WITH the novel coronavirus dominating the news cycle, Bishop Everton Thomas is hoping to change the narrative. He is banking on his latest single Glory to God.

“I hope it will help to change the narrative in the street. The negative narrative where everybody is “giving glory to corona” because that is foremost thing on our minds, right now — the terrible disease that it is. But it is what it is, but we trust in God for protection, but at the same time, let’s not just talk about corona, let’s give glory to God, because God is in control. So I’m hoping it will help to change that negative narrative and people will see it in any circumstance to give glory to God and just thank him and praise him,” said Bishop Thomas, who uses the narrative Bishop T.

Glory to God will be released on Sunday, with an accompanying music video. Thomas is credited as executive producer, while Mark Brown is producer.

“I think it will appeal to anybody who understands the Creator is real and deserves glory… I think the handcart man plying his trade downtown will find this very appropriate to sing along and appreciate, the staff workers in offices, managers, I mean everbody who understands that God is deserving all the glory, I think will find this song appealing,” he told the Jamaica Observer.

A minister of religion, Bishop Thomas shared the inspiration that lead him to record the single.

“I knelt in prayer one day, as a matter of fact, this was eight years ago. As I started worshipping as often happens, I just started humming because my practise is just to give glory to God when I start my prayer. And while I was doing that I kinda just started singing and those words came out after the hum, and the next thing you know, here’s a song. When I was finished with my prayer, I grabbed the recorder and recorded it. But it came right out the scriptures,” he said.

“I am a singing minister, so while ministering is in my primary focus, music is a companion ministry to the Word. It literally prepares the heart of the listeners for the Word of God and so I told Father the other day: ‘Lord, You gave me this gift and I don’t want to go back to you with all this in me. When you call me home, I want to be empty, spent, maximising all of the potential.’ Next year, I’m planning to release some books. I’m doing all I can to the glory of God,” he continued.

This is not Bishop Thomas’s first time in the recording studio. In 1997, he and several family members did an album titled Make A Joyful Noise. That 12-track set was done under the moniker Everton and the Pathfinders.

In 1998, he was first runner-up in the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission’s Gospel Song Competition with Who Am I. Gospel singer Glacia Robinson was the winner that year.

His other songs include Jesus Shout, I’m Alive and a cover of late American gospel singer Andrae Crouch’s Through it All.

Bishop Thomas is the minster for Emanuel Apostolic Church in Kingston as well as Portmore Assembly. He is the presiding bishop for the Emanuel Apostolic churches which comprises 40 churches — five of which are in the United States.

In 2019, he was awarded an Order of Distinction by the Jamaican Government for religious and community service.