Nothing is a given in a competition, but a local choir has been experiencing some "Blessed Assurance" in its hunt for a grand prize.

The Remnant Choir from Mount Ararat Baptist Church in East Liberty has already represented Pittsburgh well as a regional winner in the Verizon Wireless "How Sweet The Sound," contest designed to discover "The Best Church Choir in America." The choir's winning hymn was the 19th-century tune "Blessed Assurance" in an arresting arrangement by Fanny Crosby and sung with remarkable gusto (seen on the competition's Web site, www.howsweetthesound.com).

Now the choir has an all-expenses-paid trip to the finals in Detroit at Joe Louis Arena Saturday. It will compete against 10 choirs from around the United States with $25,000 at stake in a grand prize.

Choir leader Trini L. Massie says the regional win was all in a day's work.

"We were just doing what we do every Sunday, which is minister," he says. "It is not a performance, it is ministry, and we executed well. If you come with the attitude of performing well, not trying to compete, it helps."

And it has helped. In the regional competition in Washington, D.C., in September, the Remnant Choir won four prizes, including the People's Choice Award, beat out three other accomplished groups in the large choir category and won $16,000 for its church.

Massie, 33, has served as the minister of worship at Mount Ararat for eight years. He attributes the success of the mixed choir to the cohesiveness of its 65 members.

"It is the perfect blend of the parts," he says. "They all come together beautifully. It sounds like one."

The money will be nice -- Massie says Pastor Dr. William H. Curtis has plans to build a new building for Mount Ararat -- but it is the message that inspires the singers.

"This is what we do," says Massie. "The greatest thing is to be able to share the gospel beyond our church."

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