Well, what a Sunday. As I mentioned on Saturday, we were going to do choich and we certainly did. From 11:00 am till 8:30 pm we were privileged and delighted to be invited into communities, no families, that met and worshiped in ways that ranged from subtly different to mostly foreign. It was a day of four parts - three quite different churches and services, and it would be remiss to fail to mention that Fran celebrated her birthday as well.
It was another hot, sultry Tennessee day. We gathered in the hotel foyer at 10:20 am (after a frantic search for places selling bottled water) to board the bus. Our driver was a new friend named Dick( in case I forgot to mention the previous driver was Ed and wonderful driver and great conversationalist he is as well). Dick was vastly knowledgable about Memphis, and much of the rest of the world, having been a driver to Jerry Lee Lewis for 13 years (amongst other stars). Anyhow, Joe drove us to the Bethlehem MBC, where we had attended the quartet program the previous evening.
It was a warm and welcoming atmosphere that we entered. Many of the folks we had met on Saturday night were there and the service proceeded with BOA singing Shine On Me and Walk in the Light as our contribution. Following the service, we were treated to a memorable and delicious lunch with many of the church elders, including Virgin (who had sung the previous night) - once a member of the Stirling Sisters and on the cover of Tony's latest songbook - Louise, May, Kimberly, Chuck, and more names than I can remember. What I do remember are hugs, laughter, smiling faces, and feelings of warmth and welcome. We reluctantly left to go to our next engagement with exhortations to return as often as we could and for any of us who are ever in Memphis to come back and spend time with them again. Believe me, I would in a moment. The burdens that these poeple labour under to keep their church going include haveing had the airconditioner cut off and stolen two weeks before, and no longer being able to publish the addresses of the sick and "shut in" in the weekly service order in case they get broken in to. But none of this seems to daunt them - it's just another rock in the stream of life. Bless them all.
Following that, we climbed on he bus to head for the new Philadelphia MBC. The atmosphere on the bus was subdued, except for the front, where Joe entertained with his inexhaustable fund of stories and quotable sayings!
The New Philadelphia MBC looked neat and pretty as we say it in daylight for the first time. Some unforseen events had thinned both the choir and the congregation down, but neither proved to be an obstacle to a wonderful afternoon. We sang all of our seven songs (Walk in the Light, Shine On, I Love the Name Jesus, Wayfaring Stranger, Bye and Bye, Prayer Wheel, and Oh Lord How Excellent) to enthusiastic shouts nd encouragements, and then were joined by the NPMBC choir for Amazing Grace. Pastor Chester Berryhill could sure pump out the singing! Finally Pastor Berryhill led us in Baptist version of Just a Close Walk With Thee. I've got all of this recorded, but the MP3s won't be attached to the blog until I get back to Oz. Rani will be gald to know that the koalas left last year are still in evidence and have now been augmented by what we were carrynig!
We had a couple of hours before we were due at Mt Vernon, and we were still full as a boot from the lunch at Bethlehem, so we slipped round the corner to the WIld Oat's Organic Store (remember that from Thursday night?) and had coffee, nibbles and (unbeknowst to Fran) acquired birthday cake for later.
Piling back ito the bus we headed off to Mt Vernon. This is a large, propsperous church (we had seen it and commented on the buildings on the way to Helena on Friday), with an extensive and active ministry. The Sunday evening service is recorded and boradcast across seven states of the USA (don't ask me which). The choir and band started the service with great sounds and energy (see noe above about recordings), and then we were invited into the choir stalls to sing - introduced as Tony Backhouse and the Band of Angels from New Zealand! Tony humbly corrected this and we sang three songs for them to loud exhortations from the congregation. I think it was the best we've sounded on tour so far. Following this, the was a fiery and impassioned sermon from Assistant Pastor Darnell McKinney Gooch. When the service was over, we got to meet most of the deacons and ministers and many of the congregation. They gave us recorded copies of the service, and we reciprocated by giving them copies of the most recent BOA CD (alse left at the other churches we visited). Before we had time to get out of the door, the CD was echoing through the church as they had put it on and piped it ove the church PA system straight away. Again thanks to Pastor Dr James Nettors, Michelle, and the othe names that have flow from my head for making us so welcome.
We reboarded the bus and Joe took us back to the hotel. Fortunately Fran was so abosorbed in the moment that the frantic whispering and party arranging that was going on around her was completely unoticed (she did, however, have her birthday broadcast to the inhabitabnts of seven US stated during the Mt Vernon service). So there was little else to do but to burst into her and Debs room, drink champagne and beer, and eat cake until the wee hours of the morning.
Tomorrow it will be off to the Civil Right Museum at the site of the Lorraine Motel. More from me later
Mike