A song in his heart: Miami-raised gospel music recording artist to honor his mentors | Opinion

So many times, when young people leave home and become a success, many of them forget to say “Thank you” to the people who helped them up the ladder. Not so with Minister Edward Rhodes. A native Miamian, Rhodes now lives in Atlanta, Georgia, where he serves as minister of music at the Zion Hill Baptist church and is also a gospel music recording artist and producer.

Rhodes, whose single “Down in My Soul” from The Ingram Singers’ 1993 Stellar Award-nominated album, “Make My Heart Your Home” hit the top of the gospel music charts, is coming back to his hometown later this month to do a live recording with some of his longtime singing friends.

“I am also coming home to pay homage to my mentors the Rev. Douglas Cook, Bishop Walter H. Richardson, the late Nellie Edwards Coke, and the members of The Church of God Tabernacle (True Holiness) in Liberty City. I am honoring the church because it was there, where as a young teenager I sought the Lord for a deeper understanding of God’s word, and what it really means to be a Christian,” he said.

Initially, Rhodes said he was first drawn to the “... powerhouse of a church by the awesome gift of music ministry displayed by Dr. Walter T . Richardson and the Tabernacle Gospel Choir.”

But after attending several services to enjoy the music, he said he was drawn in by the “exceptional anointing and teaching of God’s word” by Bishop Walter H. Richardson (Dr. Richardson’s father). The Rev. Dr. Richardson will join him as session musician at a live recording to take place on Oct. 2.

Rhodes, a graduate of Miami Central High School and Georgia State University, also earned an MBA at Cambridge College in Massachusetts. He also studied at Morehouse College and recently received a doctorate in theology from Antioch Seminary in Cartersville, Georgia. He has traveled with the late Whitney Houston and has worked for the Savoy record label in New York.

“But I can’t forget my roots,” he said recently in a telephone interview.

“One of the greatest inspirations I received as a young minister was to be inspired by a seasoned saint — the late missionary Nellie Edwards Coke. I adopted Sister Nellie, as we lovingly called her, for my godmother, and she graciously consented to give me a ride home from church every church night. On the way home from church, our ritual was to make a stop by Church’s Chicken for a one-piece snack and a strawberry soda.

“As we enjoyed our snack, Sister Nellie would share with me the word of God, and teach me the way of a Christian, just like the Apostle Paul taught Timothy in the New Testament of the Bible. She instilled in me what it really meant to live a life of holiness while I was still in high school. Tears come to my eyes when I remember her lighting up the church with her rendition of the old hymn, ‘Jesus Keep Me Near the Cross,’” Rhodes said.

The son of Juanita Manuel Mond, Rhodes is her middle child and only son. His two siblings are Dr. Yulinda Rhodes Tatum, a dentist in Beaufort, South Carolina, and Rhonda Price, a medical transcriber for the Center of Disease Control in Atlanta. He said his mother was happy that he had found a mentor in Sister Nellie when he was young, “... because she knew that Sister was an effective witness for Christ.”

So here he is, coming back to his hometown to honor his mentors who helped him along his Christian journey, and to make a live gospel music recording with a group of his high school friends and singing buddies.

The first rehearsal will be at 5:30 p.m on July 31 at Jordan Grove Missionary Baptist Church, 5946 NW 12th Ave. in Liberty City. The rehearsal is free and open to the public. The live recording will be at 6 p.m. on Oct. 2, also at Jordan Grove.

Scholarships given

Congratulations to the winners of the 2021 scholarship awards presented by the Greater Miami Chapter of The Links Inc. The awards, totaling $15,000, were awarded to five students during a Drive-by Send-off Celebration held June 26, and during a virtual scholarship awards program on June 27.

The awardees, who each received $3,000 and a commemorative gift box which included a medallion and a certificate of meritorious achievement and poet Amanda Gorman’s book, “The Hill We Climb,” custom sweets and dormitory room essentials are: Jordan Bryant, a graduate of Hialeah Gardens Senior High, and winner of the Silver Knight for athletics, will attend the University of Florida; Kami Bumpers, a graduate of Coral Reef High, will attend The Ohio State University; Jordan Ford, a graduate of G. Holmes Braddock High, will attend the University of Richmond; Jalynn McDuffey, a graduate of Coral Reef High, and winner of a Silver Knight in the Arts, will attend Florida A & M University, and George Pickens IV, Miami Northwestern High School valedictorian, will attend Tennessee State University on a full scholarship.

Gail Ash Dotson, Esq., chapter president said, “The Greater Miami Chapter is committed to its rich legacy of giving back to the South Florida community and recognizing the outstanding achievements of our students.”

Renee Shaw Jones, who served as scholarship chairperson said, “... While recognizing the scholarship recipients is a rewarding experience, each year the selection process gets increasingly difficult, because all the applicants are stellar.”