THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, August 17, 1994 TAG: 9408160365
SECTION: MILITARY NEWS PAGE: A10 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KERRY DEROCHI, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 67 lines
Two years ago, a handful of sailors gathered in a circle on the fantail of the guided-missile cruiser Biddle.
A bright afternoon sun glinted off the Mediterranean Sea as they stood - some wearing uniforms, others dressed in T-shirts. A portable tape player blared gospel music. Slowly, hesitantly, the sailors began to sing.
``We wanted to reach the crew,'' said Robert Best, an operations specialist. ``When you're out at sea, you do the same thing every day. We wanted to break that.''
With that August afternoon performance, Best and the other sailors formed a gospel choir that would last long after the Biddle itself would. The 20 members stuck together for more than two years, despite deployments, new assignments and the 1993 decom-missioning of the 26-year-old cruiser.
Now known as the Saints at Sea, the group performs on members' own time at community centers and churches, singing in uniform for teens in psychi-atric clinics and senior citizens who are locked away.
``We want the community to see the military isn't just a bunch of guys who are out in the bars, chasing women,'' said Best, who works as an instructor at the Fleet Combat Training Center at Dam Neck.
``We want them to see there are people in the military who love praising God and who are concerned about what's going on in the community.''
The choir is no longer confined to practicing in the cruiser's sonar room, but rehearses in the chapel at Portsmouth Naval Hospital. The tape player has been replaced by bass and lead guitars, drums and a keyboard. The members are both men and women from shore and sea duty stations. Wives of active-duty military are also invited to sing.
``We're not about Tailhook scandals, we're trying to do something good,'' said Paula J. Cooper, a hospital corpsman. ``We represent the Navy and we represent ourselves.''
The schedule is a rigorous one - once-a-week practices that last more than two hours and at least two concerts every week.
The following is loyal, reaching to Pennsylvania and Washington, and, most recently, to the Berkley Community Center in Norfolk, where 300 people stomped and cheered to the music and ministry.
``The people receive them very well,'' said Carmelita Coleman, a recreation specialist at the community center. ``We have a lot of young teenagers here. When they see other young people doing things, they tend to want to be a part of it. When they see friends on stage, it shows them what they can do.''
For Best and the other singers, that's exactly why the choir was formed. ``That makes it all worthwhile, that's what it is all about,'' Best said. ``We allow them to see something different, that you don't have to be out here selling drugs. Maybe they'll think, `I can get off the streets, I can join the military.' '' MEMO: To reach the choir, call 451-0838 or 396-3774.
ILLUSTRATION: Staff photos by BILL TIERNAN
ABOVE: Saints at Sea choir members, inclu-ding Henry Phillips Sr.
and his wife, Niyikia Phillips, pray before performing at Norfolk's
Berkley Community Center last week.
RIGHT: Robert Best, near right, and Tyrone Covington harmonize holy
praises during the choir's performance at the center.
by CNB