“The Word was made flesh, and dwelt in the ’Hood.”
                                                          John 1:14

As Bishop Catherine Roskam said, “If Jesus were living today, he would be a rapper.” In that spirit, Trinity Church of Morrisania in the South Bronx has been sponsoring hip hop masses on Friday evenings this summer to bring the Word of God to the neighborhood, using the language and beats native to the Bronx.

Hip-hop, as the genre’s masters say, was born in the streets of the Bronx, and it seems fitting that the borough should be the site for the first hip-hop mass on the East Coast, using rap music, strong beats and dancing associated with the culture of hip-hop.

The Rev. Timothy Holder, whose church is surrounded by housing projects, saw large segments of society being left out by the Church. The traditional Anglican and Episcopal services were foreign to many in the neighborhood, and especially the young people. So Holder, with the help and support of Bishop Roskam, Bishop E. Don Taylor and the other priests at Bronx churches, brought the Church to the people, both literally and figuratively.

For seven Fridays this summer, masses were held on the block of 166th Street in front of the church. The services are more than just liturgical elements: the evenings begin at five with warm-up music for everyone to dance to. At six, the service begins with everyone processing around the block. Next are readings, including a recitation of poetry by rap legend Tupac Shakur. And of course, music plays an integral part through the entire liturgy.

As the Rev. Howard Blunt, former interim priest at Trinity, explained, the hip-hop masses “break the mold for the Episcopal Church and opens an old institution to a new way of relating to the community.”

A member of the Trinity parish, DJ Ol School Sam does all of the mixing for these hip hop evenings. The services also feature guests like the choir from St. Mark’s in the Bowery, Manhattan, led by the renowned artist, Jeannine Otis. Pounding beats accompany the prayers of intercession and Eucharistic offering prayer. The music selections for the services include songs by Kanya West from his “Jesus Walks” CD, “Dear Momma” by Tupac Shakur and “I Can” by Nas. The evenings end with a soul train dance procession followed by refreshments.

Passersby stop on the street to see what the commotion is about and neighbors listen to the energetic mix of music and liturgy from their windows across the street. It is easy to see that such events draw the neighborhood to the church. Young children come with jump ropes and hula-hoops and dance to the music. Families stop by and take a seat, drawn in by a church event that speaks to them.

Many guests visit the hip hop masses each week, and on July 2, the guests included renowned pioneers of hip-hop as well as political representatives, such as Bronx Assemblyman Reuben Diaz, Jr. The music legends included Kurtis Blow and Cool Clyde, both important in developing hip-hop into the musical genre it is today.

These “old-school” rappers, as the early artists are called, are excited to be a part of Trinity’s hip-hop masses to show the younger generations the importance of God and the positive side of rap. DJ Lightnin Lance, who came out to support the event, lamented, “A lot of the lyrics now are negative and about guns and gangstas and degrading women.” He wants hip-hop fans to remember the original raps, focusing on serious issues and sending important messages. Cool Clyde echoed this remark, saying, “Hip-hop is about the positive, about uplifting the spirit.”

Cool Clyde explained, “Music plays a very important role in life,” especially hip-hop. “Hip-hop is the only type of music that brings different ethnicities together.”
Before the service, Kurtis Blow, the first rapper signed to a major record label, greeted an enthusiastic crowd, many of whom are fans of his. “It is truly a blessing to see this materialize,” he said. “This is the first time ever I have seen something like this develop in the birthplace of hip-hop. I feel the Holy Spirit all in this room, and it is my mission to let everybody know this is going down in the Bronx!”

The July 2 service was led by Bishop Roskam, who joyfully began the evening by dancing with the children. During the homily she said, “There are many things I have learned here. I have learned about the best of hip-hop and its tradition — a tradition of love, pride and respect.” She concluded, “I ask God’s blessing on this movement, on the nation of the United States and on the hip-hop nation.”

Trinity also held a five-day hip-hop vacation Bible school for 100 children, pre-teens and teenagers mostly from the Morrisania neighborhood. The evening Bible school program included rapping, liturgical dancing, hip-hop dancing, Bible stories and a graduation ceremony at Sunday liturgy.

Since starting the weekly hip-hop masses, Holder has heard from churches, dioceses and a boys correctional institution from across the country wanting more information and requesting that Holder and his hip-hop group visit and share their liturgical style.

“Things are growing and this is going somewhere,” Holder said. “We had very fine rhythm here. The surprising thing to me is that this is just now happening in the Church, at least in the Episcopal Church. But it is here now, and that’s wonderful.”

Holder added, “This is not just some kind of summer program, but it is a long-term proposition. Not just for us, but for all churches to address.”

He said that a lot of priests having been asking him what hip-hop is, and now he “learning a little bit how to answer it.” And having a hip-hop mass does not mean traditional liturgy will be abandoned. “This is not either/or,” he stressed. “It’s an integration. Just as many have mass in Spanish or a ‘come-as-you-are’ service, you are probably looking at hip-hop mass once a week.”

The hip-hop program will be continuing in the near future and will include, Holder said, a weekly mass and Web page. The Trinity hip-hop working group will continue meeting on Friday evenings in September to work on the future of the hip-hop project. Holder invites anyone interested to come and be a part of the process. For more information, contact Holder at 718-542-1309 or revdtim@earthlink.net.