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| My morning | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Mar 14 2010, 11:55 AM (341 Views) | |
| Dewey | Mar 14 2010, 11:55 AM Post #1 |
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HOLY CARP!!!
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As part of a class, I needed to attend a worship service at a large African-American church in downtown Columbus this morning - Mount Olivet Baptist Church. My goal was to go in, enjoy the service, take mental notes about its structure and flow (I'll be giving a brief presentation on the vist on Tuesday). My class is being taught by the man who was leading the choir there this morning. The church has two services - 7:30 and 11:00. Since I have to conduct my own services an hour away at 10:30, I could get to the early service. I knew that the service was likely going to run longer than my cutoff time (around 9:00), so I made sure to sit in the back of the church so I could discreetly slip out without causing a distraction. Also, since I was headed directly to my church, I was attending the service wearing a suit and clerical collar. The church was very warm and welcoming. I can't tell you how many welcomes, handshakes, and hugs I got - and I think I even got one kiss. The fact that I was the only white person there, and that I was wearing a clerical collar, made me stick out like a sore thumb. Shortly after I sat down, a white-gloved usher told me that there were reserved seats up front for visiting clergy, but I explained my situation and told him that I'd prefer to stay where I was. So the service started, and it was very good. But maybe ten or fifteen minutes into the service, the pastor - Dr. Charles Booth - 5 minute youtube clip, featuring a great opening line 10 minute youtube clip - sees me in the back and says, "I see we have a visiting member of the clergy with us this morning!" and everyone swings around to see me - so I just turned around and looked back behind me, laughing. "Stand up, brother - stand up!" Okay, okay, so I stand up, and everyone starts clapping. "Come on up here, brother, come on up here!" Clap, clap, shout, shout... So at this point I'm cracking up, and I slip out into the center aisle and go forward, while everyone is standing up clapping and calling out to me. They seat me up on the front platform, front and center, right next to the pulpit. Dr. Booth greets me, asks my name, introduces me. Everyone claps again. So now here I sit, and all I can think is "how in the hell am I going to slip out of here discreetly?" I look down, just off the platform, and I see the choir director, my professor, sitting at the keyboard, looking up at me and mouthing, "I'm sorry!" ![]() It actually went okay - the service was great, and the music was amazing. I was able to slip out and still get to my church on time. On the way home, I realized that the second service was still going on in the Baptist church, and I could still catch the part of the service I'd missed earlier in the morning. So I headed back, and got a seat in the back. The second service was running longer, and was even more energetic than the first one. Eventually, the service ended, and I was trying to get out to the side aisle to head out. Just as I got there, I saw the pastor working his way up the aisle, and we got to the same point at almost the same moment. He said, "I saw you come back in, I'm glad you came back!" I told him I just wanted to have a chance to thank him and his congregation for their warmth and hospitality. As we're walking the aisle to the back of the church, he says, "I want you to come back to my office, we have to talk!" as he's pretty much guiding me down the aisle. And it's at this point I notice that it isn't just the two of us walking and talking - he has an entourage. he has people, encircling him. One many carrying his books, Two others just basically functioning as bodyguards, another one out clearing the way. We head back to his office, one of the people unlocks the door and holds it open for the two of us, and the rest of the entourage to enter the inner sanctum. He welcomes me in, and asks if I had a card. I didn't. "That's okay, here, just give me your contact information. We occasionally look for visiting pastors to come in and preach here." I laughed, "Well Dr. Booth, I've got to tell you, our preaching styles are a little different!" Everyone laughed, and he said, "Oh no, we enjoy all different kinds of preachers here." As he's talking and I'm writing, one of his people took his robe off of him. he got out of his shirt and undershirt, and another member of the entourage had a terrycloth robe held out, waiting for him to step into it. Then we just sat and chatted for a while, while his people occasionally would knock on the door and ask if so-and-so could come in and offer the pastor well-wishes. He was a really interesting guy, and a great preacher. But even beyond that, it was an interesting experience, to say the least.
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"By nature, i prefer brevity." - John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, p. 685. "Never waste your time trying to explain yourself to people who are committed to misunderstanding you." - Anonymous "Oh sure, every once in a while a turd floated by, but other than that it was just fine." - Joe A., 2011 I'll answer your other comments later, but my primary priority for the rest of the evening is to get drunk." - Klaus, 12/31/14 | |
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| BeeLady | Mar 14 2010, 01:01 PM Post #2 |
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Middle Aged Carp
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What a great experience! In a more subtle way, my friend and I had a similar experience at your church...being singled out during the sermon and the warm greetings we got from your congregation after the service. Being a visitor has it's perks. So do you think this will influence your style or the way you operate? Do you see yourself incorporating aspects of their service into yours? |
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"My wheel shall sing responsive to my tread, And I will spin so fine, so strong a thread Fate shall not cut it, nor Time's forces break" "Distaff and Spindle: Sonnets by Mary Ashley Townsend" 1895 | |
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| DivaDeb | Mar 14 2010, 01:11 PM Post #3 |
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HOLY CARP!!!
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I have sung a few times at a large black Baptist church in Houston. It's the most fun I ever have. The guy who plays for me is a fantastic jazz organist...and he talks the whole time I'm singing...it's so great...he'll say "oh yes Lord"...and "talk God"...and I just love it so much that its probably not the most Christ focused singing I do. I tend to think a lot about how cool it is to be singing for those folks with that man at the keyboard...and normally I do a better job of thinking about Jesus. The preaching is always fun too...they do a good bit of 'whooping' but the content is excellent. The choir kicks it like nobody else. They have the white gloved ushers too. It's a favorite favorite time for me and my kids just adore it. Their pastor spoke at our pastor's installation service, so there is kind of a reciprocal thing between the churches. Organ dude has played for me in the other church as well. And the sax dude usually comes with him and then I'm really out of focus I LOVE SAX
Edited by DivaDeb, Mar 14 2010, 01:12 PM.
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| QuantumIvory | Mar 14 2010, 01:13 PM Post #4 |
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Senior Carp
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What a great story; thanks for sharing that, Dewey. I was smiling the whole time I was reading it. |
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"I regard consciousness as fundamental. We cannot get behind consciousness." -Max Planck | |
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| Aqua Letifer | Mar 14 2010, 02:00 PM Post #5 |
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ZOOOOOM!
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That's awesome! Sounds like a well-spent Sunday if ever I heard of one.
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| I cite irreconcilable differences. | |
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| jon-nyc | Mar 14 2010, 02:01 PM Post #6 |
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Cheers
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Great story, Dewey. |
| In my defense, I was left unsupervised. | |
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| Jane D'Oh | Mar 15 2010, 04:34 AM Post #7 |
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Fulla-Carp
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This is kind of reminding me of a scene in Happy Feet for some reason. |
| Pfft. | |
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| Dewey | Mar 15 2010, 05:11 AM Post #8 |
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HOLY CARP!!!
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Never saw the movie - but as I was telling Mrs. Dewey about the whole incident, she said, "Just don't get any ideas for your own entourage - as far as I'm concerned, if you want to put on a robe after your service, you can put it on for yourself!" Srsly, I was very appreciative of his friendliness, and his welcoming and supportive comments. I really enjoyed our conversation, and the day in worship with him. |
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"By nature, i prefer brevity." - John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, p. 685. "Never waste your time trying to explain yourself to people who are committed to misunderstanding you." - Anonymous "Oh sure, every once in a while a turd floated by, but other than that it was just fine." - Joe A., 2011 I'll answer your other comments later, but my primary priority for the rest of the evening is to get drunk." - Klaus, 12/31/14 | |
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| kluurs | Mar 15 2010, 10:39 AM Post #9 |
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Fulla-Carp
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Great story. I once spoke at a chapel near Cabrini Green housing in Chicago. It was fascinating. The relationship between the community and their pastor was very touching. I was there to give a talk about health issues - and afterwards, the pastor walked me to my car. It was clear that the congregation really looked to their pastor for leadership and guidance in matters far beyond the spiritual - a lot of trust and responsibility. |
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| Dewey | Mar 15 2010, 11:19 AM Post #10 |
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HOLY CARP!!!
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Heh. I actually figured it's such a small gathering, the fact that there were visitors there was obvious, so I mostly introduced/welcomed you just to put an end to the curiosity and allow them to focus on the worship. But hey, at least I didn't call you both forward and seat you up on the platform. There are two empty chairs up there, you know.
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"By nature, i prefer brevity." - John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, p. 685. "Never waste your time trying to explain yourself to people who are committed to misunderstanding you." - Anonymous "Oh sure, every once in a while a turd floated by, but other than that it was just fine." - Joe A., 2011 I'll answer your other comments later, but my primary priority for the rest of the evening is to get drunk." - Klaus, 12/31/14 | |
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| Big John | Mar 15 2010, 11:27 AM Post #11 |
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Senior Carp
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I love those kinds of churches. River of Life here in town is one of them. Service starts at 11:30 on Sunday and can go three hours. At a point, I have had my fill and when everyone is dancing around waving their hands in the air I dance towards the back door and slip out. I like those services (and the music) MUCH more than the responsorial setup of regular churches. |
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| Luke's Dad | Mar 15 2010, 02:21 PM Post #12 |
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Emperor Pengin
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When I was about 6, my family and I were driving up to Michigan. We were going through Cleveland, it was a Sunday evening, and we saw a Baptist Church. My parents decided we should stop for the service. Went in, and yes, we were the only white folk in the room. Could not have had a better time. The Pastor sent a couple of deacons out to watch our van (this was downtown Cleveland in the 70's, mind you), my dad got called upon to testify and preach, and that was the first time I can recall holding a tambourine. |
| The problem with having an open mind is that people keep trying to put things in it. | |
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| CHAS | Mar 15 2010, 06:51 PM Post #13 |
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Middle Aged Carp
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In the sixties I started to go into a church in my home town for the funeral service of a man I had known since childhood. He worked on my family's farm. The congregation was 100% African-American. I started in the door and got very hostile stares. I left. So, I went to the cemetary. Most of the people from that church were nice to me. There were other whites there that I knew. At that time, the early 60s, whites were not welcome in that church. Those were times of great conflict between the races. It is understandable. Later, when I saw some of the members of that congregation they were apologetic, but they did not invite me to their church. |
| "You want to be Nice, or you want to be Effective? Make the law or be subject to it?"-Roy Cohn | |
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| Dewey | Mar 15 2010, 07:41 PM Post #14 |
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HOLY CARP!!!
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The difference was that at that time, and up until fairly recently, the church was the once place where a black man or woman could say what they really thought and felt, and could lay out whatever their frustrations and burdens, without any fear whatsoever of reprisals from the predominantly white culture around them. So for many black churches, I could understand that non-welcome. With a white person in their presence, they would then have to second-guess everything they said. That really isn't the case anymore, so the attitude has changed. But the reality of race differences are still there. That played out in some ways at that service on Sunday. It did not play out at all in the welcome that I received there. If anything, I was made to feel not like a guest, but practically family. Everyone - everyone - I encountered went out of their way to make me feel welcome, with genuine smiles, hand squeezes, hugs, and conversation. Really, I know for a fact I've never felt more welcome as a visitor to any church, any time, anywhere, any denomination. It really warmed my heart. It did play out during the sermon a bit, at least from my standpoint. Of course, it's customary in the black church to have preaching in the call & response style - the preacher getting constant feedback, positive or negative, to his message, by the response of the congregation, and his continually adjusting his message to their response, in a kind of circular dynamic. And I wasn't exactly standing up and clapping, or calling out encouragement to the pastor, as were the assistant pastors sitting around me (remember, I was front and center up on the platform), but to try to do my part, I was at least nodding my head and clapping on occasion. But at one point in the sermon, the pastor started to talk about problems that black folk had to face up to, and fix within the community. The biggest problem, he told them all, was that black folk have a terrible record of saving their money - so many of them are all about the bling, but not saving and investing to advance themselves. He made comments about living in a rundown house with holes in the roof, but a satellite dish up on the roof; or not having enough money to tithe to the church, but enough money to buy a big new Cadillac every few years. There was no way under the sun that I, the only white person in the church, and sitting front and center, was going to move a muscle to show any sort of support for the pastor when he was going off on that path. The congregation was, but given the realities of race relations, it was absolutely not my place to respond in any way. I swear, I just looked straight at him and froze like a statue. my nose itched, and I wouldn't even raise my hand to scratch it, until he moved into another line of thinking. It was the only moments of real discomfort I had at all that morning. |
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"By nature, i prefer brevity." - John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, p. 685. "Never waste your time trying to explain yourself to people who are committed to misunderstanding you." - Anonymous "Oh sure, every once in a while a turd floated by, but other than that it was just fine." - Joe A., 2011 I'll answer your other comments later, but my primary priority for the rest of the evening is to get drunk." - Klaus, 12/31/14 | |
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and the warm greetings we got from your congregation after the service.
I LOVE SAX



11:12 AM Jul 11