Mt. Pisgah Men’s Choir Sings a Joyful Song
By Leonard Shapiro
For Middleburg Life
For heaven’s sake, the next time the Mt. Pisgah Baptist Church men’s choir is scheduled to perform, make it a point to go hear them sing their joyful repertoire of gospel music with a capital G. The highly-acclaimed and much-traveled choir at the landmark 138-year-old Upperville church has been in existence since the mid- 1970s. The only original member is church deacon Melvin Warner, now 95 but still making his presence felt with his mellifluous baritone voice that has only mellowed with age.
Deacon Warner is an Upperville native who worked half-a-century for Mrs. A.C. Randolph and was a highly-respected horseman. Two of his sons, Gary and Jeff Warner, are also now choir members, along with brothers Jerry Lewis of Willisville and Mason Lewis of Gainesville, Henry Basil of Leesburg and two more Upperville residents, Norman Brooks and Richard Chinn.
And of course, two of the choir’s most integral parts are the church’s minister, Reverend Philip Lewis, and his wife, Christine. Rev. Lewis directs the a capella choir with great enthusiasm, singing, clapping his hands and occasionally keeping the beat with a tambourine. His wife selects all the music from a variety of hymnals, including the New National Baptist Hymnal with over 400 songs. She also helps direct the choir during rehearsals and occasionally sings with them to add a slightly higher alto voice to the pitch perfect harmony of the entire group.
This past December, Rev. Lewis celebrated his 25th year at Mt. Pisgah, and the choir had already started singing several years before he arrived. February is Black History Month, and the Mt. Pisgah men’s choir’s history began when a visiting minister scheduled to preach one Sunday in the ‘70s liked what he heard in a back room of the church.
Deacon Warner’s brother, the late Warier Warner, who died in 1999, played a mean rhythm guitar back in those days. Before the service began, he and several other male members of the congregation were reading scripture and singing a song during a devotional period, and the visiting pastor wondered about that scintillating sound.
“He thought it was a men’s choir,” Mrs. Lewis said. “So he asked for a song from (what he thought) was the men’s choir during the service. They told him ‘we don’t have a men’s choir.’ The pastor said, ‘oh yes you do.’ And that’s how it all started.”
The choir performs five songs during Mt.
Pisgah services every third Sunday of the month, with a practice session that same week. They also have sung at a number of area churches over the years, including the annual community Thanksgiving service with congregations in attendance from all of Upperville’s churches. They’ve also performed the National Anthem at the Upperville and Warrenton horse shows, among many other local events.
“The fellas all enjoy what they’re doing,” Rev. Lewis said. “They do it from their joy within. And when you’ve got people doing it like that, the people listening feel it and experience it. It’s very exciting to hear it, and to see how people react to the music.”
On performance days, the members are dressed in matching dark suits, starched white shirts and either red or purple ties. They are all volunteers, but they welcome donations when they appear at other churches or outside events. And they know all the songs they perform by heart, with no sheet music necessary.
“I don’t have any formal training,” said Jeff Warner, who joined the men’s choir about four years ago after he and his brother Gary decided to “let’s go sing. I’m generally a quiet person and so I just started singing because I wanted to be a part of something in the church.”
Mrs. Lewis said the choir’s favorite song is “Victory in Jesus,” and added that “it’s like an anthem for us. The congregation also loves it and we sing it about every time. Amazing Grace is also
something most people know. Sometimes we’ll go to a nursing home or places that have older people and they like to hear it.”
Mt. Pisgah is a lovely little church just
off Delaplane Grade Road with a relatively small but extremely devoted congregation. The church has recently undergone some major renovations and also is now in the process of trying to raise more funds for improvements to its fellowship hall.
The men’s choir has clearly helped raise the profile of the church and Rev. Lewis said he’s confident there will never
be a problem finding new members. “We’re always going to have volunteers,” he said. “We’re singing to the glory of God. That’s why we all do it.”
Note: Deacon Melvin Warner is the
father of Jeff and Gary. Jerry Lewis and Mason Lewis are brothers (Rev Lewis’ cousins)