crowne (guitar), Horace Martin (bass) Ryan Johnson (guitar), Brian Terrell (keyboards) and Michael Wallace (drums) – were getting changed and warming up.
Two very young family members were getting dressed for the performance as well. Geanni Coates and little brother D’marhi emerged looking spiffy in their tuxedos and were fondly embraced by their proud grandfather Larry. He knew both boys were eagerly looking forward to taking their place with the group.
The magic moment for Chozen’s appearance was rapidly approaching and emotions were already running high.
Gerard Coates took a moment to reflect on the history of the group.
“We came together officially ten years ago,” he said. “We’d all sung with Wayman Good Hope AME. We happened to be together at a program in South County and we ended up singing together. We decided that day that, since we always sang with each other for different groups we belonged to, that we’d come together permanently. We sang for years without musicians behind us, practicing our vocals right here at a rehearsal space provided by Woods. They’ve always had our backs.”
Larry added that, since Chozen was formed, they’ve done lots of community outreach and participated in charity projects for their church including school back-pack drives food baskets for needy families and Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Finally, the moment arrived. They were called forward from the back of the sanctuary one-by-one and took their places front and center. They were joined by Rev. Nancy Lincoln Reynolds who delivered her touching tribute to the late Christopher Jay Johnson. Her words were followed by an equally touching and powerful hymn, “Give Me Jesus”, that was beautifully sung by Andrew Lincoln.
Finally, it was time to step into the limelight which Chozen did with style, singing numbers from their newly released CD “A Family That Prays”. They started on a serious note with the gospel song “Make Everything Alright, slid into “Don’t Pass Me By” and changed pace for up-tempo numbers “Magnified Praise” and “Give God The Glory”. They finished with “Stand By Me” and a final tribute honoring Christopher Johnson. The concert embodied the group’s dedication to family with much love, a few tears, and lots of comforting hugs.
The entire concert was recorded live and Larry Coates reports that they’re already listening back and are pleased. He believes they have the makings of another CD and will keep us posted.
A SHOUT-OUT TO GOOD NEIGHBORS GROUP AND PARK BOOKS AND LITERACY LAB
Always interested in helping those most vulnerable in our community, Severna Park’s Good Neighbors Group and Park Books And Literacy Lab partnered with Maryland Reentry Resource Center to provide school supplies for 200 children. GNG thanked each of the 70 families who made the drive a success and, judging from their music video heralding their success, Park Books was also very pleased that the community came through.
Another quick reminder that Good Neighbors Group is promoting a blood drive in memory of Dr. Ken Hoffman on Wednesday, September 1 from 8 am till 2 pm in front of Garry’s Grill at Severna Park Village.
