#16 A Powerful Preacher and a National Sermon on Race

Dr. William Barber, Architect of the Moral Monday Movement

WHERE I WENT AND WHY:
Another hectic week of elder care kept me from coming to Charlotte in time for a morning service, and made attending in South Carolina difficult.  Myers Park Baptist (one of the MP3!) was on my list and I noticed in the paper that Dr. Barber would be delivering a special sermon Sunday night.  MP Baptist is known in Charlotte as a progressive Baptist church, so it definitely was on my "list".  And a chance to hear Dr. Barber made this a slam dunk! (Not to mention the convenient time.  I'm a little chagrined about how often I choose a church because it's services are at a time that fits my schedule.  This has become a distinct advantage when choosing a church each week, but somehow I don't think God would validate this part of my criteria!)

WHAT TO KNOW IF YOU WANT TO GO:
Myers Park Baptist is in the triangle of Queens Road, Selwyn Avenue and Sharon Road.  Parking was intense!  I got the last spot in the preschool circle, and folks were parking in the median on Queens when I arrived 20 minutes early.   By the time the service started, they were seating folks in the choir loft in the chancel!  It was a packed house!! I'm not sure if it would be quite that way at a regular service, but with the MP3 within 2 blocks of each other, I'd plan some extra time for parking.  Dress was church casual with folks more on the dressy side even in the late afternoon.

The massive pulpit and chandeliers are amazing!

REFLECTIONS ON WORSHIP

MOOD:

When I arrived, the church was already just about full and I ended sitting on the front row!  The atmosphere was electric with anticipation.  The pews are in "boxes" and I thanked the woman next to me for letting me crowd in.  She is a regular member and we had a pleasant conversation about their new minister (Dr. Boswell) who also delivered a healing sermon this morning.  After hearing about my project, she invited me back to a regular service.

MUSIC:

The youth choir at MP Baptist began the service with a great anthem "You are a Child of God". 

On week #2 I wrote about the Caldwell Presbyterian Gospel Choir.  Supposedly they were not at full strength that day.  Well they were Sunday night!  Their rendition of "Time to Serve the Lord" got a 2 minute standing ovation!  They were supposed to close the service with another anthem, but Dr. Barber did an impromptu altar call of the clergy and anointed them to go out and deliver a message of peace.  This resulted in them skipping their anthem which I was looking forward to! (A small snippet is in the video on the Observer link further down.)

MESSAGE:

Dr. Barber is a commanding figure and his delivery can be hard to follow sometimes.  When reading, he can speak very fast (and he quoted numerous sources).   I was writing furiously and had no idea how I would summarize the more than hour-long sermon!  The sermon was based on 1st Samuel where God gives the Israelites a king even though He spoke against it through Samuel, the Prophet.  He told Samuel, that the people were not rejecting him, but rejecting God's counsel and that he should continue to prophesy and call upon the people to repent. He related this to our electing Trump president.  He quoted Langston Hughes  and called upon us to seek resilience, revival and redemption.  Our principals were not "unelected" last Tuesday and we will need them even more in the next 4 years.  His review of how African Americans have repeatedly been rejected and marginalized since the Civil War, through Jim Crow, the backlash to the Civil Rights Bill of the 60's, and mass incarceration of young black men in the war on drugs dovetailed perfectly with my reading of The New Jim Crow.   He said that Trump is not an anomaly,  and not the worst thing to happen to racial unity (remember slavery?!) but just one more obstacle in the way to healing the racial divide.  Poverty programs have been racialized but they help more poor white people than African Americans.  We must not let society pit one race against another, but work together to help everyone fulfill the American dream.

I am really glad Tim Funk from the Observer was there and wrote a great piece about his sermon in Monday's Observer. The piece in the physical paper is a little longer and more detailed, but this link from the Observer website has a 3 minute video of Dr. Barber preaching and the Caldwell Presbyterian Choir.  http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/article114575968.html

OBSERVATIONS AND OUTREACH

• Myers Park Baptist's reputation as a progressive church was more than validated with this service.  I was moved by the mood, message, and music!
• The church is also conducting a study on racism and  reconciliation.
  

THIS WEEK'S FUNNY:

With all of my traveling back and forth to South Carolina for elder care, I have been listening to several books on tape.  I just finished Mark Russell's God is Disappointed in You.  It is an irreverent summary of the books of the Bible and is hilarious and poignant!  I want to get a hard copy so that I can also enjoy the cartoons.  Here is a short review:

The Bulletin: