by Shawn Nowlin
Jeff and Ashley Hash, both 39, have come a long way since their teen years at Patrick Henry High School, when they wrote notes to each other in an African American Culture class taught by Fletcher Nichols.
“I first met Jeff long before he walked into my class. Back in the days of the Men of Distinction, we were at a church preparing to perform when someone suddenly pulled forward a young boy, unassuming in appearance. He was placed in front of the choir, and when he opened his mouth, a clear soprano voice filled the sanctuary with power and beauty that left me completely astonished. That boy was Jeff,” Nichols said.
He added, “Years later, when he entered my classroom alongside his future wife, Ashley, I was both excited and unprepared for the impact they would make. From the beginning, they weren’t just members of the gospel choir – they were a moving force.”
If someone had told Nichols back then that one day, Jeff and Ashley would be performing at the Vatican, he would have fully embraced the idea. Last Saturday, the Hash’s experienced that once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
On Sept. 13, more than 253,000 people packed St. Peter’s Square to experience Grace the World, a history-making concert at Vatican City. Directed by music icon Pharrell Williams and Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, the event marked the location’s first concert in 2,000 years.
Among the performers were the Voices of Fire Gospel Choir, Karol G, Jennifer Hudson, Teddy Swims, Angélique Kidjo, the Choir of the Diocese of Rome and John Legend.
The first hip-hop artists to ever perform at The Vatican, the Clipse, composed of brothers Terrence and Gene Thornton, honored their late parents during their performance. The Virginia natives are childhood friends of Pharrell.
Bishop Ezekiel Williams, an uncle to Pharrell and the Pastor of Faith World Ministries, was honored during the event.
Speeches by Naomi Campbell, Graca Machel Mandela, Nobel Laureates Kailash Satyarthi and Nadia Murad emphasized a vision of world unity.
Posing a challenge to the world, Pharrell said, “Now is that time, my friends. Let’s choose grace. Let’s choose curiosity. Let’s choose them so much that it spreads. Let’s spread so much love and so much light in this world.”
Pharrell’s company, Something in the Water, produced the event. Since Disney+ attained the exclusive streaming rights, it made it possible to replay it to a worldwide audience.
Speaking to how the opportunity came about, Jeff said, “We were both taken aback by the call. God favored connections is what we call it. For years, we’ve been blessed to share stages with several notable names. In all of those settings, we’ve taken our gift of music very seriously.”
Ashley added, “Often, we call our names in prayer and literally our names are in places we’d never imagine. Putting God first, a desire to uphold our character as we’ve had several leaders who impacted our growth as a couple and individually. To assist Voices of Fire in this momentous occasion was surreal.”
Neither said they were nervous when the bright lights came on.
“It was never about us. We were ministerial tools to uplift, strengthen and pour out. From our hearts, that is what we did,” Jeff said. “We have to first believe what we sing and take it in before sharing for another’s cultivation.”
The production concluded with a drone and lights show paying tribute to Sistine Chapel, a chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the pope’s official residence in Vatican City.
The Hash’s have some advice for any teenager who has a dream: “Be serious about the gifts that you are blessed with, cultivate them, study and don’t measure your acceleration against others. Everything should be to the glory of God.”
