By Tyrone Reid, Staff Reporter
Sandra laid her hands on and prayed as well for the individuals that came to the altar. - Michael Sloley /Freelance Photographer
OBVIOUSLY BLESSED with the voice of an angel, visually-impaired Kimiela Issacs touched every heart in the congregation as she praised Jesus Christ in song.
The event was dubbed Sandra Brooks in Concert and was held at the Spanish Town Methodist Church, 30 White Church Street on Sunday night. Ms. Issacs who performed twice on the night, stood tall and held her own.
Her voice brought freshness to the archaic building. The design of the roof, the pulpit and ceiling fans testified to the half century existence that the structure will celebrate this year. The present building was constructed in 1953, after Hurrricane Charlie ravaged the original building.
During her encore performance which began at 7:57 p.m., it was as if her eyes were raised to heavens and she beheld the glory over yonder. She gave an awesome rendition of Redeemer that had every person in the pews staring in awe as she testified that she knows that Jesus lives.
Her next selection was I Am Not Ashamed of the Gospel, which earned her another round of applause from the audience. She also delivered Hand on My Shoulder and The Lamb Has Overcome. After completing the final song, the very pleasant young lady smiled uncontrollably and sealed her stint with a 'Thank you', directed at the audience.
Prior to Ms. Issac's second performance, missionary Georgia Lewin and Company performed. After an intended ten-minute intermission which turned into an half of an hour long wait, Sandra Brooks began administering the icing to the cake that had been wonderfully baked by Ms Issacs.
Brooks, a seasoned performer, opened with I Get On My Knees. At this point in time the audience, who had been brought to the heights of praise and worship by the previous performer, stared in expectation.
Her next selection, Did You Stop to Pray, brought the singing evangelist down from the designated stage area into the aisles of the church. As she paced the isles, she delivered a mini-sermon, testifying that she recalls the roads she once trod.
Then it was Church time. As Sandra, who must have been feeling a little 'churchy', began to have an evangelistic service. At that juncture, the audience had changed their position a bit. They went from having high expectations to having them fulfilled. They totally rallied behind her.
From her sanctified juke box she selected songs such as Jesus My Choice, That's Enough and Don't Worry amongst a host of others. These selections certainly evoked a worshipful chord in the audience that rocked, clapped and waved their hands in praise.
The audience was not the only one that worshipped, although she was performing, Ms. Brooks worshipped nonetheless, as she spoke in tongues under the control of the Holy Spirit.
Fever pitch would probably be an understatement for the atmosphere that the audience created at this point in time. Encouraging shouts of "Go ahead sister!" were hurled at Ms. Brooks as she ministered.
Evangelist Brooks was not through. She upped the cadence with a host of praise and worship medleys which included Higher, Higher, Fly Away and many others.
She subsequently geared down a few notches with I Found The Answer and the church went into a solemn mood you could hear a pin hit the ground. Shortly afterward she made the altar call. For a moment, a quietness hovered over the congregation, however, it was broken by an high-pitched shout of 'Hallelujah!'.
Individuals who were reluctant at first to come forward, started to walk down the aisle and stopped at the designated altar area, and cried out to the Lord Jesus. During the altar service, some 'ole-time' worship songs such as He Touched Me and I Surrender All were raised by Ms Brooks.
The closing prayer for the altar service was rendered by Minister Campbell as Sandra laid her hands on and prayed as well for the individuals that came to the altar.
