by StoneWall 68 Replies latest jw friends
Glad I decided to watch it. I was afraid it would turn out to be a circus and I was very pleasantly surprised at how
dignified and honorable it turned out.
Thanks to the Jackson family for allowing many to see all the good things Michael will be remembered for as well
as allowing his daughter to finally speak at the end. That answered some my concerns just hearing her speak out.
Regards to all his friends and family,
StoneWall
I got a call from my JW Mom. She is very excited to be watching the Jacko Memorial. Told me it is the most important thing on TV. Ever.
She told me I must watch it as it was showing all kinds of stuff never to be seen again.
"Like what" I asked?
"All kinds of things, I can't tell you I don't have time I don't want to miss any of it!! It's too important. He was the most important man ever."
So, there you have it. An ardent, hard-core (thoughts, not gut) JW, telling me that Michael Jackson is the most important man ever.
Jesus just lost his place in line.
To Michael Jackson.
Sad.
(Is Lucious Smith a JW Elder?)
No, Lucious Smith is connected with a Baptist church in LA.
very moving memorial at the Staples centre. Michael jackson was a phenomenon and it was nice to see a more private side revealed by his family. I ddin't know about all the humanitarian stuff he did throughtout his life.
edit: the staples centre memorial had nothing to do with anything JW. The earleir funeral service at a cemetry was supposed to have been JW
I disagree. I don’t want to be a cynic but it was a 'show, a surreal piece of pop-culture entertainment.
Got this from a newspaper just outside of MJs home town of Gary, I am surprised by the spirituality of the memorial, especially given the information that he had a Jehovah's Witness type of funeral just prior. This seems as if it would be a huge conflict to the family, with a church chior, preachers from religions other than the WTS. I am so glad that the family allowed such a memorial to take place......a lot of folks may have needed this for closure, and it is most likely being very heavily watched by members of the WTS and that may cause some of them to take a second look at some of their beliefs...... What seemed the most strange to me is the spiritual song 'going to see the king', for in the WTS, this is something reserved for the anointed....
By JESSE WASHINGTON
AP National Writer | Tuesday, July 07, 2009
LOS ANGELES | Michael Jackson's public memorial, watched by millions around the world, struck a tone more spiritual than spectacular Tuesday, opening with a church choir serenading his golden casket and continuing with somber speeches and gospel-themed musical performances.
Pastor Lucious W. Smith of the Friendship Baptist Church in Pasadena gave the invocation, followed by Mariah Carey singing the opening performance with a sweet rendition of the Jackson 5 ballad "I'll Be There," a duet with Trey Lorenz.
"We come together and we remember the time," said Smith, riffing off one of Jackson's lyrics. "As long as we remember him, he will always be there to comfort us."
Millions of fans around the world gathered at odd hours to watch the ceremony, which was broadcast from Tokyo to Paris and streamed everywhere online.
Among those who saluted Jackson were music mogul Barry Gordy, the Rev. Al Sharpton and basketball greats Magic Johnson and Kobe Bryant. Jennifer Hudson sang Jackson's hit "Will You Be There" and John Mayer played guitar on a whisper-light rendition of "Human Nature."
"This is a moment that I wished I didn't live to see," Stevie Wonder said before his performance.
The singer Smokey Robinson began the service by reading statements from Jackson's close friends Diana Ross and Nelson Mandela. The South African leader's statement ended with a poignant admonition: "Be strong."
After a long period of silence punctuated only by camera flashes, the tension broke with the organ strains of a black spiritual, "Hallelujah, hallelujah, going to see the King."
Lionel Richie gave a gospel-infused performance in front of a shaft of light evoking a cross.
An estimated 20,000 people were in the Staples Center as Jackson's flower-draped casket was brought to the venue in a motorcade under law enforcement escort. Those who gathered constituted a visual representation of Jackson's life: black, white and everything in between, wearing fedoras and African headdresses, sequins and surgical masks.
"Words really can't explain how I feel," said Dani Harris, a 35-year-old stay-at-home mom from Los Angeles. "I'm happy to be here, but the occasion is not so cool. I'm happy to be here and have some closure. It still doesn't seem real."
Fans with a ticket wore gold wristbands and picked up a metallic gold program guide on their way in. Acting as pallbearers, Jackson's brothers each wore a gold necktie, a single spangly white glove and sunglasses.
Members of the Jackson family sat in the front row of the Staples Center, including his brothers and what appeared to be his three children. Brother Jermaine Jackson took the stage and sang the standard "Smile" as he fought back tears.
Jackson's hearse had been part of a motorcade that smoothly whisked his body 10 miles across closed freeways from a private service at a Hollywood Hills cemetery to his public memorial and awaiting fans.
The traffic snarls and logistical nightmares that had been feared by police and city officials had not materialized. The thousands of fans with tickets began filing in early and encountered few problems, and traffic was actually considered by police to be lighter than normal.
"I think people got the message to stay home," said California Highway Patrol Officer Miguel Luevano. "When you have people staying home, it clears up those freeways."
Deputy Police Chief Sergio Diaz, operations chief for the event, said authorities had expected a crowd of 250,000. Besides reporters and those with tickets to the memorial service, the crowd around the Staples Center perimeter numbered only about 1,000, he said.
Outside the Staples Center, Claudia Hernandez, 29, said she loved Jackson's music as a girl growing up in Mexico. Now a day-care teaching assistant in Los Angeles, Hernandez said she cried watching TV coverage of his death.
"I'm trying to hold in my emotions," said Hernandez, wearing a wristband to allow her admittance to the service and holding a framed photograph of Jackson. "I know right now he's teaching the angels to dance."
More than 1.6 million people registered for the lottery for free tickets to Jackson's memorial. A total of 8,750 were chosen to receive two tickets each.
"There are certain people in our popular culture that just capture people's imaginations. And in death, they become even larger," President Barack Obama told CBS while in Moscow. "Now, I have to admit that it's also fed by a 24/7 media that is insatiable."
The city of Los Angeles set up a Web site Tuesday to allow fans to contribute money to help the city pay for his Staples Center memorial service. Mayoral spokesman Matt Szabo estimated the service will cost $1.5 million to $4 million.
It was not clear what will happen to Jackson's body. The Forest Lawn Memorial Park Hollywood Hills cemetery is the final resting place for such stars as Bette Davis, Andy Gibb, Freddie Prinze, Liberace and recently deceased David Carradine and Ed McMahon.
But Jackson's brother Jermaine has expressed a desire to have him buried someday at Neverland, his estate in Southern California.
AP Entertainment writer Sandy Cohen, AP Music writer Nekesa Mumbi Moody, AP Special Correspondent Linda Deutsch, Associated Press writers Solvej Schou, Christina Hoag, Amy Taxin, Andrew Dalton, Anthony McCartney, Danica Kirka, and AP researcher Monika Mathur contributed to this report. Copyright © 2009 nwi.com
eyeslice, how much pop culture entertaiment have you seen?
edit: cynical is not the word I would choose j/k
When his brother sang...I lost it. When Usher touched his casket...I lost it. When his daughter spoke at the very end...I was undone.
Un.....done.
Very beautifully done memorial.
Very dignified. I really appreciated his brother singing "Smile." Not sure how, but he pulled it off.
