Shonka Dukureh taped faith message a week before she died
Hope Church’s early Sunday service started with a few songs from its musical team, but a hush fell over the sanctuary when the Rev. Eli Morris introduced a video interview that would be the central message of his sermon on “Navigating the Shadows: Psalm 23.”
Appearing on the Cordova church’s big screens was Shonka Dukureh, the blues singer and actress who played Big Mama Thornton in the “Elvis” movie. Dukureh, 44, was found dead in her Nashville home this past Thursday. Morris interviewed Dukureh in the church’s sanctuary a week before she died.
Morris said he was devastated when he heard that Dukureh died and he was at first reluctant to use the video, but the actress’ publicist and family members later insisted that he continue with his plan to use her comments as the centerpiece of the church’s weekend of sermons.
“I didn’t want to disrespect her memory. She has kids and family. And I didn’t want to show a video that they would not approve of,” said Morris, senior associate pastor at Hope, one of the nation’s largest Presbyterian churches. “And when they saw the clips they appreciated it not because of anything I did, but because of Shonka’s words and who she was.
“This was providential. The sermon topic has been on the books for months...that I would be talking about when you go through the shadow of the valley of death,” said Morris. “I was planning to talk to Shonka about how God has been a shepherd in her life. And she talked about that with no understanding that her date with the shadow was imminent.
“When I heard that she passed, I realized that this is so powerful that we are talking about our own demise at some point and God has taken her home during this timeframe.”
Morris added that he hopes Shonka’s moving message about walking in your faith and trusting God to help lead the way resonates widely, both with Hope attendees and others who hear about her message.
“We will have up to 7,000 people hear her message this weekend. There are more people in Memphis this weekend who are going to hear the story of her life than will see the Elvis movie,” Morris said. “This is her life that she shared. This told us about her heart, not her talent. Her talent was deep but her heart was deeper.”