God appears to us in mysterious ways. For the Rev. Yolanda Norton, God is present in Destiny Childs Bootylicious.

The San Francisco Theological Seminary professor has incorporated the 2000s classic as part of her Beyonc Massa religious service that uses Beyoncs discography to explore the struggle, survival, and spirituality of black women. Born out of a project she assigned her doctoral students, the first Beyonc Mass was celebrated at San Franciscos Grace Cathedral in 2018. 70 people were expected for the midweek service. More than 900 showed up.

Since then, the service has been held across the United States and parts of Europe for standing-room-only crowds. A service at a small church in Portugal was so well-attended it ended up breaking fire codes. I didnt know how it would translate globally, and we ended up having people sitting on the floor, Norton says.

But back to Bootylicious. With lyrics like Lead with hips, slap my thighs, and When I whip from my hips you slip into a trance, the early aughts chart-topper doesnt exactly scream religious. Thats precisely the kind of reaction Norton wants to dismantle.

The whole worship service was about embodiment, and the ways that we have rejected certain kinds of bodies, Norton says. [Bootylicious] was an assertion that God loves your curves. If you are tall, short, thick, thin, God loves you. Its an assertion of learning to live in your body and accept who you are, because thats what God created.

Theres an authenticity to Beyoncs music, Norton says, that allows it to resonate with people on a deeper level. The stars openness about her personal experiences and struggles (see: Lemonade) comprises emotions from pride to lament. We are all feeling people, Norton says, and Beyoncs ability to speak to the core of human nature makes her a perfect spiritual conduit.

Though the focus of the mass is to uplift black women and give them a unique, safe space to explore their spirituality, Norton says the service is accessible to anyone who identifies with Beyonc.

Normally, when I preach in a black church, its mostly black people. And when I preach in a predominately white church, Im usually the only black person in the room, Norton says. When Im looking out over the congregants at a Beyonc Mass, Im seeing every race, every gender, every age group represented.

Service music rotates through Beyoncs catalog (including Single Ladies and Save the Hero) but it always uses Flaws and All as the communion hymn. As congregants step forward to receive the elements, the singer croons: I dont know why you love me / And thats why I love you / You catch me when I fall / Accept me flaws and all / And thats why I love you.

Engaging that as a conversation with God, that represents so much of my theological presuppositions, Norton says. Im not quite sure why God loves us, and God accepts us flaws and all! That is the basic root of why we are people of faith. Both in spite of and because of who we are, God loves us, flaws and all.

The Beyonc Mass will be at the Kennedy Center at 6 PM on March 8. Information about tickets can be found here.

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Assistant Editor

Jane is a Chicago transplant who now calls Cleveland Park her home. Before joining Washingtonian, she wrote for Smithsonian Magazine and the Chicago Sun-Times. She is a graduate of Northwestern University, where she studied journalism and opera.

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A Beyonc-Focused Church Service Is Coming to the Kennedy Center - Washingtonian