Babbie Mason to ‘Embrace’ Albany

ALBANY — In its efforts to continue bringing Albany’s faith community together, First Baptist Church Albany will be welcoming a special guest next week when renowned Christian recording artist and author Babbie Mason will visit the church to host a special women’s event.

Titled “Embrace: A Worship Celebration for Women” the event will take place on Aug. 17 at First Baptist and event organizers are hoping the concert will serve not only as a way for women to join together in their faith, but also for woman from across the Albany area’s faith community to come together and get to know each other better.

“It’s designed to energize women to come together and worship God together,” said First Baptist Director of Senior and Adult Women’s Ministries Kathy Mims. “It’s a great way to bring the women of the faith community together to celebrate who they are. We’re trying to bring everyone together. It has a lot of benefit for our church, but also a lot of great benefit for the community. We’re trying to get the word out in the surrounding area.”

Mims said the church made the decision to invite Mason to present her immensely popular “Embrace” concert after Mims attended a women’s conference and was reminded how powerful a performer and spiritual person Mason is.

“I actually have known about her for years and have been a fan,” Mims said. “After I attended the women’s conference, I said to myself, ‘We need to get this lady to Albany.’”

After reaching out to Mason, who operates out of north Georgia, the church was able to schedule the concert, which Mims feels will represent the things that make Mason so popular.

“She’s very down to earth,” said Mims. “She’s been there before and she reminds people that women are on God’s heart. He wants women to be whole and strong in their faith. I think she’s very authentic.”

In addition to being a champion of women and of faith in general, Mason also is a talented author and Christian recording artist who has an extensive catalogue of faith-based music that she has been producing for over three decades.

“I have most of her CDs,” Mims said. “So many of her songs speak to me. She understands where people are and she understands God’s love for us.”

Indeed, Mason, has spent most of her life using her talents as a songwriter, musician and author to share God’s love with countless fans, helping them grow in and celebrate their faith.

“I find the greatest joy when I can bring joy to others,” Mason said. “Honestly, I believe this is the reason I was born. It is embedded in my DNA.

“I’ve been singing, writing, and travelling, sharing about God, almost non-stop the past 30 years. It’s something I really enjoy doing.”

In addition to bringing joy to others, Mason strives to bring people together and allow them to share their experiences, their lives and their faith with one and other. To that end, Mason designed “Embrace” as a way to bring women together specifically.

“This concert called ‘Embrace’ is a concert with a specific theme,” Mason said. “It’s just for women. There’s high demands on women these days; they’re overworked, overstressed and often overlooked.

“With ‘Embrace,’ we celebrate our identity in Christ, who and who’s we are. We can come together and breathe out the stresses of life and we can breathe in the love the Lord has for us.”

“The concert is designed to bring the community together,” Mason continued. “I want women from every walk of life to join me in celebrating. I find that all women have a lot in common. It doesn’t matter whether we’re black, or white, single or married, or what income bracket we’re in. We all get discouraged. I want to erase dividing lines and bring the community together.”

While she’s always excited about performing and by worshiping with others, Mason said she is also excited to be coming back to Southwest Georgia, where she has been warmly embraced over the years. She was born in Michigan, but her parents were from the South and she has lived in Georgia for many years.

“I love Georgia,” said Mason. “Georgia is my home now. I’ve been all over Georgia and I think it’s the ideal place to be. I’ve been to South Georgia many, many times. I always find myself at home there. People (there) are as sweet as the tea.”

As much as she loves south Georgia and its people, Mims said folks around the area feel the same way about Mason.

“She’s been (to the Albany area) before,” said Mims. “She’s very popular here. I know a lot of women who will go anywhere to see Babbie.”

Tickets to the show are $10 and can be purchased at First Baptist Church or at the church’s website www.firstbaptistalbany.org. Mims said tickets were selling quickly and encouraged anyone wanting to participate to order theirs in advance.

Mims added that in conjunction with “Embrace,” a group of women, directed by Vickie Knuckles, a member of Sherwood Baptist, are forming a women’s mass choir to serve as accompaniment to Mason during the show. The mass choir comprising members of several churches is open to anyone who would like to be involved. The choir will rehearsing at 6 p.m. Aug. 10 at the church.

In addition to the concert, Mason will be spending time meeting attendees and will items such as her books and recordings for sale. The concert itself will begin promptly at 7 p.m. with the church doors opening at 6:30 p.m.

To learn more about Mason, “Embrace: A Worship Celebration for Women,” and other programs and activities she’s involved in visit Mason’s website www.babbie.com.