Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! Today I attended a Southern Baptist church service. This experience was on my bucket list for my Georgian summer. I've been to a Baptist church service before but thought it would be interesting to experience it in the South. After talking to one of my local friends, I was recommended to visit the Ebenezer church and oh boy, it was quite the experience!
The Ebenezer church is part of the Martin Luther King Jr National Park as this was the King's church. Martin Luther King Jr.'s grandfather and father served as pastors in this church. Today the congregation doesn't meet in the original building but across the street in a newer facility that was built in 1999. The newer meeting hall is much larger to accommodate the growing congregation that is apparently around 6,000 people. I don't believe there were that many people there today; however, it was a full house, not an empty space on any bench.
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| New Meeting House |
Next, we attended the church service which was quite a treat. People filtered in to the seats and it started off with some upbeat joyous music. The majority of the congregation was African American as there was probably only five other white people besides our party. We didn't stand out... no not at all! Some ladies had some elegant hats and Martin Luther King Jr.'s sister was actually in attendance as well. She also by far had the best and most unique hat.
The music was by far one of the best parts of the service. There was a live band that included drums and electric guitars. In addition, there were tambourines and various clapping rhythms. The choir sounded amazing and had some very talented vocalists. The music was upbeat and joyous just as you would expect in a Southern Baptist Church. People sang along, stood up and danced, and swayed to the music. It was wonderful!
Something else I loved at the beginning is that they introduced the visitors. They called some out by name and had them stand up but then also had any others not mentioned stand. We all stood up as there was no way to hide that we were visiting. Then during a song for about five to ten minutes, everyone turned to one another to welcome each other and say hello. People were leaving their seats to walk up and down the aisles, shaking people's hands along the way. They were straining to reach each and every person down the row as they wanted to make sure each person was acknowledged. People were hugging and embracing one another as if they were relatives. I felt the warmth from everyone and very welcome in their church. I love that they reached out to the new visitors like this and created such a friendly, open environment.
Another great part of the service was the acknowledgment of birthdays! Yes... birthdays. I couldn't believe it either! They had anyone with a birthday in this month stand up to be recognized for a short happy birthday song. How cute!
The pastor also gave a good sermon. He had some uplifting words of encouragement and interesting points. I didn't agree with everything he had to say but could see a few similarities and parallels to my faith. I find it very interesting to experience other churches and see how they worship God. And I also feel it helps me strengthen my beliefs in my Gospel and reminded of the things that I appreciate about my church.
All in all, I absolutely loved the experience. I thought it was a wonderful church service. I thoroughly enjoyed the music and atmosphere. Everyone was so so friendly. I walked out with a "Praise the Lord, Hallelujah" attitude. I just wanted to dance and sing all day! And I have to say, it was very very hard to sit so still and reverent during my church meetings that afternoon. I was full of excitement and energy from the Baptist service that I could hardly sit still and quiet during mine. This trip to a Southern Baptist Church was well worth it, and I can happily check it off the bucket list of Atlanta!
So cool Brookie! -Kyle
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