Marsha Stevens
Encyclopedia
Marsha Stevens-Pino is a Christian
singer, musician, songwriter and recording artist.
group known as "Children of the Day
" was formed. An entry in The Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music states: "If Larry Norman
is to be called the father of Christian Rock
, then Marsha Stevens certainly deserves to be known as the mother of contemporary Christian music...She was the leader of what is considered to be the world's first contemporary Christian music group, Children of the Day
, and she has continued as a solo artist to produce albums of worship-oriented and edifying adult contemporary pop. As such, she remains the progenitor of what, by 2002, would become the single most popular genre in the contemporary Christian music
market." After the release of the Children of the Day
's first album, Come to the Water, Marsha and Russ Stevens married.
After her divorce and subsequent vilification by the Christian music
industry
, Stevens-Pino formed her own music ministry, BALM (Born Again Lesbian Music) in the mid-1980s. It was at that time that Stevens-Pino began ministering within the predominanty gay
and lesbian
Metropolitan Community Church
as well as other, independent Christian-Gay congregations not affiliated with MCC
. The transition from being a celebrity within evangelical Christianity to being an open lesbian was not easy for Stevens-Pino. Along with losing custody of her young children after her divorce, Stevens-Pino reports that more than once she has received by mail ripped out and torn up hymnal and songbook pages upon which was printed, For Those Tears I Died.
During a Gaither Homecoming Concert in Phoenix, Arizona in 2002, singer/musician/songwriter Bill Gaither acknowledged Marsha's presence in the audience along with her significant contribution to early Contemporary Christian music
. When a backstage photo showing Stevens, Pino, Gaither, and Mark Lowry
arm-on-arm circulated on the internet
following the concert, a large backlash from conservative, fundamentalist, and evangelical Christians ensued. The controversy caused Gaither to issue a press release which included the statement, "someone snapped a photograph of the four of us, a picture Marsha has exploited on her Web site ever since." In response to Gaither's press statement regarding the incident, MCC
moderator, Reverend Nancy L. Wilson, released a rebuttal statement in defense of Stevens-Pino.http://www.soulforce.org/forums/showthread.php?t=723
with Cindy Stevens-Pino. Based out of St. Petersburg, Florida
, Marsha Stevens-Pino continues to write and record her own music through BALM as well as continuing to tour the United States giving concerts in predominantly gay and lesbian as well as gay-affirming churches and fellowships. Stevens-Pino also works to help develop the talents of up and coming LGBT
Christian musicians through BALM's "upBeat!" program. Through this program, Stevens-Pino produces a Praise and Worship album with 14 singers and 10 songwriters annually from the new students accepted into the program's training seminars.
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
singer, musician, songwriter and recording artist.
For Those Tears I Died and "Children of the Day"
Shortly after becoming a born-again Christian in 1969, Stevens-Pino wrote "For Those Tears I Died (Come to the Water)", a song that was to become widely known and sung in Christian churches and youth-groups across the United States. Utilizing her songwriting and singing talents with sister Wendy Carter and friends Peter Jacobs and Russ Stevens, the Contemporary Christian MusicContemporary Christian music
Contemporary Christian music is a genre of modern popular music which is lyrically focused on matters concerned with the Christian faith...
group known as "Children of the Day
Children of the Day
Children of the Day was a Contemporary Christian music group that recorded and toured from 1971 to 1979. It is considered by many to be the world's first contemporary Christian music group.-Beginnings:...
" was formed. An entry in The Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music states: "If Larry Norman
Larry Norman
Larry David Norman was an American Christian musician, singer, songwriter, record label owner, and record producer, who worked with Christian rock music...
is to be called the father of Christian Rock
Christian rock
Christian rock is a form of rock music played by individuals and bands whose members are Christians and who often focus the lyrics on matters concerned with the Christian faith. The extent to which their lyrics are explicitly Christian varies between bands...
, then Marsha Stevens certainly deserves to be known as the mother of contemporary Christian music...She was the leader of what is considered to be the world's first contemporary Christian music group, Children of the Day
Children of the Day
Children of the Day was a Contemporary Christian music group that recorded and toured from 1971 to 1979. It is considered by many to be the world's first contemporary Christian music group.-Beginnings:...
, and she has continued as a solo artist to produce albums of worship-oriented and edifying adult contemporary pop. As such, she remains the progenitor of what, by 2002, would become the single most popular genre in the contemporary Christian music
Contemporary Christian music
Contemporary Christian music is a genre of modern popular music which is lyrically focused on matters concerned with the Christian faith...
market." After the release of the Children of the Day
Children of the Day
Children of the Day was a Contemporary Christian music group that recorded and toured from 1971 to 1979. It is considered by many to be the world's first contemporary Christian music group.-Beginnings:...
's first album, Come to the Water, Marsha and Russ Stevens married.
Scandal and controversy
Russ and Marsha Stevens' marriage produced two children, but the couple divorced in 1979. After the break-up of their marriage, Stevens-Pino publicly announced she was a lesbian. In The Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music, editor Mark Powell referred to the incident as "Contemporary Christian Music's first official scandal". Christian Century Magazines Mark Allan Powell in a 1999 article stated that after coming out of the closet, Stevens-Pino became "conservative Christianity's worst nightmare - a Jesus-loving, Bible-believing, God-fearing lesbian Christian."http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1058/is_9_116/ai_54216308/pg_3/?tag=content;col1After her divorce and subsequent vilification by the Christian music
Contemporary Christian music
Contemporary Christian music is a genre of modern popular music which is lyrically focused on matters concerned with the Christian faith...
industry
Christian music industry
The Christian music industry is a small part of the larger music industry, that focuses on traditional Gospel music, Southern Gospel music, Contemporary Christian music, and alternative Christian music. It is sometimes called the gospel music industry, although this designation is not a limitation...
, Stevens-Pino formed her own music ministry, BALM (Born Again Lesbian Music) in the mid-1980s. It was at that time that Stevens-Pino began ministering within the predominanty gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
and lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
Metropolitan Community Church
Metropolitan Community Church
The Metropolitan Community Church or The Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches is an international Protestant Christian denomination...
as well as other, independent Christian-Gay congregations not affiliated with MCC
Metropolitan Community Church
The Metropolitan Community Church or The Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches is an international Protestant Christian denomination...
. The transition from being a celebrity within evangelical Christianity to being an open lesbian was not easy for Stevens-Pino. Along with losing custody of her young children after her divorce, Stevens-Pino reports that more than once she has received by mail ripped out and torn up hymnal and songbook pages upon which was printed, For Those Tears I Died.
During a Gaither Homecoming Concert in Phoenix, Arizona in 2002, singer/musician/songwriter Bill Gaither acknowledged Marsha's presence in the audience along with her significant contribution to early Contemporary Christian music
Contemporary Christian music
Contemporary Christian music is a genre of modern popular music which is lyrically focused on matters concerned with the Christian faith...
. When a backstage photo showing Stevens, Pino, Gaither, and Mark Lowry
Mark Lowry
Mark Alan Lowry is a Christian comedian, songwriter, and singer, best known for co-writing the song “Mary, Did You Know?”. Lowry performed with the Gaither Vocal Band from 1988–2001 and, in January 2009, he re-joined the group along with other "GVB" alumni Michael English and David Phelps...
arm-on-arm circulated on the internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
following the concert, a large backlash from conservative, fundamentalist, and evangelical Christians ensued. The controversy caused Gaither to issue a press release which included the statement, "someone snapped a photograph of the four of us, a picture Marsha has exploited on her Web site ever since." In response to Gaither's press statement regarding the incident, MCC
Metropolitan Community Church
The Metropolitan Community Church or The Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches is an international Protestant Christian denomination...
moderator, Reverend Nancy L. Wilson, released a rebuttal statement in defense of Stevens-Pino.http://www.soulforce.org/forums/showthread.php?t=723
Current life
Stevens-Pino is in a domestic partnershipDomestic partnership
A domestic partnership is a legal or personal relationship between two individuals who live together and share a common domestic life but are neither joined by marriage nor a civil union...
with Cindy Stevens-Pino. Based out of St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. It is known as a vacation destination for both American and foreign tourists. As of 2008, the population estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau is 245,314, making St...
, Marsha Stevens-Pino continues to write and record her own music through BALM as well as continuing to tour the United States giving concerts in predominantly gay and lesbian as well as gay-affirming churches and fellowships. Stevens-Pino also works to help develop the talents of up and coming LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
Christian musicians through BALM's "upBeat!" program. Through this program, Stevens-Pino produces a Praise and Worship album with 14 singers and 10 songwriters annually from the new students accepted into the program's training seminars.
Albums
- Songs of Praise in a Strange Land
- Is this the real you?
- In Retrospect
- The Waiting's Over
- The Gift is on the inside
- UP (Unashamed Praise)
External links
- BALM Ministries http://www.balmministries.net/?mpf=frame&
- Vintage footage of Marsha Stevens and Children of the Day performing "For Those Tears I Died" on the Kathryn Kuhlman television program, circa 1971 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Np8GJGZ3Vv8
- Christian Century Magazine, March 17, 1999 by Mark Allan Powell; Marsha's tears: An orphan of the church http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1058/is_9_116/ai_54216308/?tag=content;col1
- Children of the Day History