The Sumter Item recently featured Shonda English in its Past is Present series, sharing the story of a daughter carrying forward the music, ministry and memories her father left behind.
Shonda’s father, Bishop W.T. English, founded Greater St. Paul Non-denominational Church in Sumter. Gospel music was part of the life he built there. As a child, Shonda learned music by ear, played for the church and eventually found her own voice as a musician and singer.
Her path also took her beyond Sumter. The feature follows her through gospel music, recording and the work of building a life of her own. Yet the story returns to home: to the church, to her father’s example and to Gospel in the Park, the gathering she created to bring people together through music.
I know Shonda as the host of The Old Landmark Gospel Hour on FAS Radio Station. What listeners hear in her work is more than a love of gospel music. They hear someone who understands where that music comes from and why it matters to the people who gather around it.
The part of her story that stays with me is her choice to carry the legacy forward in her own way. Honoring a parent does not require a child to live the same life. Shonda has taken what her father gave her—faith, music and a commitment to community—and made something that also bears her own name.
Thank you to The Sumter Item for giving this story the space it deserves, and congratulations to Shonda on the feature. Her story is a reminder that what we build can keep serving people long after we are gone.
Based on Abigail Pittman’s “Past is Present” feature in The Sumter Item, published September 26, 2026.
