The Voices of Guadalupe County

Celebrating the legacy of MLK with the Seguin Community Gospel Choir

Temperatures were in the 20s back in January when Seguin’s Gospel Fest took place. Inside New Life Fellowship Church’s walls, voices rose in celebration, and the atmosphere was warm and welcoming as the Seguin Community Gospel Choir harmonized and the crowds danced and sang along.

Gospel Fest was part of the City of Seguin’s Freedom Week, celebrating the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. Community member Herman Lampkin organized the event and was the man behind the music. Despite the chilly temperatures, he was pleased with the community turnout.  

“You look at the weather and how we’re all cringing at the idea of going outside in this cold weather,” Lampkin said. “But we have to leave a legacy and show why what we do is still important. It is important what we do. And like I said, not only for us but the next generation. What are we handing off to the next generation, the legacy? Dr. King’s legacy is larger than life, and you know, it’s just one of those things that we have to make sure that we hand that legacy down to the next generation so that they see the need and understand why we do what we do. It’s important.”

Lampkin’s dedication to sharing MLK’s story has led him on a spiritual and community journey over his years participating in the community choir. He says the event highlights the diversity of Guadalupe County while uniting people through music.

“As far as the Seguin Community Choir, I let them pick the music,” Lampkin said. “I wanted something everybody knows that we can learn in a few rehearsals. They made me the chairperson of this event, and so I invited these different groups. I always like to try to do something that has different cultures involved. Obviously, Dr. King was not just about black people. We wanted to make sure our Latin brothers and sisters got some representation. And just everybody, like I said, he was a man for the people. We are the people.”

Of course, a choir performance of this caliber does not come together overnight. Text messages were exchanged in group chats as choir members picked music and organized time to get together and practice. One individual Lampkin is thankful for is Pastor Price from the Christian Fellowship, who had a funeral come up at the last minute, pulling him away from the event.  

“We had a few rehearsals leading up to the day,” he said. “It was a lot of fun. And then, as far as the program, we are just really inviting out as many people as we can who are willing to come to be on the program. And so yeah, you have some people that can’t, for whatever reason. They got this going on, or that going on. Pastor Price from the Christian Fellowship, he took on the obligation, and then something else came up with a funeral that he had to go be at. So, I just really appreciate him coming out and showing us love.”

As the choir sang, live musicians accompanied them. There was clapping, dancing, and even laughter during the performance, with soloists belting song after song.

As for the event itself, Lampkin says its growth from earlier years has been promising and hopes to see the event continue to make an impact on the Seguin community.

“We’ve done this a few times,” he said. “We used to have this event at TLU for a while, then it moved over to First Baptist. And now we moved here; all three places welcomed us with open arms. I hope that, number one, they enjoy what we do; I don’t want it to be something that, oh, we have to go do this again. And I want to keep it that way. I want all ages to be able to come out. I don’t care if you’re two years old or 92; I want you to come out and enjoy our event. I want something for everybody. But also, I want them to understand the sacrifices Dr. King made with others. And try to continue pushing that dream. We’re a lot closer than where we were. But we’re not there yet. We’re not there yet. So, let’s continue and go from there.”

With Black History Month underway, the message brought to the community in the form of Gospel music is as important as ever. It serves as a beautiful reminder of how interconnected the Guadalupe County community is in honoring the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.