Local Pastor, Vocalist Play Big Roles at Michael Jackson Service

[Updated Wednesday,  July 9, 2009] As tens of thousands music fans filled the stands at Staples Center and an estimated hundreds of thousands tune into the Michael Jackson public memorial service through various media on July 7, a local pastor helped set the tone for what became a somber, spiritual honor to an entertainment legend and global icon.

Shortly before Mariah Carey took the stage, fans inside the stadium and around the world witnessed a spirited invocation led by Pastor Lucious W. Smith of Pasadena’s Friendship Baptist Church.

“We come together and we remember the time,” Smith said during his invocation. “As long as we remember him, he will always be there to comfort us.”

Smith went on to eulogize Jackson as “our brother, our son, our father, and our friend.” The Pasadena-based spiritual leader has been a pastor at Friendship Baptist Church since 1996. He also serves as the President of the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance of Greater Pasadena (IMA) and Co-Vice President of the Ecumenical Council of Pasadena area Churches (ECPAC).

While Smith offered spiritual comfort to Jackson’s fans, two local activists shared their thoughts on the July 7 memorial service. Joe Brown, president of the Pasadena branch of the NAACP, said Jackson was truly a one-of-a-kind individual who influenced all the world.

“All over the world, so many hearts have been touched by Michael Jackson,” Brown told Pasadena Now. “He will forever be remembered for bridging the ethnic gap as a music and entertainment genius. No other person has touched such a broad spectrum of people with his humanitarian efforts as Michael. His legacy will always be remembered and the NAACP salutes the contributions he made during his 50 years on earth.”

Local activist and political consultant Lena Kennedy, who helped then-Senator Barack Obama raise money for his presidential campaign, was deeply saddened by the loss of the popular musician.

“I feel a great loss,” she told Pasadena Now shortly after Jackson’s memorial services concluded. “He was absolutely phenomenal (as a performer). He will be missed. He may be gone forever but he will forever be remembered.”

In addition to Smith’s invocation, local resident and vocalist Judith Hill took the lead when artists took the Staples Center stage to sing “Heal the World.” Hill was recruited to be one of Jackson’s backup singers at one of his scheduled shows at London’s O2 Arena.