The Apostolic Church of God put a special emphasis on its annual Christmas celebration this year. With statistics pointing out a myriad of negative things when it comes to Black men, Dr. Byron Brazier and his 20,000- member church wanted to show that ther
The Apostolic Church of God put a special emphasis on its annual Christmas celebration this year. With statistics pointing out a myriad of negative things when it comes to Black men, Dr. Byron Brazier and his 20,000- member church wanted to show that there are some men of color doing admirable things in their communities, careers and in society, in general. And they aren’t just men simply on the other side of a proverbial bad rap, they are “men of faith,” Brazier said at Friday night’s taping of the church’s perennial Christmas television service that is set to air Thanksgiving Day on WCIU-TV and next month, including on Christmas Day, on TVOne.
This year marks the 16th annual concert event.
With a handsomely dressed 200-voice Brotherhood Chorale, a mostly all-male 70- piece orchestra and featuring gospel recording powerhouses Smokie Norful and Take 6, Brazier said the church was “trying to send a good signal to the world that men know how to worship.”
Brazier, who took the helm of the South Side mega worship center last year, added that the “men are worshippers of God.” He became pastor of the church after his father, Bishop Arthur M. Brazier, retired following 48 years as head of Apostolic.
Additionally, as part of its focus on men of faith doing positive things, the church paid tribute to Gen. Colin Powell (Ret.); former Ebony magazine editor, historian and author Dr. Lerone Bennett Jr.; acclaimed pediatric neurosurgeon Dr. Benjamin S. Carson Sr. of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine; gospel recording artist Donnie McClurkin; author and award-winning journalist Eugene Robinson of The Washington Post; Jeffrey L. Jackson, president and CEO of 100 Black Men of Chicago Inc.; Concerned Black Men’s George L. Garrow Jr., Esq.; and former NBA basketball star A.C. Green, who founded the A.C. Green Youth Foundation.
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