Growing up in a congregation of the National Baptist Convention, I spent each Sunday singing in the style passed down from my ancestors. There were no instruments, save a piano for when the hymnal was used, and many hymns were unwritten and only known in our community. These songs were also composed in the time of slavery, and were not the same as Gospel music from the 20th century.

My favourite hymn of the old hymns is called, “Lord, Don’t Leave Me”, which is a prayer for the presence and protection of God. I have sang it many times while on the road of ministry, and the Lord has always answered with strength to go forward.

Here is a beautiful rendition of “Lord, Don’t Leave Me” by the Pineville AME Zion Hymn Choir of Rock Hill, South Carolina.