Known for her flamboyant hats and dazzling jewelry, Bernice Woods relished being in the public eye.

So when the longtime community volunteer and former Compton city councilwoman died last month, her children opted to place her open casket in the drive-thru display window of Robert L. Adams Mortuary in Compton.

“My mother was a community person,” said Gregory W. Woods, 55, the youngest of the deceased woman’s 10 children. “She meant so much to so many people. It is only fitting and proper that she would be viewed this way.”

Adams funeral parlor, a fixture in Compton since 1974, brings to the business of death a convenience of the living: drive-thru viewing of the dead.

Visitors are greeted by a huge red-lettered sign above the entrance of the stone building on East Palmer Street. In the reception lounge, gold chandeliers dangle so low that tall visitors have to duck. Plastic swathes the pink upholstered seats.

And off to the side of the main double doors is the covered and paved 12-foot wide drive-thru, its long glass display window visible from the street.

A handful of drive-thru funeral parlors are known to operate throughout the nation. There’s at least one in Chicago, another in Louisiana. But Adams is believed to be the only one in Southern California, according to owner Peggy Scott Adams.

“It’s a unique feature that sets us aside from other funeral parlors,” said Scott Adams. She married into the business in 1988 when she became wife to businessman Robert Lee Adams Sr., a former Compton politician. He died in 2005. She continued his legacy. A suit-clad bust made in his image stands near the entrance.

“You can come by after work, you don’t need to deal with parking, you can sign the book outside and the family knows that you paid your respects,” said Scott Adams. “It’s a convenience thing.”

Click Here to Read Full Report courtesy of the LA Times.

Sherri Sheperd – Photo Credit: Rick Diamond with Getty Images
 

Song of the Year: “Sometimes I Cry”; Jason Crabb (artist), Gerald Crabb, Christian Taylor Music (BMI)

Songwriter of the Year: Gerald Crabb

Producer of the Year: Ian Eskelin

Incoming GMA Chairman of the Board Mitchell Solerek said, “What an amazing night of music and honor. Tonight’s performances were all a testament to why we are all here. On behalf of membership of the GMA, we are proud to present this year’s Dove winners and congratulate each of them and the nominees on their achievements. We would also like to thank the city of Atlanta and the ACVB for all their efforts in making this year’s Dove Awards an unprecedented success.”

“GMA Dove Awards represent Gospel and Christian music’s biggest night of the year and tonight’s performances were extraordinary,” said Charley Humbard, President, GMC. “Honoring some of the industry’s most celebrated names in our home town of Atlanta and broadcasting this inspiring event to a nationwide audience reinforces GMC’s commitment to bringing the best in uplifting music and entertainment to our viewers,” he continued. Multi-award winners tonight are Chris August, Francesca Battistelli, Jason Crabb and Point of Grace pulling down 3 Doves a piece; making them the top award winners for the evening.

This is the second year in a row for Francesca Battistelli to take home Female Vocalist of the Year honors and the first year to be crowned Artist of the Year. She also won Pop/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year. First-time nominee and multi-award winner for Male, New Artist and Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year Chris August had quite a night.

The night was full of special collaborations. Chris Tomlin and the Passion Artists ignited the evening with a Praise and Worship sing-a-long of “Our God”, Third Day’s single “Children of God,” represented hope as Third Day was joined by Mark Hall of Casting Crowns and Steven Curtis Chapman to honor Chapman and his wife Mary Beth’s ministry, SHOW HOPE with the GMC UPLIFT SOMEONE award. Kenny Rogers and Point of Grace finished with a standing ovation. Other show highlights included all of the Female Vocalist of the Year nominees performing a tribute to the legendary Sandi Patty, the Dove Award’s most honored female singer to date.

Kirk Franklin raised the roof in his inimitable way his high energy closing that rounded out an

evening of performances that ranged from country to hip-hop to contemporary gospel, rock and pop all representing the uplifting message of Gospel and Christian music. All-in-all, the evening played host to many outstanding performances by Jason Crabb and MIKESCHAIR, Natalie Grant and LeCrae, Committed and Ernie Haase & Signature Sound, Mary Mary, Kenny Rogers with Point of Grace and many more. The Dove Awards represent a wide-array of musical styles ranging from Adult Contemporary, Bluegrass, Country, Gospel, Inspirational, Pop, Rap/Hip-Hop, Rock, Spanish Language, Urban and Worship categories. First time host Sherri Shepherd was a standout having the audience in the palm of her hand and clearly enjoyed the musical performances. This is the first time a non-musical act has hosted the awards show.

Pre-show Highlights:

Rock Recorded Song of the Year was awarded to the rock band RED who was not able to attend this year’s show, but accepted via cell phone. Backstage generated a lot of excitement mixing Tim Tebow with Greg Jennings and Ruben Studdard with Michelle Williams. Sandi Patty, who was honored in a tribute with all of the nominees for Female Vocalist of the Year, lit up the room with Natalie Grant and Mary Mary.

Follow us on TWITTER @gmctv #doveawards and Facebook.com/gmctv

About GMA:
Founded in 1964, the Gospel Music Association serves as the face and voice for the Gospel/Christian music community and is dedicated to exposing, promoting and celebrating the Gospel through music of all styles including Pop, Rock, Praise & Worship, Urban Gospel, R&B, Hip Hop, Southern Gospel, Bluegrass, Country and more. The GMA community consists of members including agents, artists, church leaders, managers, promoters, radio personnel, record company executives, retailers, songwriters and other industry visionaries. The GMA produces the GMA Dove Awards, GMA Dove Week and IMMERSE. For more on supporting the GMA or becoming a member, please visit www.gospelmusic.org or contact the GMA directly at 615.277.1376.

About GMC:
GMC (www.watchgmctv.com) is America’s favorite channel for uplifting music and family entertainment. In 2010, The Parents Television Council™ awarded its Entertainment Seal of Approval™ to GMC for being “an authentic family-friendly cable network.” GMC was the only television network to receive the highly coveted honor last year.
GMC can be seen in nearly 48 million homes on various cable systems around the country, on DIRECTV on channel 338 and on Verizon FiOS on channel 224.

Tyler Perry voiced his frustration with Spike Lee on Tuesday at a Beverly Hills press conference for the West Coast premiere of his new film Madea’s Big Happy Family, according to Box Office Magazine.

In a 2009 interview with Black Enterprise’s Ed Gordon, Lee alluded to Perry’s work on film and television in particular as coonery buffoonery.

“I’m so sick of hearing about damn Spike Lee,” Perry said during the press conference. “Spike can go straight to hell! You can print that. I am sick of him talking about me, I am sick of him saying, ‘this is a coon, this is a buffoon.’ I am sick of him talking about black people going to see movies. This is what he said: ‘you vote by what you see,’ as if black people don’t know what they want to see.”

“I am sick of him — he talked about Whoopi, he talked about Oprah, he talked about me, he talked about Clint Eastwood. Spike needs to shut the hell up!” Perry reportedly said.

Regarding Perry, Lee has said, “Each artist should be allowed to pursue their artistic endeavors. I know it’s making a lot of money and breaking records, but we can do better.”

Lee went on to say, “I am a huge basketball fan, and when I watch the games on TNT, I see these two ads for these two shows [House of Payne, Meet the Browns], and I am scratching my head. We got a black president, and we going back to Mantan Moreland and Sleep ‘n’ Eat?”

“A lot of this is on us, you vote with your pocket book, your wallet, you vote with your time, sitting in front of the idiot box. And the man has a huge audience, and he’s, Tyler’s very smart in what he’s done,” said Lee.

Lee believes that directors are different.

“We shouldn’t think that Tyler Perry is going to make the same film that I am going to make, or that John Singleton or my cousin Malcolm Lee [would make]” said Lee. “As African-Americans, we’re not one monolithic group, so there is room for all of that. But at the same time, for me, the imaging is troubling and it harkens back to Amos n’ Andy.”

At the press conference on Tuesday, Perry discussed housing with the criticism he receives from some people in the black community.

“I’ve never seen Jewish people attack Seinfeld and say, ‘This is a stereotype,'” he said. “I’ve never seen Italian people attack The Sopranos, I’ve never seen Jewish people complaining about Mrs. Doubtfire or Dustin Hoffman in Tootsie. I never saw it. It’s always black people, and this is something that I cannot undo.”

Perry says other black artists faced similar critiques from their African-American peers.

“Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois went through the exact same thing; Langston Hughes said that Zora Neale Hurston, the woman who wrote Their Eyes Were Watching God, was a new version of the ‘darkie’ because she spoke in a southern dialect and a Southern tone. And I’m sick of it from us; we don’t have to worry about anybody else trying to destroy us and take shots because we do it to ourselves,” said Perry.

Perry’s latest film Madea’s Big Happy Family opens Friday in theaters.

President Barack Obama (left) prays with Christian leaders, including Bishop T.D. Jakes (right), at the second Easter Prayer Breakfast in the East Room of the White House, Tuesday, April 19, 2011.

For President Barack Obama, the resurrection of Jesus Christ keeps things in perspective. That was his Easter reflection as he addressed Christian leaders Tuesday morning at the White House.

Obama continued the tradition of hosting an Easter Prayer Breakfast – which he wants to make annual – during Holy Week, one of the most sacred times of year for Christians as they mark the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

“I wanted to host this breakfast for a simple reason – because as busy as we are, as many tasks pile up, during this season, we are reminded that there’s something about the resurrection … of our savior, Jesus Christ, that puts everything else in perspective,” Obama said in his remarks.

Though it wasn’t exactly a worship service, the brief gathering – held a day after Obama reached out to the Jewish community with an intimate Passover Seder – proved to resonate among the more than 100 guests.

The guest list this year included some prominent megachurch pastors such as Bishop T.D. Jakes of The Potter’s House, Tim Keller of Redeemer Presbyterian Church, Andy Stanley of North Point Community Church, Dave Gibbons of NewSong Community Church, Mark Batterson of National Community Church, and Joel Hunter of Northland Church.

While acknowledging the busy schedules of the pastors and denominational leaders seated in the East Room, as well as his own full plate and swelling inbox, Obama offered the prayer breakfast as a time to gather and be strengthened as they reflect on what Jesus did more than 2,000 years ago.

“The triumph of Palm Sunday… The humility of Jesus washing the disciples’ feet. His slow march up that hill, and the pain and the scorn and the shame of the cross. And we’re reminded that in that moment, he took on the sins of the world – past, present and future – and he extended to us that unfathomable gift of grace and salvation through his death and resurrection,” he said.

Citing the Old Testament book of Isaiah, Obama added, “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.”

Obama called it “magnificent grace,” “expansive grace,” “amazing grace.”

It’s that grace that calls him to reflect, pray, ask God for forgiveness, and praise God for “the gift of … His Son and our Savior,” he said.

“And that’s why we have this breakfast,” he pointed out. “Because in the middle of critical national debates, in the middle of our busy lives, we must always make sure that we are keeping things in perspective.”

While children and spouses also help keep things in perspective, the president noted that “nothing beats Scripture and the reminder of the eternal.” Bishop Vashti McKenzie, the first female bishop in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, offered a powerful prayer after being introduced by Obama as the “high-tech bishop” for her iPad.

“I just have to make a quick point: you noticed that these days prayers are on an iPad,” Obama said to laughter.

Reading from her Apple tablet computer, McKenzie prayed, “We remember this morning that in the cross you have demonstrated for all time your wonderful love.

“We thank you for Easter’s reversal of Good Friday. … Christ is risen. Therefore, we know even in our confused and battered world you are bringing life out of death and hope out of despair.”

Keller and Bishop Jakes also spoke at the event.

The second Easter Prayer Breakfast was held as fewer Americans believe Obama is a Christian. An August 2010 poll by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life found that only 34 percent of Americans, down from 48 percent in 2009, say Obama is a Christian. Among Protestant pastors, 41 percent say they believe him to be a Christian, according to a separate December 2010 poll by LifeWay Research.

Obama’s plans for Easter weekend have not yet been released. Last Easter, Obama and his family attended Allen Chapel AME Church in Southeast Washington.
 

After several years on recording hiatus Yolanda is back with a new CD.  Yolanda’s new CD, Becoming, will be available exclusively at Walmart. The release date is May 3, 2011, but you can pre-order today at the Walmart website.

Becoming Track Listing
1. Golden
2. Rejoice
3. Be Still
4. Just When
5. Not Giving Up
6. Living Proof
7. Time
8. You Can (Taylor’s Song)
9. What Would You Do
10. Overwhelmed

WLBT News is reporting that the Malaco Records, home of gospel music artists such as Bebe & CeCe Winans, The Caravans, Mississippi Mass Choir and Dorothy Norwood, was heavily damaged after it was hit by a tornado.

One of Malaco’s founders, Wolf Stephenson, was inside with about 15 employees when the tornado powered through. Stephenson said, “We started seeing limbs and debris flying through the air and decided we better take cover.”
Luckily, says Stephenson, everywhere they took cover remained structurally intact and miraculously, no one was injured. Stephenson says the warehouse can probably be saved. As for the rest of Malaco Records: “Well, the buildings are old. It’s a real tricky question as to whether or not it’s worth rebuilding,” said Stephenson.

Here is a look at the actual tornado that ripped through the building.  Watch the official news report by clicking here.

Michael Vick knows a little bit about life after a major public relations fail, so he’s taking his experience and offering up words of advice to Chris Brown, who has had a few P.R. mishaps as of late.

Vick recently sat down with the Wall Street Journal to talk about how he was able to rebuild his image after his dogfighting scandal, and the advice that he would give celebs like Brown and Charlie Sheen.

“The advice that I would give to Chris Brown is to put your faith in God. Don’t worry about what people say about you. Words will never hurt you.”

The Word Network, which builds itself as the largest African American religious network, announces the arrival of Bishop George Bloomer as the NEW host for “Rejoice in The Word”.  The new host replaces Bishop Greg Davis who moves to the new Impact network which recently debuted it’s new network on Dish Satellite.

The Word Network had this to say about Bloomer, “We welcome Bishop George Bloomer to The Word Network family as the new host for “Rejoice in The Word”, which is an original produced program which showcases some of the greatest leaders in ministry.”  “We are excited about this new direction and will continue to bring you the best in urban ministries and Gospel music.”

Rev. Dr. Bishop George Bloomer is recognized as 2005 CNN’s faces of faith, bestselling author of “Witchcraft in the Pews” and international conference speaker, Founder and Sr. Pastor of Bethel Family Worship Center in Durham, N.C.

The non-profit network airs national and international ministries, gospel music, interview shows, religious conventions, special events and now produces a new show ‘Rejoice in the Word’ aired LIVE every Friday at 8:30 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. EST. Based in Southfield, Michigan, The Word Network offers family-friendly programming that touches the heart and soul of African Americans in urban and rural markets. The Word Network is available in 80 million homes in the United States through DirecTV, Comcast, AT&T U-verse, Time Warner Cable, Bright House, Cox, and a host of other cable operators and is available in over 200 countries around the world including 9 million homes in the United Kingdom through Sky TV and 4 million homes through Sky Italia in Italy.

When melody and lyrics co-exist as equals, we welcome a song. When verse dominates, and melody is paired with photography and video you have the Spoken Word Biblical Song ministry of Pastor/Dr. Larry B. Patrick.

Charis Chapel Bible Church and its senior pastor-teacher, Dr. Larry Patrick, recently introduced a new poem in Christian lyricism via YouTube and the ministry’s web site. It is available in both audio and video formats. Written in free verse, Pastor Patrick reads his poetry in a baritone voice to easy listening music, interspersed with still images of nature. The first video of a three-part series, “Walking By Faith,” presents to the believer an end goal for all of life’s problems.

“It is designed to inspire believers everywhere to recognize that there is no situation in life for which God has not provided a solution,” Patrick explained.

The idea to pair inspirational Christian poetry, some of which was written decades ago, with easy listening sounds and still photography was the brainchild of Quinton Boutte’, a deacon at Charis Chapel, who having read much of his pastor’s poetry, conceived of the idea.

Patrick said the idea for the poem “Walking By Faith,” first composed in 1996, gave him much comfort during his 39 years of ministry. “Because it kept me focused on the real goal of being a Christian — to one day see the face of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Patrick founded Charis Seminary in 1986 and has served as President and professor of theology since the seminary’s inception. He subsequently started Charis Chapel in 2000 where he has served as senior pastor-teacher ever since. Download FREE audio or video versions of Walking by Faith by clicking here.

With the release of his first book, “How to Get out of Your Own Way”, Tyrese is doing a book tour for his fans, stopping in different cities across the country to promote the book and do a little press.  He stopped in Arkansas a few weeks ago and spoke with the folks over at Wild Moguls Network to talk about some of the advice he has for youth who wish to follow in his footsteps, giving motivational tips for success and empowerment.

Tyrese humbly says, “Whoever doesn’t have enough money to buy the book, I’ll buy it for you, I just want the message out there so bad.”

Tyrese goes on to explain God’s influence on his everyday activities.

“God has all these blessings in mind for all of us, but it’s us talking ourselves out of it.”  “When ideas and visions and concepts are formed I think that’s some of the closest experiences to God.” I can relate to this, as Tyrese mentions that a lot of people fail because of self doubt and self defeat.” 

“Tyrese says I’m a man of God, I love God.” “God is my source, and I’m not afraid to announce that to the world.” “If you look up to me and you idolize me you’re idolizing a man of God.”

Tyrese gives CEOs advice reminding them, “That if you ever want to invent something pay attention to what people complain about, and there in lies your idea.” 

Take a listen to Tyrese in the interview below and check out his book. He is really a humble individual who is using his platform to push for the Kingdom of God.