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National service is a common name for mandatory government service programmes (usually military service, also known as conscription). The term became common British usage during and for some years following the Second World War. Many young people spent one or more years in such programmes. Compulsory military service typically requires all citizens, or all male citizens, to participate for a period of a year (or more in some countries) during their youth, usually at some point between the age of 18 and their late twenties.

Wartime national service in Britain required the whole population to register with the government's Ministry of Labour, which could then direct people where to work. Most men aged 18 to 51 were "called up" for military service, except for those in "reserved occupations" (farming, railways, medicine, skilled tradesmen in war industries, firemen and policemen, etc.) and unmarried women under 30 could be directed into war industries such as munitions factories, the Women's Land Army or the Women's Timber Corps. Coal shortages 1944-45 meant that thousands of the last wartime conscripts were drafted into coal mines (the "Bevin Boys", thus named for the wartime Minister of Labour). British national service ended with victory in 1945 but was reimposed (for men only) in 1947 to enlarge the armed forces, first for an 18-month term, then for two years. Compulsory military call-up ended in 1960 and national registration was discontinued (except as required for social insurance.)

National service is the usual term for compulsory military service programmes in countries including Austria, Cyprus, Denmark, Greece, Guyana, Israel, Iran, Malaysia, Mexico, Norway, Finland, the Republic of China (Taiwan), Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland and Turkey. Conscription in the United States was called Selective Service and continued until 1973. In the Netherlands, conscription was called "service duty" (Dutch: "dienstplicht"), and continued until 1996. After 1996 service duty was suspended in the Netherlands but not abolished, and although unlikely, it may be reinstated at any time by the Minister of Defense. Most NATO countries discontinued obligatory military service in the 1970s. Israel was the only country to conscript young women as well as young men for military service in the late 20th century.

India has a separate programme called the National Service Scheme (NSS) in which students from primary level to graduate level participate. In some Indian colleges (like IITs), it is a compulsory part of curricula.^{[citation needed]}

See also[link]

• Alternative service
• Conscription in Australia
• Conscription in the United Kingdom
• Conscription in Canada
• Conscription in Singapore
• National service in the United States of America
• Malaysian National Service
• National Youth Service
• Sherut Leumi (National Service in Israel)

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Donald Andrew McClurkin, Jr. (born November 9, 1959) is an American gospel music singer and minister. He has won three Grammy awards, ten Stellar awards, two BET awards, two Soul Train awards, one Dove award and one NAACP Image award for his work.

Early life[link]

McClurkin was born Copiague, New York and raised in Amityville. When he was eight years old, his two-year-old brother was hit and killed by a speeding driver. After the loss, McClurkin found comfort in church and through an aunt who sang background vocals with gospel music musician Andraé Crouch. He began to play piano and sing with his church youth choir. He formed the McClurkin Singers by the time he was a teenager, and later formed another group, the New York Restoration Choir.^[1][2]

Ministry[link]

He was hired as an associate minister at Marvin Winans' Perfecting Church in 1989.^[3] The Winans are a well-established family of singers who dominated the contemporary gospel charts in the 80's and 90's,while experiencing cross-over appeal, and continue to be voices of influence in 2012. McClurkin served as an assistant to Pastor Marvin L. Winans for over a decade, while living in Detroit,MI.

In 1991, a sharp pain and swelling, followed by internal bleeding, led, he says, to a diagnosis of leukemia. The doctor suggested immediate treatment, but McClurkin, who was then 31, decided to take his own advice. "I tell people to believe that God will save you," he says, "[and] I had to turn around and practice the very thing that I preached."^[4]

He was ordained and sent out by Winans in 2001 to establish Perfecting Faith Church in Freeport, Long Island, where he is now Senior Pastor.^[5][6]

Music[link]

A friendship with a Warner Alliance executive resulted in his signing to the label for his 1996 self-titled LP, with producers Mark Kibble of Take 6, Cedric and Victor Caldwell plus Andraé Crouch. The disc, which featured the perennially popular "Stand," went gold shortly after being publicly lauded by Oprah Winfrey.^[7] At the 48th Annual Grammy Awards, he won in the category Traditional Soul Gospel Album, for "Psalms, Hymns & Spiritual Songs".^[8] McClurkin is best known for his hit songs “Stand” and “We Fall Down” which were played in heavy rotation on both Gospel and Urban radio. His three solo albums have topped the Billboard charts.^[9]

Dovetailing off the success of his near double-platinum selling album,"Live in London and More" McClurkin released "Psalms,Hymns and Spiritual Songs" in 2005 and “We All Are One: Live In Detroit” in 2009 which also topped Billboard charts across various musical genres. McClurkin's love for people and desire to share gospel music,globally, is why he includes a language medley:Japanese, Russian, Spanish, and Dutch in most live performances.

Radio and television[link]

Tom Versen and Tony Sisti of T&T Creative www.tandtcreative.com signed Grammy winner Donnie McClurkin to a radio syndication deal with advertising giant Dial-Global and syndicator Gary Bernstein. T&T Creative provided a mobile recording studio in Pastor Donnie's church that he can also take on the road. He is quoted as saying "As much as I love music and singing, I really love doing radio and the direct feedback I get from my listeners all over the country. I never thought I would be having this much fun doing radio and I could touch and impact so many people."[19]

In 2009 he also broadcast his own television show titled “Perfecting Your Faith” on cable television.^[10] His television appearances include Good Morning America, CBS Saturday’s Early Show, and the View. He has also been featured in movies like “The Gospel”, “The Fighting Temptations” and television shows “Girlfriends” and “The Parkers.”

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

Live albums[link]

Compilation albums[link]

Singles:

• Stand (1996)
• Speak To My Heart (1996)
• Love Will Never Be (1996)
• We Fall Down (2000)
• Love Melodies (1998)
• We Love You, Lord (2000)
• Ooh Child (2005) with Kirk Franklin)
• The Prayer (2003)(with Yolanda Adams)
• I Call You Faithful (2005)
• That Great Day (2007) (with Tye Tribbett, Da' T.R.U.T.H.)
• Wait on the Lord (2009)

Filmography[link]

• Hopeville (2007)
• The Gospel (2005)
• The Prince of Egypt (1998) wrote and sang "I Am" & "Humanity"
• 25 Strong: The BET Silver Anniversary Special
• The Donnie McClurkin Story: From Darkness to Light (2004)
• Apollo at 70: A Hot Night in Harlem (2004)
• The Fighting Temptations (2003)

Notable television appearances:

• SuperBowl Gospel Celebration (2012)
• CNN Saturday Morning (2012)
• CNN Pierce Morgan Tonight (2012)
• BET Awards-performance (2011)
• Sunday's Best/ BET Sunday Best -Judge (2011)
• BET Sunday Best - Judge (2010)
• 25th Annual Stellar Gospel Music Awards-Hosted (2010)
• 24th Annual Stellar Gospel Music Awards-Co-Hosted (2009)
• An Evening of Stars: Tribute to Stevie Wonder (2006)
• 20th Annual Stellar Gospel Music Awards (2005)
• 19th Annual Stellar Gospel Music Awards (2004)
• 18th Annual Stellar Gospel Music Awards Preshow (2003)
• 17th Annual Stellar Gospel Music Awards (2002)
• Essence Awards (2003)
• The Parkers (2002)
• Girlfriends (2001)
• 1st Annual BET Awards (2001)
• Essence Awards (2001)
• An Evening of Stars: A Celebration of Educational Excellence (2001)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Donnie McClurkin: official site
• The Donnie McClurkin Show: radio broadcast
• Perfecting Faith Church: official site
• Exclusive Interview on BlackGospel.com (October 2008) : Interview

Marvin Lawrence Winans (born March 5, 1958)^[1] is an American gospel singer and member of the musical Winans family. He is also known for his recurring role in the hit show Tyler Perry's House of Payne.

Life and career[link]

Personal life[link]

Winans was born in Detroit, Michigan,^[2] the fourth of 10 children of Delores (née Ransom) and David Glenn Winans, Sr., who recorded together as "Mom and Pop Winans".^[1][3][4] His siblings David II, Carvin (his fraternal twin), Benjamin (BeBe), Daniel, Michael, Ronald, Priscilla (CeCe), Deborah (Debbie), Angelique (Angie) are also musically gifted and have careers in the music industry singing, writing and producing. Marvin met and married Vickie Bowman, to whom he was married for 16 years until their divorce in 1995. His sons, Marvin Jr. (Coconut), Josiah Winans, and stepson Mario (Skeeter) are also in the music business. Mario is a producer and R&B singer. Marvin Jr., once a member of Winans Phase 2, is now a solo artist and is also a producer, and Josiah Winans is Also a Producer featured on Marvin jr's first solo project.

Musical career[link]

Winans sang in the 1970s with his brothers Ronald, Carvin (his twin) and Michael (the group also included others) as The Testimonial Singers. Their first performance was at a high school talent show. In 1975 the group's name was changed to The Winans. Their musical careers spanned both the 1980s and 1990s. The Winans, who were discovered by Andrae Crouch, released their first album under the new group's name, entitled Introducing The Winans, in 1981. The Winans were greatly influenced by the Queen of Gospel Albertina Walker and her group The Caravans. An organist and pianist, Marvin also wrote songs, and produced for The Winans records, for solo projects from family members, and on other gospel releases. For his vocals on the 1985 song "Bring Back the Days of Yea and Nay", Winans was awarded a Grammy for Best Male Soul Gospel Performance. He and several of his siblings and family members sang the Winans hit "Tomorrow" at Whitney Houston's funeral. ^[5]

In 2007, Winans released his first solo recording, Alone, But Not Alone.

Pastor, Perfecting Church (Detroit)[link]

Winans, a pastor, founded The Perfecting Church in Detroit, Michigan in the early 1990s, and released an album with the church's choir in 1992 entitled Introducing Perfected Praise. A second album, Friends, appeared in 2001. His 2007 release, Alone but Not Alone, was nominated for a Grammy award for Best Contemporary R&B Gospel Album. On Saturday, February 18, 2012, at noon (EST), Winans preached the eulogy at Whitney Houston's funeral, at New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, New Jersey.

Discography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Marvin Winans at the Internet Movie Database

Timothy Wright (June 17, 1947 – April 24, 2009)^[1], generally credited as Rev. Timothy Wright or Reverend Timothy Wright on recordings, was an American gospel singer and pastor.

Biography[link]

Wright started on piano at age 12, and sang and composed for his church choir as a teenager at the St. John's Fire Baptized Holiness Church of God in Brooklyn.^[2] He played piano for Bishop F. D. Washington and Isaac Douglas in the 1960s and 1970s, including on recordings, and he formed his own gospel ensemble in the mid-1970s, the Timothy Wright Concert Choir. He eventually became pastor of the Pentecostal Grace Tabernacle Christian Center Church of God in Christ located in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, and issued albums regularly from 1990.^[2][3]

Wright's 1994 album Come Thou Almighty King, with the New York Fellowship Mass Choir, made Billboard’s Top 20 chart for gospel albums and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Soul Gospel Album, as was his 1999 release Been There Done That.^[4][5]

On July 4, 2008, Wright was critically injured in a car crash on Interstate 80 in Pennsylvania, a crash which killed his wife and grandson as well as the driver of the oncoming car.^[4] He died April 24, 2009 as a result of these injuries, at the age of 61.^[1][4]

Discography[link]

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References[link]