In San Francisco a church on Wednesday, Grace Cathedral, went about their mass in a different way, dedicating the service to honouring pop superstar, Beyonce.
The service, started with an opening hymn of one of Beyonce’s and Destiny Child’s first songs ‘Survivor.’ Beyonce’s former band were also present gifting the assembled with more songs.
Reverend Yolanda Norton, a black feminist theologian, who was there during the service explained to ESSENCE that: “This is not a service deifying Beyoncé.”
“This is a service that uses Beyoncé’s music as a tool to engender positive, empowering conversation about black women. The premise of [the class] is that if we look at the personal life, career trajectory, music and public persona of Beyoncé, so much of her life reflects aspects of black women’s stories,” Norton added.
During her service, Norton referenced Beyoncé’s Coachella performance and said it reminded people that “sometimes you have to “sing your song your way.” #BeyonceMass” according to a tweet from Brandon Patterson.
About the mass, which has generated some concerns about deifying Beyonce, Grace Cathedral on its church’s website adds that the service was intended to show how Beyoncé’s art “opens a window into the lives of the marginalised and forgotten, particularly Black women.”