Social Stratification in the Deep South

Our main event today was to attend Sunday services at the 16th Street Baptist Church. Since it was closed yesterday, today was the only opportunity we had to see the interior of this building. The services were quite different from anything I had experienced in the past. I was raised an Episcopalian, which had a very formal church environment. Today the music, singing, preaching and participation from the congregation kept all my senses hopping (for TWO hours). When no sermon had happened by the last third of the program (and nothing was listed on the program as a “sermon”), I mistakenly thought that maybe it was being skipped because of the holiday! Then the Rev. Arthur Price got up and launched into what I would classify a performance. It was very easy to get into the rhythm of his words and have their meaning take a back seat to how he was delivering them. However, there were things he said that jumped out. I don’t think I was the only one to be dismayed when he spoke against homosexuality. But I did agree with his take on the importance of integrity: what you do when nobody is looking. Afterwards, as we rode to Montgomery, Marcus led the daily reflections, which focused on everyone’s reactions to the church service. Some astute observations were made by all the students; it was a lively exchange of ideas. You’ll hear about these from many of the students, so I’ll leave that to them!

Here in Montgomery, we are at a lovely Embassy Suites for two nights. But it’s Memorial Day weekend. Many places are closed and there weren’t many dining options, so we all piled into the bus for a trip to the grocery store. Lynn’s post will describe that experience….