Found

Today I found out that there is a documentary about Green Memorial and the history of African Americans in Maine.  I'm digging around trying to find out where to watch it, but I did find a clip.  Here is the link if you are interested:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78hhxGK1Eas

Self-Reflection

As I mentioned back in my first blog post, I had walked by Green Memorial many times without ever going in.  It is only because of this project that I finally got up the courage.  Looking back, what was I so afraid of?  The congregants of GM are so welcoming. The sermons are inspiring even though I do not share the same religion. The music is powerful and enjoyable.  I think it comes down to fear of being the "other", the fear of being different from the other church goers.  Growing up in Maine, "the whitest state in the nation" according to one of the people I connected with at GM, it is very easy for me, a white woman, to be around people who look like me.  Though I have not always lived here and had that ability, it's very easy to continue to stay in my majority group now that I am back, and I think it is often unconscious.  Being in a situation where I was not quite sure how I should dress or act and wondering if others were judging me because of the color of my skin definitely upped my anxiety level a bit at first.  Imagine being a minority every single day.  How does that affect a person?

I walked into GM with some preconceived notions.  I thought it would be mostly African American congregants. It was, but I was surprised by the many Latinos and white people there, too.  I thought people would judge me for not being Christian.  It is possible that they did, but the people I sat next to during Sunday services were very helpful in helping me find my way through the Bible and answering my questions about topics I had no knowledge of.  No one gave me a funny look when, for instance, I said, "I'm new to Bibles" while trying to look up a reading.

I wanted to bring some attention to a few of the topics covered in Pastor Lewis's sermons that I could relate to even though I am not Christian.

Sin - I've always had issues with the concept of sin.  How can people look at a newborn baby and believe it is a sinner?  After some thought about this when it was mentioned at the first service I attended, I wonder if sin is just a word for the general idea that humans are not perfect?  At GM they say that God loves us despite our sins.  Could this relate to the idea of compassion for self and others?  We all make mistakes, we will never be perfect, we all hurt ourselves and each other at some point, and we all make bad decisions at times.  If we love and accept ourselves completely, we can overcome our lack of perfection.

Love thy neighbor - In Kundalini yoga we talk about realizing that you are the other.  I think these concepts are the same.  As stated above, none of us are perfect.  If we can have compassion for those that do things that drive us nuts or even hurt us, we will overcome anger and be closer to our higher selves, spirit, or God.

There were many other topics that I work with in my non-Christian life.  Prayer to me is manifestation or the ability to create what it is you want in your life through focus and positive thought.  Gratitude is a practice.  "Not my will but thy will be done" has been helpful in my life during really tough times, times when I don't understand why something is happening.  It helps to know there is something out there bigger and greater than you...a divine plan, if you will.  In Kundalini we often say "Let go and let God."  I suppose my point here is that we are all different.  We have different color skin.  We are spiritually different.  We eat different foods.  We wear different clothes.  However, inside all of these differences is some sameness, too.  If we are open to differences we can find ways to relate.  

Values, Uniqueness and Needs of Green Memorial and its Members

This past Sunday I had the pleasure of meeting with Green Memorial's Pastor, Reverend Kenneth I. Lewis, Jr. as well as a member of the congregation.  I also chatted a bit with a couple of the women I was sitting next to during Sunday's service.  

Pastor Lewis

The service was wonderful.  Pastor Lewis is clearly passionate about his work, and his sermons are moving and meaningful even to this here pagan.  Sunday was Pentecost which I knew nothing about.  I turned to the women sitting next to me and asked what is was.  She told me it was the day that the church received the holy spirit.  Christians had gathered from all over, and all of them were speaking different languages. When the spirit was received, all the people suddenly understood each other.  The Pastor touched on this briefly, but I think what touched me most during the sermon was a topic I call "manifestation", which is the ability to focus your energy on getting something you need in your life.  The Pastor talked about what we need to do while we are waiting for whatever it is we are praying for.  We sang "Wait". The lyrics are:

Wait...with expectation.

Wait...with anticipation.

Wait...and I will worship You, Lord, while I wait.

This seemed very similar to what I do when I am praying for something in my life.  For instance, I want a farmer to purchase our organic farm up in Poland.  I am waiting for that, and I trust that it will happen. I'm excited about it, and I visualize it and think about it often.  While I'm waiting, I express my gratitude for all the wonderful gifts in my life.  I do my meditation and yoga practice.  The concept is the same, though the language is a bit different.  

I have to admit that I felt a little uncomfortable asking questions to the Pastor.  I am a different ethnicity/race, and I am a non-Christian.  I think I expressed a bit of this concern in my first post:  I fear that I will be viewed as a racist and/or judged for not being Christian.  There, I said it.  I think my fears are unfounded.  Reverend Lewis was happy to talk with me and answer my questions.

Reverend Lewis, who has been the Pastor at Green Memorial since 2003, agreed to meet with me after the service.  I could see he was tired.  Sunday was HOT, and there were no open windows, and no air conditioning.  Services at Green Memorial are long, about two hours, and Reverend Lewis puts a lot of energy into the service, preaching full force, often yelling, singing, and moving.  He does not stand still behind the pulpit.  For this reason, we did not spend much time together.  He was beat!  

I have posted a bit about values already after going to my first Sunday service, but I wanted to ask the Reverend what he thought the values of the congregation are.  He felt a little uncomfortable speaking for the congregation, but after thinking for a moment he said that he thought Integrity, Authenticity, and Accountability would be what members valued most.  These values lead to one of the things that make Green Memorial so unique.  It is a safe place to be Vulnerable.  It is not uncommon for congregants to shed tears.  I personally shed a few myself at both of the services I attended. This morning someone even went around handing out tissues.  

Reverend Lewis also talked about how Maine is the least churched state in the country, but that Green Memorial is Growing.  Members of the church know that if they don't get there on time, they may not have a seat!  Because of this, one of the needs of the Church is Space.  If there were 300 seats at Green Memorial, the Reverend is sure they would be filled.  

The thing that makes the Green Memorial Community most unique is the fact that it is an African church which has become Diversified organically.  Reverend Lewis said that Sundays are the most segregated day across the United States and that there is not another church like this in the country.  He's not exactly sure of the ratio, but thought it was about 60 to 70 percent African/Black and 40 to 30 percent other.  When I first walked in to Green Memorial I thought there might be a handful of other white people, and I was surprised to see that it really is a pretty nice mix of all kinds.  At the time I thought this must just be how AME churches are, and I shared that with Reverend Lewis, but he said there are no other AME churches like this.  He calls it the "Green Memorial Experience."  

Reverend Lewis talked about needs very briefly.  One mentioned above was Space.  Apparently, the church would like to expand.  They own the whole block on Sheridan, except for one house.  They need to purchase that house in order to expand.  He also stated that they really needed a Single Level Church.  Some of the congregants are quite old and managing the stairs (they are some of the steepest stairs I have ever seen) is quite difficult.  The last need the Reverend talked about was the need to Stay in an Urban Location.  He said a church like this would never work in a rural setting, and I quickly agreed with him but later wondered if perhaps some day it could?

Because the Reverend could not spend much time with me, I reached out to Michee Jean, a fellow social work student who attends Green Memorial.  I asked her if she could elaborate on what makes Green Memorial unique as well as some of its needs.  

Michee mentioned that in the whitest state in the country, she can find a place where she fits in at Green Memorial.  Even though there are all kinds of people at GM, she feels like she is part of the Black Community while at church.  It makes her feel comfortable.  She also feels that having a Black Pastor is unique, and that he is someone who knows what it is like to be black in Maine.  In fact, Pastor Lewis is the main reason Michee attends Green Memorial.  She says that "time flies when he's preaching.  He's funny, serious, intelligent, and honest."

Michee also discussed space as a need at Green Memorial, however, she talked specifically about more Parking Spaces.  Another need is a Closer Knit Community.  She finds it difficult to break into the groups or cliques of people who have been going there for 10+ years, or for their whole lives.  Finally, she feels the church really needs some Updating.  After sitting through Sunday's very HOT service, I have to agree.  The hand held fans they passed out were lovely, and Pastor Lewis was doing a fabulous job, but I think everyone there was a bit uncomfortable due to the heat!  

One last thing before I end this very long post.  One of the ladies I sat next to (and I did not get her name) was telling me all about the music at Green Memorial.  Her husband is the guitar player.  It may seem obvious but I want to point out clearly how much Green Memorial and its congregants value and  cherish their music.  It is a major piece of the Sunday service, and it is what interested me in the first place.  

A Bit of History

The African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church (AME Zion Church) was established in 1821 in New York City but was congregating for many years beforehand.  The roots of the church can be followed back to the John Street Methodist Church of Manhattan which is the oldest Methodist church in North America.  After black parishioners were openly discriminated against by not being allowed to worship in the church, many left and formed their own places of worship.  The first AME Zion Church, called Zion, was erected in 1800.  Although the parishioners were black, ministers were white.  In 1822, after much struggle, James Varick was among the first black ministers to be ordained.

In 1891, an AME Zion Church mission was created in Portland, Maine, after many African-American residents urged church elders to send them one.  The congregation moved around town in the beginning, residing in buildings on Preble, Free, Congress, and Montfort Streets.  After Reverend George F. Green urged members to take their personal spiritual uplift into their own hands, the trustees purchased a lot on 95 Monument Street.  A new church, built in 1914, is located at 46 Sheridan Street, Portland, Maine.  

The mission statement of the AME Zion Church, taken from Green Memorial's Facebook page is:

The mission of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church is to increase out love of God and to help meet the needs of humankind by 'Loving God with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our mind, and to love our neighbor as ourselves

Implicit in this statement is the belief that the church should have a positive relationship with God vertically, and a positive relationship to humankind horizontally. Therefore, we love God and are obedient to His commandments and loyal to all which He and His Kingdom stand.

We also share in the mission of His Son Jesus Christ, in "healing the sick, helping the blind to receive sight, the lame to walk, the leper to be cleansed, the deaf to hear, the dead to be raised, and the poor to have the Good News preached to them." Luke 4:18

We actualize this mission by praising God, by being obedient to the demands of the Gospel, by telling the story of God's gracious acts in creating and redeeming the world, by inviting persons to commit their lives to Jesus Christ, and by serving as ministers of God's liberating and reconciling grace.

Sunday Service

Wow!  My first experience at Green Memorial was fun, moving, and at times slightly uncomfortable.  I found a lot I could relate to spiritually.  Those pieces that I felt challenged by can be overcome (by me), I think, by changing the language just slightly.

When I first arrived, I felt a little nervous as I always do walking into something I know very little about.  However, I immediately felt welcomed.  Members of the church were very friendly towards newcomers (of which there were a few) and loving toward each other.  Many hugs, smiles and gentle touches were shared as the church goers got settled in.  The service began with a beautiful song that further displayed this welcoming value:

Welcome into this place,

welcome into this broken vessel.

You desire to abide

in the praises of Your people;

so we lift our hands,

and we lift our hearts,

as we offer up this praise unto Your name.

You can hear a version of this song here: https://www.youtube.com/watchfeature=player_detailpage&v=xwCJvAIabGY

Emphasis was also placed on the ability to celebrate.  This was talked about specifically by the Reverend but also through the way the congregation worships.  At times, it was not unlike going to see a show.  We were singing, dancing, shouting, laughing, raising our hands.  People seemed to be celebrating not just their love of God, but being together in community, the the sun shining on our faces this morning, in the simple fact of waking up this morning.  

Another value which relates to the former, is gratitude.  Being grateful for the simplest things such as just waking up to another day, having enough food to eat, having clothes on your back but also for the people in our lives that challenge us, for the obstacles that force us to look deeper within and work harder.

Another value that I could very much relate to is something I call, right livelihood and the Reverend called, doing good work.  The idea being that what you spend your time doing should benefit others, not just put a paycheck in your hands.  

So much was covered in just this one service.  Did I tell you this services was over two hours long?  I may have to save some of my personal insights gained from this experience for another post later this week.  Until then!  

What Am I Getting Myself Into?

After going over a few different options for this cultural immersion project, I think I've come up with a game plan.  I've had contact with many different colors, cultures, religions, etc., but what I kept coming back to was the desire to spend more time with African American people.  Of course, I do have some African American friends, but aside from spending a small amount of time going to a Caribbean club in Boston, my friends are usually the minority in our group encounters, and I am not.

Years ago, I lived in the East End of Portland on Kellogg Street.  On my Sunday morning walk or bike ride to work, I would always go by the Green Memorial African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church on Sheridan Street.  Beautiful music was always exploding from the building, and it really sounded like they were having a good time.  I always wanted to go in and never did.  I think this is my chance.  I will be attending a service there this Sunday, May 18th.

I have to admit I am pretty nervous about this.  I am a white, non-Christian (really non-religious) woman.  My father was a non-practicing Catholic.  My mother was a Protestant who sometimes practiced and sometimes did not.  I walked away from religion as soon as I could.  I am very spiritual, however.  I often find myself connecting to Spirit via music, so in that sense, I am excited about this experience, and I think that is a big reason I am drawn to this church.  There is also the color of my skin.  I do worry I will be judged because of it.  I worry that this assignment is just another opportunity for a white person to exploit a person of color.  I only hope my own deep interest and sincerity will overcome that possibility.  How will I convey that, though?  What will I say when asked, "what brings you here?"  Ultimately, it is the assignment that is driving me to it.

Picture of some of the Green Memorial Congregation, taken from their facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Green-Memorial-AME-Zion-Church