{"id":8010,"date":"2011-10-03T11:19:05","date_gmt":"2011-10-03T15:19:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/news\/?p=8010"},"modified":"2011-10-03T12:20:40","modified_gmt":"2011-10-03T16:20:40","slug":"1482-gospel-singers-fill-new-jersey-city-hall-lawn-hoping-for-guinness-record","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2011\/10\/1482-gospel-singers-fill-new-jersey-city-hall-lawn-hoping-for-guinness-record","title":{"rendered":"1,482 Gospel singers fill New Jersey city hall lawn, hoping for Guinness record"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hoping\u00a0a spot in\u00a0Guinness Book of World Records,<\/em> 1,482 singers from\u00a0more than 40\u00a0churches gathered on the lawn of Bridgeton, N.J.’s city hall annex Saturday afternoon and sang “Amazing Grace” in four-part harmony.<\/p>\n

They followed it with \u201cHow Great Is Our God\u201d and \u201cJesus, I Love You.\u201d<\/p>\n

But they weren’t just yearning for a spot in the record books. They called the event Voices\u00a0Against Violence —\u00a0in hopes it would\u00a0help unite the South Jersey after a spike in violence over the summer, including the recent shooting deaths of two men, Andre Harris and Joseph Elliott, within days of each other.<\/p>\n

The Guinness organization must verify the accomplishment before the record is official, reported Cody Glenn in the Camden Courier-Post.<\/em><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThe record is just icing on the cake,\u201d Mayor Albert Kelly told Glenn. \u201cMore so, this shows the community wants to be a part of the solution rather than part of the problem. People here are standing up \u2014 black, white, brown, young people, old people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nearly all of the roughly 45 churches in and around Bridgeton had a hand and a voice in the event, which was held on the lawn and street in front of the City Hall Annex, reported Glenn:<\/p>\n

One of the event\u2019s organizers, Pastor David Gonzalez of Overcoming Victory Church in Bridgeton, called it an honor to be part of the cause.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m even more ecstatic with the turnout,\u201d said Gonzalez. \u201cWe believe Bridgeton can be turned around for good. We need to work together.\u201d<\/p>\n

A professionally made video of the event is being sent to Guinness officials for final approval and verification of the actual turnout. The record-keeper\u2019s stipulations were for the choir to continuously sing for five minutes straight at the same location.<\/p>\n

Jasper St. Bernard, born and raised in Bridgeton, was one of the 1,482 who lent their voices and spirit to the massive choir.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt felt so warming,\u201d said St. Bernard, 50. \u201cIt gave me hope. This is just the beginning. I\u2019ve seen good change here and I\u2019ve seen bad change here, but I still believe this county is a great place to be.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hoping\u00a0a spot in\u00a0Guinness Book of World Records, 1,482 singers from\u00a0more than 40\u00a0churches gathered on the lawn of Bridgeton, N.J.’s city hall annex Saturday afternoon and sang “Amazing Grace” in four-part harmony. They followed it with \u201cHow Great Is Our God\u201d and \u201cJesus, I Love You.\u201d But they weren’t just yearning for a spot in the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":270,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[32,184,8],"tags":[1669,1670,371,2201,1668],"class_list":["post-8010","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christian","category-entertainment","category-news","tag-bridgeton","tag-guiness-book-of-world-records","tag-new-jersey","tag-news","tag-voices-against-violence"],"yoast_head":"\n1,482 Gospel singers fill New Jersey city hall lawn, hoping for Guinness record<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2011\/10\/1482-gospel-singers-fill-new-jersey-city-hall-lawn-hoping-for-guinness-record\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"1,482 Gospel singers fill New Jersey city hall lawn, hoping for Guinness record\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Hoping\u00a0a spot in\u00a0Guinness Book of World Records, 1,482 singers from\u00a0more than 40\u00a0churches gathered on the lawn of Bridgeton, N.J.’s city hall annex Saturday afternoon and sang “Amazing Grace” in four-part harmony. 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