Today is Pentecost Day. Wanna know how I know that? We attended services at Martin Luther King’s church. I guarantee it is everything you’d expect and more.
The new church (the above photo is the old church) is like any modern Baptist church – big screens, nice sound system, the whole nine yards – but the message is remarkable and beautiful for the time. A quote from The Reverend Warnock’s sermon:
“Sometimes we have been privileged for so long that when we see equality, it looks like oppression… and so we build a wall.”
Brilliant words in the context of Acts 2, and poignant words for today’s time. It was like a State of the Union address: most of the congregation stood and applauded…
“Preach!”
“Yes, Lord!”
“Yes, yes, yes, oh yes!”
During the invitation, post-sermon, the elderly woman next to me took my hand and prayed for me. Her name is Stella. She did not know me, of course, but I and all my students with me were prayed over today by a congregation that had never seen us before and would likely never see us again.
Warnock cited scripture. He cited Dr. King. He cited Fannie Lou Hamer and the voices of the Mississippi Freedom Party delegates. He cited voices of the Watts Riots.
People do that all the time, right?
Something is particularly impactful when the man and his wife are buried across the street.
There was something significant about this morning. At least, to me. I don’t say it often, but there are certain things that you need to do – perhaps call it a pilgrimage? – but this is one of them. Don’t just go to the tomb; go to the church services on a Sunday morning and see the legacy of a place preaching acceptance, love, tolerance, non-violence, and the use of ALL the rights that you may have to ensure that others with fewer rights may be brought to see the mountaintop, too.
Stay tuned,
-Noah D.
