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"""The mother of contemporary Christian music"" - Excerpt from ""The Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music"", Sept. 2002 ""She is Conservative Christianity's worst nightmare: a Jesus-loving, Bible-believing, God-fearing lesbian Christian."" - Christian Century Magazine At just 16, Marsha Carter (now Stevens-Pino) shared her newly born-again Christianity with a song that went on to become one of the most widely recognized, and translated hymns in Christian circles: ""For Those Tears I Died (Come to the Water)"". Some historians have said it was the first song to be called ""Contemporary Christian Music."" Since those modest beginnings, Marsha has continued her journey in the world of Christian Music. She shared her music first as a member of Children of the Day, who are considered the first music group in the Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) genre. When she came out as a lesbian she experienced severe animosity from those who were conservative Christians, including the Christian music industry. The hostility and behavior by Christians she had ministered to, and with whom she sometimes traveled, did not deter her Christian spirit. More than ever, Stevens-Pino passionately pursues her ministry, producing inspirational and edifying songs and performing widely as a solo artist around the United States to spread the positive Christian word of Love to all of God's creation, especially to the gay and lesbian communities. Marsha has written and recorded dozens of albums under the label of BALM Ministries. The label stood for her commitment of being a Born Again Lesbian Musician. Marsha is free to follow the path she has chosen and to share her uplifting testimony, without apology. Faithful to the spirit of her faith and with the full support of her spouse Cindy, Marsha lives openly, with the Jesus who invited her to Come to the Water, so many years ago."

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*Rev. Dr. Nancy Wilson, author, Moderator of the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches UFMCC: Marsha Stevens tells the story of her encounter with the living God in the passionate days of the Jesus movement - a story that led her to trust the God who made her, and called her, ultimately, to claim her identity and mission as a Born Again Lesbian! This is a story of two movements, a world-class hymn, and the powerful intersection of grace, identity and calling. The faith that birthed For Those Tears I Died, eventually birthed Free to Be, and so much more. From the almost surreal accounts of founding Children of the Day, and ministering with celebrities in the global Jesus movement concerts, to the humblest of venues, Marsha is courageously authentic. She is the mother of contemporary Christian music, who was at the very center and then driven to the margins. A prophetic poet and lyricist, she never stops reaching out to those who are not sure they can trust God, church or themselves. Her message, is, always, of course you can! Of all the things that live on after us, Marsha's music may be what best captures all that we tried to be and do for our community. ----- *Rev. Freda Smith, clergy person who performed the first U.S. same-sex wedding conducted with a government-issued civil marriage license in Denver, Colorado for Richard Adams and Anthony Sullivan in 1975. The marriage is still listed on the Colorado Bureau of Records website: For Those Tears I Died by Marsha Stevens-Pino is a must-read autobiography by an uniquely- gifted songwriter and artist whose music and ministry has touched and changed our world. My church loved Marsha's music long before she entered MCC. She was a spiritual rock star in the Evangelical Christian world, a global traveler who appeared with the contemporary greats of the time. I give Marsha credit for being a positive factor in the growth of Sacramento MCC. Music does build the church. Marsha's book, For Those Tears I Died, goes behind the scenes, beyond the glitter of public appearances and acclaim, to introduce us to a very deep and real survivor who by the power and grace of her faith has overcome. That spark that would not die was You, that strength to finally grieve, The faithfulness to feel the pain, yet still believe... --- *Rev. Elder Troy Perry, pioneer civil rights activist, Founder of UFMCC - the largest LGBTQ organization in the world: I consider Marsha a colleague and one of my closest friends, but she is also a pioneer in her own right. One thing quickly learned by any pioneer is that there is no one there to cheer when you arrive. Marsha has forged a path for hundreds of Contemporary Christian Music artists and thousands of wounded Christians to find their way back to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I've ministered with her in four countries and watched her music and storytelling lighten hearts, open eyes, and spark recognition of the presence of God's Holy Spirit in people who thought they would never feel that spark again. Reading her story reminds me of the passion of those years of the Jesus Movement and the legacy that Jesus music left for us. I didn't meet Marsha until a few weeks after she came out as a lesbian Christian, but I knew of her music and recognized her the first time she walked into a church where I was preaching. I knew from that moment that the path would be smoother, the way more clear, and the truth more accessible to the LGBTQ community we were both committed to reaching. She paid the price before anybody else in the Christian music world and I will never forget it. And I knew without any doubt, as I told her that night, that she had come into the realm of God for just such a time as this.

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