Observation 1
Date: Sep 17th, 2006 12:20:54 am - Subscribe
As I was driving up to my designated location for my observation, I could already tell that I was looking towards an evening of interesting events. My observation took place at the P.W.F.G. or Producing Warriors For God establishment. This is a non-denominational establishment. It is located in an almost abandoned building in an alley suite of (city, state). To my surprise, there was already someone outside the suite door awaiting my arrival. Nervously, I followed the individual inside the building.
The door opened and there before me were six individuals, all of whom were African American (I am Hispanic). Six bright smiles flashed and I felt relieved. One of the females stood up and introduced me to the whole group that consisted of her daughter, who is eight; her husband, who is the pastor; her mother in-law, who is the visionary; a young adult male, who is in the process of learning how to preach; and his wife. The suite was very intimate. There were only four rows, each containing only five chairs for a limited amount of members. This is their place of worship. My church, which is a Catholic church, can hold hundreds of people, and it was awkward for me to feel “watched”. The young man who is preparing to be a pastor stood behind a podium. He seemed very nervous. During his preaching he constantly swayed, looked up at the ceiling and used numerous hand movements. I believe that this is the way he usually preaches because it makes him feel comfortable. By moving and indirect eye contact he is able to concentrate on his words. There were no expressions by the audience. Everyone sat there, taking notes and listening, even the eight year old.
At the end of his sermon, the pastor asked him a couple of questions, directly but quietly. Next, the pastor’s wife spoke. Her voice was much more dominant than her husbands. She was very outspoken and very detailed. A thought came to mind that maybe the male feels intimidated by the female. It was obvious to me that while the “learner” was at the podium, there was a tremendous respect for the individual, but when the time was available to speak, the women were ready to express their thoughts. The men listened. After both the pastor’s wife and the visionary spoke, it seemed as if the pastor then felt that he needed to elaborate more on his comments. While the pastor spoke, the women gave signs of approval by giving some “u-huh’s, Amen’s, and that’s rights”. A lot of nodding of the head was also done by the women. The women, being so outspoken are also very encouraging when the man speaks. They also have the tendency to repeat the same words after the men.
At this point, the pastor was really “giving it” to the adult learner. I believe he might have thought that I was frightened by his reactions because he felt the need to turn to me and say “I believe that it is important to be hard on him because it is crucial for him to completely understand what he is preaching so he can walk the streets and be able to face any questions that might be thrown at him by any individual. This might be his chance to save a soul”. Wow! I sat there…understanding and delighted of the fact that even though this happens to be the smallest member establishment of worship I‘ve ever been to or seen, they indeed had the same beliefs and hearts as millions of others, as myself.
To conclude the evening, they played a song. It was no song that I would hear at my church, but the message was just the same. It was a modern rap song and everyone stood and danced. I recalled where Banks stated that in the early stages of religion diversity “the chant, song, and dance central to much tribal religiosity fused with the enthusiastic and often emotional style of evangelicalism to give African American Christianity a distinctive expression that grew and developed alongside the churches with European roots.” It was as if more movement was done, then more worshiping was done. The eight year old was on the side performing some “steppin’ and struttin’”.
I had noticed signs around the room throughout my whole observation and I brought it to myself to ask them what the signs stood for. The signs looked a little like “ZOZ”. Apparently this stands for Zeta Phi Zeta. This is a Christian fraternity/sorority. Their goal is to “produce a Christian culture on college campuses that will encourage everyone on the campus to seek a true and right relationship with God.” There are currently nine chapters of this organization in the nation. (City) is the newest city chapter.
I’m glad that I was able to experience this observation because it allowed me to see a different way of worship with individuals who have a diverse ethnic background. It also gave me the opportunity to see how they interact with each other. They were very respectful to me and I appreciated their hospitality.
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