Experiences

I attended Mt. Zion Baptist Church which is an African American based church. From the moment I walked in I saw that I was one of maybe four or five white folk in the whole congregation. I was however, not treated any different. There were a few people who kind of had a look on their face like a, "who is that and why is he here," but I could be looking into it too much and it could only be the fact that they had never seen me before and that I was new. The service was based on being thankful for what the Lord has provided for us and how to celebrate his glory. They feel that much worship is done by singing.

Their choir was great. They were very fast and upbeat with a lot of soul and rhythm. It was not your average typical slow church hymn. This made me feel the urge to sing and clap my hands right along and believe me, I did. I really got into it. It was fun and made me feel connected to the rest of the congregation.

There was a variety of clothing being worn throughout the church. Most of the older men were in suits and ties. The older women had on dresses and seemed very proper and sophisticated. Children were wearing anything from a nice shirt and dress slacks to a suit and tie as well, mostly the fathers that had suites has children that had suits. There were also a few people that had on a traditional African- style dress. By this I mean there were some people who had on multi-colored decorum with hats to match: greens, yellows, reds, etc.

While the reverend gave the sermon, he had a lot of questions in which the congregation followed with "YES," and "PRAISE THE LORD!" There were some folks who would call out to Jesus during the sermon or just shout, "AMEN!" I found this to be very interesting. At previous churches that I have been to, everyone has been very quite and sometimes very stone-faced until the service was over and then they would quietly leave and not say a single word. At Mt. Zion everyone showed great enthusiasm which was excellent. It...