Stories & Essays: Marching for Jesus

Mount Carmel Baptist Church's marching band turns heads with its music and evangelical message.

Jaylen Silver, 7, practices with the other drummers. The C.V. Russell Jr. Ambassador Marching Band has 75 members aging from young to middle-aged. (Preston Gannaway/The Virginian-Pilot)
   
Drummer Carlton Baker, 17, stands in formation during a practice at Lakeland High School. (Preston Gannaway/The Virginian-Pilot)
   
Band members follow instructions during practice. The band's director, who also directs the band at Lakeland High School, uses military-style discipline. (Preston Gannaway/The Virginian-Pilot)
     
  
Drum major Wayne Lumpkin, 19, leads stretches before practice in the Lakeland High School band room. "I'm 19, I could be out with my friends," Lumpkin said. "But we're here and we want to be here. That's the craziest part about it - nobody's forcing us.(Preston Gannaway/The Virginian-Pilot)
   
Band director Alvin Wilson tends to his daughter, Dejah Wilson, 5, as the band warms up before a performance in the Berkley Reunion Love March in Norfolk, Va.(Preston Gannaway/The Virginian-Pilot)
   
Tia Jones cuts up while warming up with the other color guard girls before a performance. "A lot of people feel church is boring, that there's nothing to do but go, hear a good word and go home," band director Alvin Wilson said. "But it is OK to have fun in church, to praise him and enjoy that praise."(Preston Gannaway/The Virginian-Pilot)
     
  
Band members (from left) Courtney Ferebee, Diamond Fayne, Latisa Ward, Paul Gregory and Sherman Pressey pray together after a practice.(Preston Gannaway/The Virginian-Pilot)
   
Brittany Wilson, 17, and Chris McNeil, 18, (left and right in foreground) ride to a parade in a rented bus. The church budgets money each year for the rental cost to and from performances. (Preston Gannaway/The Virginian-Pilot)
   
Saint Wofford, 17, focuses during an evening practice.(Preston Gannaway/The Virginian-Pilot)
     
  
Jordan Austin Ervin, 4, and his father Darrell follow along with the marchers during a parade in Berkley. The band mixes showmanship with gospel songs and spiritual chants. (Preston Gannaway/The Virginian-Pilot)
   
(From left) Dwight Green, Raekwon Sparrow, Yae Walker and Tay Jones watch as the Mt. Carmel Baptist Church band marches by in the Berkley Reunion Love March parade in Norfolk, Va.(Preston Gannaway/The Virginian-Pilot)
   
Band administrator Elder Wayne Lumpkin helps his son, Wayne Lumpkin, Jr., work out a leg cramp as the group nears the end of the parade. "Long as I got the Lord on my side, I can do anything," Lumpkin said. "I'm not going to let my band finish a parade without me."(Preston Gannaway/The Virginian-Pilot)
     
  
Chris Parker lifts Miah Wilson, 7, while playing around after a practice. For some Mt. Carmel church-goers, keeping young men off the streets is one of the band's biggest accomplishments.(Preston Gannaway/The Virginian-Pilot)