Following Beyoncé's unforgettable and historic Coachella performance that celebrated the greatness of black women, her music will be featured at the April 25 mass of a San Francisco church.

Reverend Jude Harmon, founding pastor of the Vine and director of innovative ministry for Grace Cathedral, first conceived the idea prior to Queen Bey's epic performance. The Vine's pastoral intern, Sam Lundquist, inspired Harmon to use Bey's music after he told the reverend about a class taught by Professor Yolanda Norton at San Francisco Theology Seminary, “Beyoncé and the Hebrew Bible.”

“This is not a service deifying Beyoncé,” Professor Norton told Essence. “This is a service that uses Beyoncé’s music as a tool to engender positive, empowering conversation about black women. The premise of ["Beyoncé and the Hebrew Bible"] is that if we look at the personal life, career trajectory, music and public persona of Beyoncé, so much of her life reflects aspects of black women’s stories.”

Harmon's mass will include Bey's classic songs and major hits, Bible readings, preaching, praying and communion. Among the more traditional elements, Norton will preach a service aimed at protesting gender bias and social injustices that plague society.

“To that end, women of color are leading every part of the worship service they can, from singing and reading Scripture to lamenting and protesting the structural injustices of our world — Professor Norton will preach,” Harmon explained. “We are so grateful to her for sharing her vision with us, and for agreeing to let us lift her and other female voices of color up in this service.”

April 25's mass will be one of three in a series called “Speaking Truth: The Power of Story in Community.” Over the course of Beyoncé's two-decade career, she has repeatedly been attacked by critics for her body, marriage and performances. She has become a symbol for what it means to be a black woman in America: always criticized and expected to hold families together while excelling in everything.

“All of these things are a part of black women’s stories,” Norton said. “We are dismissed, used, underestimated and asked to perform Herculean tasks. In spite of all these things, Beyoncé, like most Black women, have found mechanisms for survival and thriving — found our own God language and developed strong agency.”

Speaking Truth: The Power of Story in Community

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