Arch Angel Productions invites you to the first live event of the 2026-27 season of Songs for the Beloved Community, an afternoon of extraordinary music, powerful words, and community conversation.
At the heart of March to Freedom for All is the African American Spiritual, our ancestors’ testimony in tune and text, brought forward in 20th- and 21st-century settings and arrangements.
Featuring Music Artists
Roy Jennings, pianist, Artistic Director, Arch Angel Productions (Bottom); James Austin, pianist; Karmesha Peake, mezzo soprano; Jennifer Eloy, Vocalist, Praise & Worship, First Presbyterian Church of Englewood;; Andrea Jones-Sojola, soprano; Christian Waugh bass baritone, First Presbyterian Church of Englewood; Tyrell Belle, Vocalist, Minister of Music, Community Baptist Church of Englewood
Through Spirituals and related musical traditions, gifted artists will take us on a musical journey interwoven with five brief reflections inspired by questions that remain urgent in our own time:
Who is our neighbor?
Community or chaos?
How do we build a moral coalition across the lines that divide us?
What did Jesus see and feel?
Christ is coming for His church, not ours.
The five reflections will be offered by Pastor Richard Hong of First Presbyterian Church Englewood, the Rev. Dr. Shawn L. Roberts from the Community Baptist Church of Englewood, and Rev. Dr. Derrick Harkins, Dean of Graduate Leadership Studies at Virginia Union University, and others.
The program draws inspiration from Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s vision of the Beloved Community and the continuing moral witness of Rev. William J. Barber II’s Poor People’s Campaign.
At the center of this first gathering are two Englewood congregations with distinct histories and worship traditions:
Community Baptist Church of Englewood
and
First Presbyterian Church of Englewood
Their musicians, ministers, and members will join Arch Angel Productions artists for an afternoon of listening, reflection, and extraordinary music.
Come for the Music
African American Spirituals in settings by Jennings, Amukele, and Curenton, together with Praise and Worship and Gospel selections offered by musicians from the participating churches.
Stay for the Conversation
Following the musical program, audience members who wish to continue the experience will have an opportunity to gather in small groups around some of the questions raised during the afternoon.
There is no predetermined conclusion.
Instead, the music and the words invite us to listen: to the artists, to history, to one another, and perhaps to something we had not considered before.