This past Sunday (Oct 31), Kanye West, who officially changed his name to Ye in October, held his first Sunday Service since releasing his highly anticipated second Christian album, “Donda.”
“Donda” features 27 tracks and includes guests JAY-Z, The Weeknd, Travis Scott, Pop Smoke, Roddy Ricch, and many other notable artists. Perhaps no guest is more surprising than well-known anti-Christian shock-rocker Marilyn Manson.
Who is Marilyn Manson?
Marilyn Manson, born Brian Warner, grew up attending his mother’s Episcopal church and went to a Christian school through the tenth grade. He created his stage name by combining the names of two cultural icons: Marilyn Monroe and Charles Manson. Manson has released 11 studio albums and has been nominated for four Grammy Awards.
The controversial rocker is outspoken about his hatred for Christianity, and he has been seen burning Bibles at concerts. On Manson’s 2017 album “Heaven Upside Down,” his song “Say10” includes the lyric, “You Say God and I say SAY10” [Satan].
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In 1994, the Church of Satan made Manson an “honorary” minister of their church for his “real world accomplishments at the time.”
Manson has also been the center of multiple sexual abuse allegations. For these reasons, some have expressed shock that West has included Manson on his latest album and at a Sunday Service concert.
Although Manson didn’t say anything during the Sunday Service, he was visibly taking the experience in. Some question whether Ye is having an influence on the Manson or if this could be an elaborate publicity stunt — something West is known for doing.
Justin Bieber Joins West and Manson
Popular pop singer Justin Bieber also joined West and Manson. This wasn’t Bieber’s first time singing at a Sunday Service, as he was seen performing at a 2020 service.
Bieber isn’t shy about his faith, and he has frequently joined Maverick City Music’s Chandler Moore to sing worship music at Churchome, a multisite church on the west coast.
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Bieber, who is a two time Grammy Award winning artist, was also close friends with former Hillsong Church pastor Carl Lentz, though Bieber has recently shared concerns about how celebrity pastors may be negatively impacting the church.
Sunday Service on Halloween
In an undisclosed location on a rooftop with a handful of invited guests, West and his Sunday Service choir performed songs from his newly released “Donda” album. West announced the Sunday Service via Instagram, inviting fans to stream it. While previous Sunday Services had been free to watch, the livestream of Sunday’s event cost $9.99 to access.
Dressed in all white robes and hoods, the Sunday Service choir sang the lyrics, “He’s done miracles on me,” which are the chorus from “No Child Left Behind.” The choir surrounded the musicians in a circle, while Justin Bieber said “Thank you Jesus,” as West directed.
In a scene fit for a Hollywood, Bieber donned a white hood and stood next to West and Manson, the latter of whom was shrouded in white robes that covered his face.
Bieber then lent his voice to the song “Hurricane,” singing the lyrics, “Don’t let me drown. I know you won’t.”
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West, Bieber, and Manson bowed their heads and place their arms around one another while the choir sang the chorus from “Moon.”
As the choir sang, “Like who’s here when I need a shoulder to lean on? I hope you’re here when I need the demons to be gone, and it’s not fair that I had to fight ’em all on my own,” West sang into the mic while Bieber raised his hands, shouting, “Hallelujah!”
West also sang parts of the song “Come to Life” and told viewers that he was “praying for a change in your life,” before giving the microphone back to Bieber to lead a prayer.
With his arms around West and Manson, Bieber prayed,
Thank you for your power. Thank you for your grace. Thank you for your peace. Thank you for your forgiveness. Thank you for your Holy Spirit that dwells in us. Thank you for your majesty. Thank you for the stars and the birds and the mountains and the valleys and the oceans. God, thank you for your people; thank you for your people. Thank you that you leave the ninety-nine for the one. Thank you that you never leave us or forsake us. Thank you that we could never be more loved than we are right now in this moment. In this moment, wrap us with your love. Show us who you are; show us who you are; show us who you are. Thank you Jesus. Thank you for this moment; thank you for this moment. I come against any lies of the enemy — any fear — we bind it in the name of Jesus. Your name is above it all. The name of Jesus is above it all. We cast out any demonic activity that would try to steal our peace today — try to steal our joy. We welcome your presence today Holy Spirit. In the name of Jesus.
After Bieber’s prayer, rapper Roddy Ricch appeared from within the circle to sing the song “Pure Souls.” Ricch could be heard saying, “I hope God can forgive me for the days that I was sinning.”
A children’s choir then joined the ensemble for the song “Jesus Lord,” singing the lyrics, “Tell me if you know someone that needs Jesus Lord.”
When the adult choir finished singing shorten arrangements of “Believe What I Say” and “New Again,” they closed out the service with the song, “24.” Their harmonized voices sang, “We gonna be okay, we gonna be okay. God’s not finished, God’s not finished.”
October 31 Sunday Service Set List:
No Child Left Behind
Hurricane
Jonah
Come to Life
Ultralight Prayer
Pure Souls
Jesus Lord
Believe What I Say
New Again
24