Making a joyful noise in praise of freedom on Independence Hall Sunday

For Fourth of July, Wawa hosts a series of free events all over the city. There’s always music, but this is the first year a gospel choir will perform at Independence Hall.

Jen Kinney

June 29, 2018

Annette Harris, from Deliverance Evangelical Church, listens to The Four Tenors practice as she waits for her own choral rehearsal. (Emily Cohen for WHYY)
From left, Minister Edward Fields, Minister Justin Gonzalez, and Rev. Alyn E. Waller rehearse at Deliverance Evangelical Church in North Philadelphia on June 25 for their gospel concert at Independence Hall as part of this year’s Wawa Welcome America celebration. (Emily Cohen for WHYY)
Maria Caldwell, from Pentecostal Experience, sings in a duet with members of a multi-community choir sing her chorus. More than 100 faith singers from across Philadelphia gather at Deliverance Evangelical Church in North Philadelphia on June 25 to rehearse for their gospel concert at Independence Hall as part of this year’s Wawa Welcome America celebration. (Emily Cohen for WHYY)
Monica Keitt, from Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church, rehearses with more than 100 faith singers and performers from across Philadelphia at Deliverance Evangelical Church in North Philadelphia on June 25 for their gospel concert at Independence Hall as part of this year’s Wawa Welcome America celebration. (Emily Cohen for WHYY)
More than 100 faith singers and performers from across Philadelphia gather at Deliverance Evangelical Church in North Philadelphia on June 25 to rehearse for their gospel concert at Independence Hall as part of this year’s Wawa Welcome America celebration. (Emily Cohen for WHYY)
Minister Justin Gonzalez and Maria Caldwell hug after a successful final rehearsal for a gospel concert at Independence Hall as part of this year’s Wawa Welcome America celebration. (Emily Cohen for WHYY)
More than 100 faith singers and performers from across Philadelphia gather at Deliverance Evangelical Church in North Philadelphia on June 25 to rehearse for their gospel concert at Independence Hall as part of this year’s Wawa Welcome America celebration. (Emily Cohen for WHYY)
More than 100 faith singers and performers from across Philadelphia gather at Deliverance Evangelical Church in North Philadelphia on June 25 to rehearse for their gospel concert at Independence Hall as part of this year’s Wawa Welcome America celebration. (Emily Cohen for WHYY)
A member of the chorus bows her head as a prayer is said before the choir’s final rehearsal begins. (Emily Cohen for WHYY)
Members of the Praise Dancers bow their heads in prayer at the beginning of their final rehearsal. (Emily Cohen for WHYY)
Members of the chorus bow their heads in prayer as one is said at the beginning of their final rehearsal. (Emily Cohen for WHYY)
Teena Ferebee from Sharon Baptist Church belts out her solo in "America the Beautiful" during the final rehearsal. She and more than 100 faith singers and performers from across Philadelphia are joined by a live band as they gather at Deliverance Evangelical Church in North Philadelphia on June 25 to rehearse before their gospel concert at Independence Hall as part of this year’s Wawa Welcome America celebration. (Emily Cohen for WHYY)
A Praise Dancer, from Mother Bethel African Methodist Church in South Philadelphia, dances to the music of the multi-community choir that gathered at Deliverance Evangelical Church in North Philadelphia on June 25 to rehearse before their gospel concert at Independence Hall as part of this year’s Wawa Welcome America celebration. (Emily Cohen for WHYY)

Every year for the week of Fourth of July, Wawa hosts a series of free events all over Philadelphia. There’s always music, but this is the first year a gospel choir will be performing at Independence Hall. The choir is made up of more than 140 singers, young and old, drawn from dozens of churches all around Philadelphia.

“There’s nothing like gospel because it’s the richness and soul that tells a story of where we came from,” said Brenda Goldsmith. As one of Wawa Welcome America’s producers, she organized the event. “History is being made that we’re having gospel music on Independence Hall, right next to the George Washington House, where our ancestors were once slaves.”

The choir will be joined by students from the Anne Frank School, soloist Teena Ferebee of Sharon Baptist Church, the Praise Dancers, and “The Four Tenors,” a quartet made up of two ministers, an elder, and a prayer leader.

Performances will take place at Independence Hall, Sunday at 7 p.m. and during the Fourth of July parade on Wednesday.

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