Church and ride to Cleveland, MS
Today was our second Sunday together. This morning we attended church service at the Greater St. Stephen Full Gospel Baptist Church in New Orleans, LA. This church is a mega church with another branch in Atlanta, GA. The leaders of the church are Bishop Paul S. Morton, Senior Pastor and Elder Debra B. Morton, Co-Pastor. This church experience was very different from our last experience at 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. This morning, there was definitely more of a vibe of contemporary worship style especially through song and the praise dance ministry. Even though the church has a very large congregation, it seemed like there was a great sense of community and a welcoming presence. The service was led by the Co-Pastor Elder Debra B. Morton. So, the fact that a woman was leading the sermon made it different from last week’s church experience. You could tell how much the community has been through because of some of the topics brought up in the sermon. The title of her sermon was “Like Mike”. It focused on the fact that many people wanted to be just like Michael Jordan when he first entered the scene. People wanted to look like him, dress like him, and more than anything be able to play basketball like him. This part of the sermon was the point when she was trying to captivate everyone, from all different age groups to become involved in the service. Co-Pastor focused on how people of God need to be like Daniel, a major character of the Old Testament. Daniel was led out of the lion’s den. The focus for me was realizing that everyone has gifts and that we should not idolize Earthly figures. I thought that the sermon was powerful and well delivered. After church when he had our reflection, we learned that a former professor at North Carolina A&T and a resident of New Orleans wrote a note dedicated to our class. The letter was heart felt and she gave us great advice. It was nice knowing that someone took the time to think about our group that was visiting.
After church and reflecting today, we had student reports and watched the film, The Trials of Darryl Hunt. This was my second time viewing the film and it really gives you a chance to think about the conditions of prison and the impact of 20 years living knowing that you are innocent. Darryl Hunt endured three trials before justice finally came. It took a lot of hard work on behalf on Hunt’s lawyers and other people in the community. Hunt’s story is one that definitely needs to be told across the country because this kind of case occurs way to often. There are issues brought up in Hunt’s trial that deal with racial tensions in the Winston-Salem community that continue to be strong. I think that this film is a good sedgeway into preparing for Parchman. I’m looking forward to an exciting day in Cleveland, MS and surrounding areas tomorrow.