STAY PRAYED UP Highlights Inspiring Story of Legendary Gospel Group
By Movieguide® Contributor
STAY PRAYED UP is a new movies that highlights the inspiring story of 82-year-old Lena Mae Perry and her legendary North Carolina gospel group, The Branchettes.
Perry has led The Branchettes for the last 50 years, and the new movie tells her story, from performing songs, to sharing her testimony with the world.
Movieguide®’s review of STAY PRAYED UP reads:
STAY PRAYED UP is a documentary about an 83-year-old gospel singer in North Carolina, Lena Mae Perry. The movie focuses on her commitment to the Lord and the career of her and her gospel group, The Branchettes. The movie follows Lena as she rehearses for a special gospel music recording at a local church. It contains performances of gospel songs while Lena talks about her career and what faith means to her. The movie asserts that gospel music “has the tendency to go where the Gospel cannot go, because the Gospel is the power unto salvation.” Lena says, “The Lord has blessed us, kept us and given us the strength that we need to do what we need, and we are happy, so, so happy.”
STAY PRAYED UP is an inspiring documentary with many wonderful lyrics and statements about Jesus, God and faith. It stresses service, hope, joy, love, prayer, the Glory of God, and the blood of Jesus. The songs in STAY PRAYED UP are great, and Lena Mae’s voice is still filled with Holy Spirit fire. So is her faith.
STAY PRAYED UP’s music producer and composer, Phil Cook, said, “If you have a performer who is really present, it doesn’t matter what you actually believe, but you believe the performance and you believe that singer right in that moment. And in that way, the message that is being brought forth has its best chance of reaching the hearts of people and planting a seed.”
Cook continued, “When something is pure love, when there’s nothing but love that’s happening in that present moment of somebody giving their all, there’s not a truer wavelength. And that’s why people go to see live music in general. I think people want to believe something and they want to forget their problems for an hour and really good music does that for you. But there’s no better music for that to me than gospel music.”
Movieguide®’s review continues:
The movie asserts that gospel music “has the tendency to go where the Gospel cannot go, because the Gospel is the power unto salvation.” “Gospel music can pull us into the church,” pianist Wilbur Thorpe says. “The church is a building, but church is inside of you.”
“I love people, because if I didn’t love people, everything I do would be in vain, and I don’t want it to be in vain,” Lena says. “The Lord has blessed us and kept us and given us the strength that we need to do what we need, and we are happy, so, so happy.”
STAY PRAYED UP is an inspiring documentary with many wonderful lyrics and statements about Jesus, God and faith. It stresses service, hope, joy, love, prayer, the Glory of God, and the blood of Jesus. The songs are great, and Lena Mae’s voice is still filled with Holy Spirit fire. So is her faith.
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