Monday, November 19, 2007
On the lighter side...
So my other post today is somewhat serious. I thought I would throw in some humor. I finally have babyla potty trained in the house. Yay! Last week, she was teeteeing in the potty, which that day was in the kitchen. Fh was here, and babyla asks him, "Josh, want to teetee with me?" He politely declined her generous offer.
Cuz tomorrow is a brand new day & it don't know white from black
Church has always been an important part of my life. I love my church, but I have also been interested in others’ services. I have been to Catholic masses (I went to Catholic schools through high school), Jewish temple and a Lutheran service. But I have never been to a Baptist church. I was always a little nervous at the thought of a Baptist church since I know they tend to not like those from my faith and my few Baptist friends I have had have not been nice in the religion department. However, I have always wanted to attend an African-American Southern Baptist service. I have heard about them and seen them on TV, so this assignment (to do something we have never done but always wanted to; for a class at u of m) was my chance to attend one live. I, along with my fiancé and my daughter, went to the church of a friend of my mother’s: New Hope Baptist Church.
My first impression was how huge the church was. There were two entrances on the street flanked by impressive brick walls welcoming us to worship. We found a spot to park, and I finally began to feel nervous. My fears were lessened somewhat when we got in the building and everyone started welcoming us. We even filled out guest cards they had for us. This began what impressed me the most about the church—everyone was so nice! We were welcomed, hugged, spoken with, patted, you name it—all during the service. It was like a breath of fresh air to meet such kind and welcoming people. We found our seats, shown to us by ushers, and looking around I quickly realized we were indeed the only white people there. And I slowly began to feel the color of my skin. The service was nice, if a bit loud, and people continued to welcome us. Sometimes I would look around at the congregation to find children staring at us, no doubt wondering what we were doing there. At one point during the service, a woman went to the stand with a stack of cards in her hand and announced “We have some guests here with us today!” My fiancé, Josh, said my face visibly drained of color. I felt my eyes widen and I shrank back in my seat as the realization dawned on me that they were going to introduce us to the entire congregation. And they did. And before I knew what hit me, there were people everywhere hugging me and shaking Josh’s hand. After what seemed about an hour we were able to sit down as other guests were introduced. After that, the service went by pretty quickly. My daughter wanted a flag like those being waved, so she contented herself with waving her program. I also got to see a woman get so into the music or whatever was touching her that she started dancing with a pained expression on her face. She danced her way out of the row, pushing everyone out of the way, out to the aisle where she passed out. It was definitely something I have never seen before. Finally it was time to go and we left, a little relieved to get to the quietness of the car.
I learned several things from this experience, mostly about myself. First, I learned that there are instances when I do not like getting up in front of other people. Normally I love being in the spotlight, but now I realize not when I am the only white person in a huge room of African-Americans. This leads to the second thing I learned and that is what it is like to feel the color of my skin. I have never felt that before; it has never even crossed my mind. I have always been in the majority wherever I have gone, and here I was thrust into being a minority—completely alone. Another white person there would have helped (besides Josh and my daughter), but there were none. It was not a pleasant feeling, wanting in a way to hide my skin, to want to look like everyone else. Needless to say I was completely out of my comfort zone. A third thing I have learned is how wonderfully nice people can be. I have never been so welcomed before. Whenever I speak of New Hope Baptist Church, it will be to praise them in their kindness and welcome.
My first impression was how huge the church was. There were two entrances on the street flanked by impressive brick walls welcoming us to worship. We found a spot to park, and I finally began to feel nervous. My fears were lessened somewhat when we got in the building and everyone started welcoming us. We even filled out guest cards they had for us. This began what impressed me the most about the church—everyone was so nice! We were welcomed, hugged, spoken with, patted, you name it—all during the service. It was like a breath of fresh air to meet such kind and welcoming people. We found our seats, shown to us by ushers, and looking around I quickly realized we were indeed the only white people there. And I slowly began to feel the color of my skin. The service was nice, if a bit loud, and people continued to welcome us. Sometimes I would look around at the congregation to find children staring at us, no doubt wondering what we were doing there. At one point during the service, a woman went to the stand with a stack of cards in her hand and announced “We have some guests here with us today!” My fiancé, Josh, said my face visibly drained of color. I felt my eyes widen and I shrank back in my seat as the realization dawned on me that they were going to introduce us to the entire congregation. And they did. And before I knew what hit me, there were people everywhere hugging me and shaking Josh’s hand. After what seemed about an hour we were able to sit down as other guests were introduced. After that, the service went by pretty quickly. My daughter wanted a flag like those being waved, so she contented herself with waving her program. I also got to see a woman get so into the music or whatever was touching her that she started dancing with a pained expression on her face. She danced her way out of the row, pushing everyone out of the way, out to the aisle where she passed out. It was definitely something I have never seen before. Finally it was time to go and we left, a little relieved to get to the quietness of the car.
I learned several things from this experience, mostly about myself. First, I learned that there are instances when I do not like getting up in front of other people. Normally I love being in the spotlight, but now I realize not when I am the only white person in a huge room of African-Americans. This leads to the second thing I learned and that is what it is like to feel the color of my skin. I have never felt that before; it has never even crossed my mind. I have always been in the majority wherever I have gone, and here I was thrust into being a minority—completely alone. Another white person there would have helped (besides Josh and my daughter), but there were none. It was not a pleasant feeling, wanting in a way to hide my skin, to want to look like everyone else. Needless to say I was completely out of my comfort zone. A third thing I have learned is how wonderfully nice people can be. I have never been so welcomed before. Whenever I speak of New Hope Baptist Church, it will be to praise them in their kindness and welcome.
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Round 5 we'll book the wedding band
Fh and I have a wedding site. On it are pics of us, babyla, stories, info, everything. PLease visit us there at thebeers.ourweddingday.com
Thanks!
Thanks!
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