- Hello, everyone.

It's great to see everyone.

And want to just welcome everyone to this evening's screening.

I'm Deborah Holt Noel, the Executive Producer of PBS North Carolina's Black Issues Forum and I'm also the Host of the North Carolina Weekend show.

Wanna thank all of you for joining us for this special preview screening of Reel South's Stay Prayed Up.

PBS North Carolina proudly presents content that connects us to our roots as North Carolinians, as Southerners and as Americans.

And I am proud to be with you tonight representing one of the nation's largest PBS affiliates and also representing Reel South, the brand new Season 8 of Reel South.

Reel South Season 8 foregrounds the complexities, an unyielding vitality of love, love for your home, your family, your God, your people and critically yourself.

Reel South premiers on local PBS stations around the South on Monday April 11th.

Reel South films air Thursdays nights at PBS NC at 10 PM.

And we invite you to please check the listings of your local PBS station.

You can stream Reel South films anytime at video.pbs.org or on the PBS app.

And I'm sure many of you will agree that Stay Prayed Up is a truly inspiring film.

And I hope that you feel inspired to engage with us and to share your thoughts and questions for the filmmaking team in the chat feature that is at the right of your screen.

And now without further ado, I wanna welcome our very special guests.

A very talented group of filmmakers and musicians join us.

We have DL Anderson, the Director of Stay Prayed Up, we also have Matt Durning, the Director of Stay Prayed Up, Lena C. Perry Williams, the Producer of Stay Prayed Up.

And she's also the daughter of Lena Mae Perry, that phenomenal woman who we just saw an incredible documentary about.

And we have Phil Cook, the Producer of Stay Prayed Up.

And we saw him as well.

And joining us also on this conversation, we have the Series Producer of Reel South, Nick Price.

Nick, really appreciate you joining us and I actually appreciate every single one of you for being here, our audience members and our guests.

So let's get straight to the questions.

DL, I wanna start with you.

Can you just share how did you meet Mother Perry and what moved you to tell this story?

- The first time I saw Mother Perry was at Duke Gardens for an outdoor concert in which she was playing with this guy.

And it was Wilbur and Mother Perry and it was a beautiful summer day.

And the two of them, I think it was the first time he'd ever played together.

And it was just incredible, just the energy in the crowd, everyone was moving.

If you've ever been to a Duke Gardens show, it's a really cool experience.

And Phil is a long-time friend.

And he told me a little bit about Mother Perry before then.

And then it was maybe five or so years later before we finally had the right things in place, including a partnership with Matt and some help from the Music Maker Foundation, which is this great organization based out of Hillsborough who helps elderly artists live with dignity and find work.

And they helped Phil connect with Mother Perry.

- That's correct.

And really the stars aligned and we were able to start thinking about this incredible concert that would be at her home church.

- Wonderful, wonderful.

Well, as we saw Phil's introduction to Ms Lena Mae occurred on another kind of stage.

I feel like I've met her before because of all of the many churches that I've been to in my life.

But it just sounds so very familiar, the singing and everything.

But you mentioned that it took a number of years for this to come together.

And I wanna ask Matt, can you explain a little bit about the process, how long exactly did this project take, it's just amazing.

- Sure, be happy to.

Well, you know there were a lot of early iterations around what this might look like.

At first, there was an idea of maybe a cooking series with Mother Perry and Wilbur cooking each other.

Wilbur liked to call Mother Perry a lot for recipe advice when he was cooking dinner.

So the original idea was just get the two of them on the phone cooking and sharing recipes and maybe singing a little bit as it went.

But when Phil got the funding to record the album and we knew that this album recording would take place and this would be the first live album that The Branchettes ever recorded in their 50-year history, that's when we knew that it needed to be a feature-length project and that we really needed to document the making of that.

And so we started in early 2019.

I think the rehearsals happened in April?

- Yes.

- Rehearsals and performance happened in April 2019 and then it was about a 3, 3 1/2 year process of production and editing before we had a finished film.

- And this concert was also, I wanna make sure to plug the North Carolina Arts Council who makes this whole concert possible.

Go North Carolina arts funding!

We love you.

- Yes, many thanks to the Arts Council.

They're responsible for so much good work out there.

I wanna bring you in here, Phil.

We saw a little bit about how you met Mother Perry and The Branchettes.

But when you met, what was it specifically that was just so special about her and her music that compelled you to want to produce a gospel record with her?

- Well, I had the good fortune the first time I met her was she invited me to come to her house to rehearse some songs with her and Wilbur.

So I met her and Wilbur the same day in her home, which is the home you see in the film all these different points of time.

And you see how incredible.

The home just has such an incredible love.

It's just so much love in the home, everywhere.

And that was so palpable right away.

So they had me singing, I'm the new guy, so they had me singing the high parts.

They gave me the high parts.

She's like, "You can go up there."

And it was just like... [Phil sings] That was my first humbling wonderful experience with singing all the high parts in their third part harmony.

And but like I said, you can't have a better teacher than someone like her.

And she's so gracious but firm and just be like, "Nope, this is note like that, great.

"Good job, great, let's move on."

You know what I mean?

It was so familiar to me.

Plus her and Wilbur's dynamic is so...

There's so much love and there's so much family in there.

So as soon as I met them together, then you see them talk together and they've known each other for decades.

So there was so much love is what I'm trying to say.

I just was immediately like, oh, I'm so grateful to be here.

And I kept having that feeling just for every time we'd hang out, I was going, man, I just feel so grateful to be here right now.

This is exactly where I'm supposed to be, in this space.

That I don't know if we just sometimes pay attention to those feelings, it's like, well, what are the things that are really inspiring you right now when we get together with friends like these, like Derek and Matt.

It was like, that's so clear.

It was just, well, I have this one thing that's just been incredible every single time I've hung out.

And this woman's got incredible stories in her community.

And if you know Mother Perry, also you also realize that you will meet her daughter Lena C. who is featured on this Zoom call as well as us.

And so getting to know her whole role in the family as well and how she plays her role with helping to translate Mom's existence as an artist into the real world while holding down her own career.

Yeah, we naturally asked her to be a producer on the film 'cause she just knows all the ins and outs of everything, the whole community, the communications and the love.

She knows the love.

So it was like all of that just felt like family.

So if we just kept following that family feeling and then kept looking to the family for guidance at every stage, we would just know the next step that we needed to do at any crossroads during this process, which was my first film, your first film, Sis, right?

And you all have done some.

- Well, it sounds like it was really smart to bring Lena Mae into the conversation, not only as an interviewee but also as a co-producer.

And Lena, I wanna ask you, Phil talked about how warm he felt, how embraced and loved he felt when he came into the home, but also that they didn't hesitate, Lena didn't hesitate to let him know when he was out of order.

Can you talk a little bit about what it was like growing up with your mother?

- Yes, so even from a little girl with my grandparents, they've always showed a lot of love.

And that's all we've ever known growing up is a lot of love.

And eating together, that was very important also in growing up, just having family time.

And actually we still do the same thing now.

Mom cooks and so we go over to have dinner and we talk just like we hadn't seen each other in months.

We have a lot of conversation, but Mom, when she means business, she means business.

- That's right, play time is over.

- Play time is over, business is business.

That is correct, even today.

- Oh, I bet.

Like I said, I feel like I know her.

I feel like everybody I saw in that church, I know them, I've seen them in the churches that I was raised in or that my parents took me to.

I didn't grow up in a small town, but in the summertimes, our parents who are from Raleigh, my parents would take us down to Myrtle Grove Baptist I believe it was in Maysville, Springfield Baptist, Popular Springs in Garner and those were our churches.

So I've seen folks, I've seen these smiles, I've felt the warmth and it's no wonder, Phil, that you wanted to share that with other people.

And Nick, I just wanna ask you as the series producer what was it that really jumped out at you that said, hey, we have got to include this in the Reel South series?

- Well, we've certainly been scouting this film for a long time.

And that's the beauty of being able to be so rooted in a local place like Durham where we're able to get to know artists and filmmakers in our communities, in PBS NC's backyard and really invest in Southern filmmakers and invest in their careers and really be able to track and follow the work they're doing, whether it's for Reel South or for someone else.

We're always just thrilled to be able to see work come to fruition.

And so Stay Prayed Up has been a target and been something that we've been watching and following for years as this has grown and developed as everyone has talked.

But to answer your question really briefly, Deb, I go back to what you just said a few minutes ago talking about the warmth that this film brings to a viewer.

And I think it's that joy that we get, it's that welcoming sense of love that I think for us as a season premier, but just as a film that I think speaks to the kind of emotions that we want to draw out from viewers and the kinds of I think storytelling that we focus on and we try to uplift and amplify in as a series that really does target and that shares Southern stories for a national audience.

- This is definitely a Southern story.

Let me pull you in, DL.

Let me ask you, what did you learn while making this film that surprised you the most and that you're gonna take with you as you move on to other projects?

- Oh yeah.

I learned how to pray, I gotta say.

- You stay prayed up?

[Deborah laughs] - I did.

It was a very important project to have at a very tumultuous time.

This was during the pandemic that we were filming still, that we were going through personal health challenges.

In a film family, you get really close to one another.

And when before every shoot, we would hold hands and pray.

And it had been awhile since I'd done that and I really felt it very deeply each time and it really became this rhythm, this anthem for this film, this how do we show gratitude.

Prayer as gratitude, prayer for each day, prayer for this song, for this moment.

And it certainly changed me.

And it is a practice that I was honored...

I remember we had landed I think in California after a pretty long flight and the team was going to a screening all together.

And we were in a crowded restaurant and Mom turned to me and she said, "It's time for you to say grace."

And it's time for you to pray.

And so I did my level best and I think she gave it just a little nod.

- All right.

- All right, let's eat, we're tired.

And that was a real special moment for me to be asked to give grace back.

And yeah, deeply profoundly important film and experience in family that gave so much when I needed it.

And yeah, I'm very grateful for this experience.

- Wow, Lena C., when you hear that testimony and you think about what your mother's wish and mission has been, what do you say?

- Hallelujah!

[Deborah laughs] [Lena laughs] This has just been awesome and what we want the film to do is touch people, touch people lives, let people know that they are loved.

And we need that now.

We've had some awesome experiences all over the country with people and we're so appreciative.

It makes us feel so great.

It's just a feeling that I really I guess I can't hardly explain but it's just the film is doing exactly what it is supposed to do, touching lives.

- Very good, Matt, you know as touching as it was, I would imagine it was probably a lot of fun, too.

- Yes.

[team laughs] Any fun moments you wanna share?

- Every single day on this film was a fun moment.

Any day spent with Wilbur Tharpe, the best.

- Was all of this new to you as well?

- It was all new to me.

I grew up going to church, but it had been a really long time since religion had played any part in my day-to-day life and I was pretty disconnected from my spirituality.

And I echo all the things DL shared about the moment in which we came to this project, the moment in which Mother Perry and the Perry family entered our lives and just how meaningful that was as a reevaluation of the role of gratitude and spirituality for all of us.

But you asked about fun times.

Wilbur's laugh is so infectious and I think what we hope we convey in the film and what was not in a lot of earlier cuts of the film in which we reminded ourselves we needed to put back in the film was just how much fun Mom and Wilbur have with each other, just poking fun and telling jokes and ribbing each other.

I mean, people take religion so seriously and I think they show that there is so much humor and laughter at the heart of their music and their relationship.

So we tried to seed that into the film everywhere we could.

And hopefully that came across to the audience.

- It did and I think it was important too that you found a way and a place to insert something serious and very real in her growing up.

We see her generation and we see the place.

And I imagine it was absolutely important to reference that, but what do you take away in terms of understanding how she had to grow up, some of the race relations, but then her joy and the humor with which she operates and everybody who you encountered at that church operates.

- Yeah, I think one of the big challenges of the film in how we structured it because of course it's both a concert film and then it's also a biography and a living day story about a life and celebrating this beautiful 83-year-old life was figuring out how to help people understand where the depth of Mother Perry's faith comes from.

And it's not something she likes to talk about that much.

For her, it's just always been that way.

It's always been, it's never been questioned.

She didn't have a lot of reflection on where that came from.

So it was up to us to find those moments in her life that were the challenges to her faith, that were the challenges to her belief in humanity, in kindness, in love and to see those moments at the right times to help you have a deeper appreciation for what she's been through and how she can still be so expansive in her love and so positive in her life, given all she's been through.

So that's certainly that moment you mentioned of facing racism as a child in Johnson County was a big one, losing her husband, losing her singing partner.

You know some of these challenges were moments that we wanted to reflect on, to peel back layers of that onion and get deeper on understanding where her faith comes from.

- And Phil, what would you like to share about just the moments of challenge, but also the fun that you got out of it?

I enjoyed just watching how you evolved and sharing a little bit about the church music and so forth that you grew up with.

I'm familiar with that, too.

And I think that there's...

I absolutely appreciate both, but when you get into the kind of church that Lena Mae was in, it's almost like you get unchained.

[Deborah laughs] [DL laughs] - Yeah.

- Yeah, for sure.

- The moment that I set foot in Long Branch Disciples of Christ Church for the first time, you felt all that blue, those blue pews and the blue pulpit and all that, and was greeted by John and Dallas, two brothers who are deacons at the church and Ms. Iris, who's the secretary there.

And knowing that what it took for we all her call her Mom, we all call Mother Perry, Mom.

That's how the whole film team just calls her Mom.

That's what we've evolved to do.

So I think as far as practice and language, that is something that is with me from this film is how I address this woman now.

But for Mom, she had so many powerful relationships that she just put in the work.

At every stage of the game seeing how she had put in so much of walked the walk her whole life.

Didn't just talk the talk, she walked the walk.

And I like to say she watered that garden every day if that garden is her community.

And we saw through the process of this film I think for me to just witness what a lifetime of walking the walk looks like in the small ways on the phone like they say, but also in that when we wanna get permission to do anything or we need the community to show up or anything needs to get done within this community, just seeing how community works when someone has glued it together for so long that everyone wants to show up for her so badly.

And the longer you know her, you realize that you too also wanna show up so badly for this person whatever she needs if she asks anything and also turn around and do the same thing to somebody else.

It's exactly from the inside out, beauty in truth that we get to witness.

So my takeaway from this has been a powerful example if my vessel is used for anything for me to live the rest of my life in a way that incorporates what I saw was that I witnessed so much for me to carry in here and pit against questions that I have for the rest of my life, challenges I face, whatever happens because I was in the arms of truth and beauty for this whole experience.

And really being able to just call that a witnessing experience means to be able to be honored to tell the story like this, that's something that I was able to share a tiny part in in my life while I walked on this plane is truly profound.

And then to be able to take this film into other places and to see the resonance happen, doesn't matter if it's a church that has 80 people in it in the middle of the Piedmont in North Carolina, somewhere out in the country.

This woman is a timeless human being who is being used as a vessel of love in this lifetime.

And she is using her vessel so fully and so proudly and so boldly and unapologetically.

So I think that for all of us, but I can speak for myself, I was humbled over and over and over and over again as a kid who came as you can imagine.

Kid, well, we all was a kid once.

[team laughs] [Deborah laughs] - Well, we do have some audience questions coming in.

So I wanna go ahead and pull those in.

There's lots of folks that have questions for you.

One asks can Lena share how her mother got inspired to sing with such power and praise, Lena?

- So Mom comes from a singing family.

Grandmother Arlena and Louis, they sang and their parents sang.

And Mom's sister, Geneva and brother, Daniel, they also sang.

And there is a part in the documentary that Mom talks about when they were on the way to church, you had a certain place in the car you had to sit.

And if you didn't sit in that certain place, then your harmony wouldn't blend like it should.

And so that's how they went to church.

But also I believe it's just the power of God that uses Mom to bring forth her ministry.

- And Lena C., they also wanna know does she still have her telephone ministry?

- She does, yes, most certainly.

Every day, she's got that little black book or I could call and I'm trying to reach her, the telephone just rings and rings and rings.

I'm like, she's on the phone ministering to someone and that's a blessing, that's a blessing.

- It is, DL, Matt and Phil, I think you all have created some fans out there because somebody else wants to know, Lena, can anybody come to this church?

- Yes, anyone, everyone are welcome to Long Branch Disciples of Christ Church.

They have church every first and third Sunday.

And I believe that's 1921 Barefoot Road if I recall in Newton Grove, North Carolina.

- Newton Grove, my, my, my.

And lots of questions about Mae.

Wanna know how long was Mae's kitchen open, Lena?

- Oh my goodness.

I'm thinking about maybe 10, 15 years possibly.

Yes, if I recall correctly.

- And they certainly wanna know how is she doing, how is she feeling?

- Mom is feeling awesome, just great.

Yes, I am inspired.

And let me tell you, we take walks in the neighborhood in the evening and I'm like, okay, I'm coming, Mama, I'm coming.

[Phil laughs] And Mama's doing great, she is blessed.

- That's wonderful, that's good news.

DL, here's a question I think for you.

Who came up with the name of the film Stay Prayed Up and why was it chosen?

- Lena Mae Perry came up with it.

[team laughs] It's evident, it is obvious, it is prescient, it is the term her mother said every day.

You gotta keep yourself stay prayed up and that is like I said with the idea of prayer and this devotion and how do you express that.

And it was first the name of the album which is available if folks are interested and wanna buy the album, it's on CD, on vinyl.

- All right, there it is.

- That's a great way to support The Branchettes and you get this, yeah.

- Pretty cool.

- I am curious to know what titles are on that album.

- All the songs from the film.

- Plus a bunch more.

- Plus a few more, yeah.

- It's not usual anymore to hear the classic hymns sung in church.

So that's really special.

- Yeah, the hymns, the words are incredible.

These words are just stirring, they're eternal.

- Eternal, yes, timeless.

That's no knock on the modern day contemporary gospel, but the hymns.

- So incredible, yeah, we love it.

We've gotten to know all the songs now and then we play them at film festivals and we play at shows now.

- Which ones weren't in the film that were on the album because we had that challenge, there was so many.

- Yeah, how did you decide which ones to put in?

- Well, it was very difficult.

- I bet it was.

- It was very, very difficult.

Oh, I think You Can't Hurry God isn't on there.

- Reach Out and Touch the Lord.

- Oh yeah, you know what's amazing is from the church, we are there for three days, set up and rehearse for three days and then we had two shows.

We did a 3 PM and a 7 PM show.

We have over 100 recordings from that week, 100 recordings of things and only a handful have made it onto here, but we have all this great banter of just Wilbur and Mom talking and there's so much unreleased stuff, it's amazing.

- Oh, that sounds fun, that sounds fun.

- Wilbur is that whole thing that Wilbur made, too.

So it's beautiful to have a document of him sitting down at a piano and just singing.

So those are also something that we were blessed with in this whole process.

- Wonderful, Lena, folks wanna know if they get to the church will they get to see Mother Perry?

- Yes, Mother Perry is there every first and third Sunday.

- Now, let's talk about parking.

Just kidding, just kidding.

[team laughs] [Lena laughs] [Deborah laughs] I'm curious, on one of the scenes that just stands out in my mind and I'm gonna direct this question to you, Matt, and if it doesn't pertain then maybe you can toss it over to DL, but it's that scene where she is walking that long North Carolina red dirt road and you have that super wide shot.

Can you tell me the idea behind putting that shot together and why and how you made it come together?

- Sure, well, so many of the filming days on this project just felt ordained, like things that weren't supposed to happen that just happened.

But that day, DL and I had brought our cameras along and a journal along and had asked Mom and Lena to just give us a tour of some of the back roads and places that she grew up.

We were actually out there trying to find her very first childhood home, the home that she had a photo of, the rabbit box house that she told us stories about.

We were trying to find it.

And so we had triangulated and we were close.

We were on one of two roads.

And so we pulled over on the side of the road and got out walking, looking through some people's backyards and into some forests trying to find where this old house was.

And she had told us the story so many times of walking dirt roads from her grandparents' house to Long Branch Church when she was a little girl to sing and showing up at church with dirty feet and having to clean off the feet before she went into the little church to see the potbelly stove.

And so I think it was probably DL that had the good idea.

He said, "Mom, why don't you just wander on down that road "if you don't mind, take a little short walk."

The sun was just hitting that perfect time of day and he set the drone up and we filmed it with two cameras, one on the ground and one from the air and she just gave us that walk.

And it ended up being one of the most powerful shots in the film.

- Well, I gotta agree with that.

- Among the earth and the birds and the trees that have been part of her life since she was a little girl.

- Also wasn't that road the road that Aunt Mae, the original Branchette lived, at the end of that road?

She was walking towards Aunt Mae's house, the way she would've walked.

So it's really a famous spot.

- It's not a random road, that's for sure.

- Wow, and was that her property or her farm or anyone in the family's?

- Lena can answer that.

- Yes, not that I'm aware of.

- Okay, but she was familiar with that property, with that land and just that walk through all of the leafy greens.

Anyone who drives rural North Carolina is real familiar with those leafy greens.

And I always get confused.

Is it tobacco leaves or is it collard greens?

Lena, can you tell the difference?

What's the difference?

- Tobacco leaves in Johnson County.

- The little white and pink flowers.

- Yeah.

- Okay.

- Yeah, Mom walked that road pretty much every day.

So that road was very familiar to her.

- About how far, do you have any idea what she'd have to walk?

- Well, her parents maybe a half a mile or mile possibly because her parents didn't live too far from Aunt Mae.

- And they weren't worried about steps on their Fitbit were they?

- No.

[Lena laughs] [Deborah laughs] - We only filmed that once I think.

That was only one time.

We weren't gonna ask her to walk it again.

- And the question is did you all walk it because that looked like a hot...

I remember North Carolina summers and I didn't see a tree.

It was not shady, it was hot.

- It was a hot day.

- Yep, it was a hot day.

- So I think we've got another one here.

Going back to the first and third Sundays, what time is the service, audience wants to know.

And it sounds like you all are gonna have to make some preparations or something, Lena C. - That's what it sounds like, 11 AM.

- What's that again?

- 11 AM.

- All right, is there an early bird service?

- No, it's just 11.

- 11, perfect.

- It's one service.

- Lena, do you wanna share about New Bethel at all in Raleigh?

- Yeah, so normally on the second and fourth Sundays, Mom visit New Bethel Church.

That's where Bible study was filmed.

And they do have two services.

I don't recall both times, but that's the church that she visits often.

And she also, this church is not in the documentary, but she also visits my church, which is Grace AME Zion Church in Raleigh.

- I'm familiar.

- Are you?

- Yes, I went there when I was in college.

- Okay, okay.

And so she's gonna make sure she's in church on Sunday whether it's her home church or another church.

- Wonderful, well, like I said, you might have to gear up for a good problem here.

[Lena laughs] - She just had her 50th singing anniversary two weeks ago?

- Two weeks ago.

- Yeah, gold cornet dress, it was just stunning.

- Yeah, beautiful.

- We decked out our Instagram, we posted some photos from that.

It was just stunning to see her fully decked out for the golden anniversary.

- 50 years of The Branchettes.

- 50 years.

- 50 years, wow.

You know, wanna certainly be respectful of everyone's time, so let me put one last question out there to each of you.

What's the one takeaway that you really want people watching the documentary and anybody who would tune in to the week April 10th, and I misspoke a little bit earlier, it'll be on April 10th.

What's the one takeaway, let me open up with you, DL.

- I think that love and faith is abundant and it is expansive in ways that you may not be aware or may have not been shown in your life, but it is there and it's enough.

And I think that resounds with me with as Phil said Mother Perry's watering of the garden that those people, there are people in your community and your life who offer that and so can you.

- Wonderful, Matt?

- Same, I think just this idea that you don't have to do anything too grand, that just by showing up every day for the people by telling people that you love them and asking what they need and just making those small gestures every day that magnified over a lifetime that makes a huge difference and that we can all have that impact on other people's lives that Mom has had in so many lives.

- Wonderful, Phil.

- Well, stay prayed up for sure and people need people.

And this is a really incredible way to just be reminded of how many bridges are possible when the gift of family is put to the front of just whatever it is.

Given or chosen family are the people you get your life with together and that's good enough for me really.

That's all right with me.

- Great thoughts for people to carry with them.

I'm gonna pull you in here, too, Nick.

Nick, you were very instrumental in making sure that this was available for people to see.

What's the one takeaway that you would love for them to carry with them as they watch the documentary and finish it out?

- Well, I certainly can't improve on anyone else's here because the filmmaking team and Lena here are just incredible spirits and the energy even on a Zoom is palpable.

And I think that is ultimately what I'm hoping that people can just sit back and really feel welcomed both to our new season, but also to this story, to Mother Perry, to this filmmaking team, to the hard work that they've put in.

And just to also be witness to this incredible and impactful community across North Carolina.

And hopefully especially for the Southern audiences all over that they can draw the connections to their own communities as well because so much of gospel and of the gospel music is across these borders and across churches.

And I hope that people can be inspired to dig a little deeper into their own internal communities as well.

- I love that.

That's wonderful, Lena, lasting thoughts, takeaways.

- I hope everyone felt the love of our family and that the love of our mother.

And again just tell someone that you love them or just give them a call, a call can do a lot for someone and just let them see that you care.

My family, we are so grateful, so grateful of how this documentary is really touching lives.

And we've actually seen this.

But we love you, the producers, the doc team, my brothers, we love you.

PBS, thank you so much, we love you as well.

Just thank you.

And again, just tell someone, I love you.

And if you'll hold on for just a second... [team laughs] - For those of you that stuck with the program... - Hey, Mom.

- Hello, hello, I love you.

I love you, but don't forget now, stay prayed up.

- Oh, Ms. Lena Mae, thank you so much for gracing us with your presence.

God bless you.

God bless you also, Lena C. Perry Williams.

We so appreciate your words and you just sharing your story and your spirits and your hearts with all of us.

And I wanna thank also DL Anderson, the Director, Matt Durning, the Director and Phil Cook, Musician and Producer for bringing this story to audiences everywhere and for doing such a beautiful job of capturing who these beautiful women are and what their story is.

Thank you so much for doing that and for being here.

- It was an honor.

- Thank you.

- Thank you.

- And with all of that, we are officially out of time for this evening.

Many thanks to our special guests once again for sharing their time, talent and expertise with us this evening.

And thank you for logging on and for participating in the conversation.

We really appreciate it.

Stay Prayed Up premiers on Reel South on Thursday April 13th at 10 PM on PBS NC.

Watch online anytime or on the PBS app.

Season 8 will be available to stream starting April the 10th?

Is that right, April the 10th, did I get it right?

Great, so please do watch Reel South on Thursdays at 10 PM on PBS NC.

Please check your local listings to see when your local PBS airs Reel South.

And please also be on the lookout in your inbox for an email early next week with a survey link to share your thoughts and comments with us and the filmmakers.

The email will also contain the link to the recording of tonight's discussion and detailed info on when and where to watch and stream Stay Prayed Up and all Reel South films.

So I want to exercise a point of privilege by inviting you to watch Black Issues Forum on Friday evenings with Kenya Thompson at 7 PM.

And you can also see me every Thursday night on North Carolina Weekend.

This week, come along as I take you to the African American Music Park in Kinston for a musical weekend.

And then we're gonna bring you all new episodes starting in April.

To ensure that PBS North Carolina continues to bring you popular PBS shows, riveting documentaries, informative how-to programs, fun lifestyle shows, Rootle, our 24 hour kids channel and free inspiring Southern screenings events like this one, I hope that you are inspired to make a tax deductible donation to PBS NC safely and securely at PBSNC.org.

And if you're already a member, we so appreciate you.

Thanks again for joining us.

Stay safe and be well, good night.

- Love you, Mom.

- Good night.