We (kinda) go to Church at the State Fair

22nd Annual Multicultural Gospel Celebration, California State Expo Center and Fairgrounds, Sacramento, California

Before we entered the gate at the California State Fair we noticed booths outside. Next to a “Legalize Marijuana” table was a booth with sign reading “Jesus Saves.” I went up to take a picture of the booth and a man inside said, “You need one of these t-shirts” pointing to his own “Jesus Saves” t-shirt. I was wearing an Oakland A’s t-shirt (which, during the summer, is what I wear more days than not).

I was wearing an Oakland A’s cap as well and he brought out a “Trust Jesus” cap and told me where I could order one online. “Why promote a baseball team when you can be promoting Jesus Christ?”

The man was Brother Gary, a street preacher who expects to man that booth throughout the fair, as he has for the last six years since he moved to California from Wisconsin. During the rest of the year, Pastor Gary looks for other opportunities to share Christ through preaching, signs, and tracts.

It wasn’t long before Brother Gary asked me if I agreed that salvation came through faith in Jesus Christ, and I agreed. (Free tip here for dealing with Christian evangelists. If a street preacher should ever ask you, “Do you know if you’re going to heaven?” and you don’t want to have a prolonged conversation, do not say, “I’ll go to heaven because I’m a good person.” If you want a short interaction, say, “I know I will go to heaven because I Jesus died for my sins, and I have trusted in Him for salvation.” That answer passes the test for most evangelists. I do believe it’s true.)

Brother Gary showed us little red Bible booklets he gives out to people who stop at his booth, especially children. It isn’t, of course, a full Bible (it’s about 2” by 1 ½”), but there’s perceived value in that little book. He says he often sees children carrying the booklet when they leave the fair at the end of the day.

Inside the fair (by a Jack Daniels booth), we saw another Gospel booth run by a Baptist church. That booth had a gimmick (Brother Gary had the same one at his booth), a display with three small doors that hide three answers to one question, “See three things God cannot do!” Behind the first door is the answer, “God Cannot Lie.” Behind the second door is the answer, “God Cannot Change.” Behind the third door is the answer, “God Cannot Allow Sinners in Heaven”.  (So now you can show off when you see a Gospel booth, answering the questions like the Amazing Kreskin.)

Both of those booths will be around throughout the fair, but on Saturday, July 15th, we attended a one-day only event, the Multicultural Gospel Celebration (which started at 10:00 am, when the fair opened for the day, and concluded at 9:00 pm). We weren’t there for the whole day, but we stopped in to catch parts of the event between visits to cows and bunnies and watching motorcycles jumps.

A wonderful thing about the Celebration was the location. The stage was right in the middle of a number of the exhibit halls, including the animatronic dinosaurs, the photography displays, and the arts and crafts (and the aforementioned bunnies), so people who were going to look at the T-Rex also heard prayers for the Holy Spirit to come and songs praising Jesus.

On of the events of the Celebration was “Who’s Got Gospel Talent,” a competition for young Gospel singers. We happened to catch some of the contenders, including some rappers and the young woman who eventually won the competition (she was very good). We also were there when she was awarded the first place prize which included a trophy, a opportunity to make a recording with a professional studio, a professional photo session, and an unspecified cash prize. She was quite moved, in tears, and wanted to give thanks to God and her mother “who brought me through hard times.”

We saw the part of the program emceed by Steve Parker (a local radio DJ), introducing a variety of acts between 3:00 and 4:00 pm. He brought out fans as giveaway prizes (and it was definitely a day for fans. In fact, Parker told a joke, “A man went to the Pearly Gates and Jesus asked if he wanted to go to Hell or Sacramento. The man said, ‘Hell can’t be as hot as Sacramento.’”

Parker also proclaimed his faith, “I don’t know if you know this, but I’m a born again believer, and I’m washed in the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ!”

He brought out Tianna Rey, a woman with three backup singers. They sang a song “Yahweh” (“Yahweh, hey, hey, hey!”) and a song partially in Spanish (with some questionable pronunciation but they hit the notes, so that was okay).  He brought out Paul Genesis, a soloist who encouraged with song and word (“I want you to know that if you believe in prayer, God will answer your prayers tonight!”)

I very much enjoyed the Mighty Men of Faith, a quartet. One of the great things with this group was that though they sang wonderful harmonies together, but at times one man would sing while another member of the quartet would encourage him along like we’ve heard African American congregations encourage their preacher (“Take your time, take your time, there’s a message in the music, there’s a witness out there, keep going, keep going!”)

The last group we heard was the Tri Valley Community Choir as they sang, “Lord You Brought Me a Mighty Long Way.” What they did was what most people think of when they think of Gospel Music.

I thought it was interesting that none of the people we talked to at the Gospel booths knew that it was Gospel Music Day at the fair. But plenty of the people who were visiting the fair and looking for a Mike’s Hard Lemonade ended up hearing Jesus Christ praised in song.

(This trip to the State Fair was a Father’s Day gift from our daughter, Jil -- so thanks, Jil!)

Society Church, Sacramento

"There are no unsacred places; there are only sacred places and desecrated places."

This quote is from the Wendell Berry poem,""How to be a Poet (to remind myself)" ,which the guest speaker used to open his sermon at Society Church in Sacramento. That line seemed particularly appropriate in this place.

 

Entering the meeting place you'll see folding chairs, but you won't see stained glass depicting the Life of Christ or the Saints. You won't see any crosses or crucifixes on the walls. But there is plenty of art, most of it abstract. That's because they meet in a place call Beatnik Studios, a place available to rent for events that also serves as a gallery for artists. As the poet says, "There are no unsacred places."

We arrived about half an hour early, and we could hear the music from a bit down the street. Mindy liked that; she reminded her of going to a club. When we went inside, a couple of people assured us that the music was louder during the soundcheck than it would be in the service, which was not a big concern of ours. But we appreciated their sensitivity regarding visitors' ears. All of the members of the worship team played instruments; the lead singer played an acoustic guitar.  The rest of the team played an electric guitar, drums, and two keyboards.

Talking with Joel the architect before the service, we heard about the small groups that met during the week. One of the groups was concerned with God's use of the creative process. They were continuing a study that the pastor had been through recently on a book called "Art and Soul."

The service started a minute or two after nine, and after a few songs, a man with a quite full beard, shorts and a Giants cap introduced the monthly celebration of communion. In his introduction, he quoted both the Church Father, Tertullian, and the rock band Thrice ("Come All You Weary"). The bread and juice (no gluten-free bread mentioned) were served on a table set across two barrels. People took a piece of bread, dipped it into the cup of juice, and ate the morsel as they walked back to their seats as music played.

Following communion, there was a ten minute break when everyone was encouraged to greet one another. At this service, there is no offering taken, so this was also the time, we were told, to bring offerings and connection cards to the "black box" on the wooden structure near the entrance. Then other announcements: baby dedications on Mother's Day, small groups, a RiverCats game, and a restaurant meet-up that would also be a  fundraiser for a missionary headed to Black Forest Academy in Germany (some of my nieces and nephews went to that school).

I noticed that most everyone who spoke in a leadership capacity had visible tattoos, and more people used phones or tablets for the Bible readings -- one way of noting that the congregation was, as a whole, younger than Mindy and me.

Tim, the church's pastor, had been sick the week before, so he had brought in Jeremiah as a guest speaker. Jeremiah said he begins every day with a poem, which led to his use of the Berry poem. The sermon also used the Luke 7 passage about the woman who washed Jesus' feet. Jeremiah noted how the Pharisee saw only what was bad in the woman, while Jesus saw what was good. He said we should follow the example of Jesus. He said there are two universal truths for every person: 1) You are beloved and 2) You are a sinner. But he said we always need to get to point one before we deal, if ever, with point two. We need to see God's Image ("Imago Dei" was the Latin phrase he used).

He suggested we need to work to really "behold" all the people around us that are made in God's image. He gave six daily tips for doing so:

1) Pray every morning to see God in every one

2) Ask for the names of people like servers and customer service reps and use them

3) Become a waver

4) No more ATMs. Instead, go inside and meet tellers

5) Don't use the self-check. Instead, meet cashiers

6) Learn the names of your postal and package deliverers.

(By the way, I'm not giving up using Safeway self-checkout because then I'd see Nikki, who often supervises self-checkout, less)

Jeremiah urged us to see people as people rather than sinners or evangelism projects. He began the sermon by pointing out that the first verb connected with God was "create," and that God the Creator made us to be creators in His image.

The sermon was filled with cultural references, including "The Lion King," Ricky Gervais' "Extras" and Taylor Swift's "Shake It Off."

Though Jeremiah was a guest speaker, his concern for our living out the image of God the Creator seemed to be a central part of the identity and mission of Society Church in Sacramento.

-- Dean

Statistics:

Service Length: 1 hour 37 minutes

Sermon Length: 34 minutes

Visitor Treatment: we were warmly greeted as we came in, and several people introduced themselves and chatted. All were encouraged to fill out "connection cards"

Our Rough Count:  40

Probable Ushers' Count: 65

Snacks: "we care about our coffee," Mindy was told. And it was very good coffee. No other food or drink visible

Songs:  There is a Fountain

             Forgetting my Sorrows

             Oceans

Miles to place: 121

Total California Miles: 7,466

Five Things I Didn't Know about Sacramento

1. The Sacramento Valley (and the Sacramento River) were given their names in 1808 by the Spanish explorer Gabriel Moraga. The beauty of the place was such that the expedition named the river and the valley for the "Most Holy Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ."  The city we now call Sacramento, built where the Sacramento River and the American River flow together toward the northern end of California's Central Valley, was incorporated on February 27, 1850. It's California's oldest incorporated city.

 

2.  When the city was about 12 years old, its street level was built up about ten feet by building walls on either side of the street and filling the roadways in with dirt. As a result, the ground level of many buildings was below the street grade, so many property owners raised their buildings, as Leland Stanford did. Many of the resulting underground spaces have now been filled or destroyed by later development, but the "Sacramento Underground" is still accessible in some places.

3.  Sacramento is the sunniest location in the world from July through September. In July, the city averages 14 hours and 12 minutes of sunshine per day (98% of what's possible for the location).

4.  The Amtrak station in Sacramento is the second busiest in the state and the seventh busiest in the country. The light rail system is the eleventh busiest in the United States.

5.  The Sacramento River Cats minor league baseball team is hugely popular now that it's affiliated with the San Francisco Giants rather than the Oakland A's, to the extent that the only reasonably priced tickets available at the gate on Saturday night were standing room only. But there are fireworks every Friday and Saturday.

Bonus: In Sacramento, a woman wearing a tutu with running gear on a Sunday morning is involved in a walk for a cause on the grounds of the state capital building, not (as it would more likely be in San Francisco or even, possibly, Los Angeles) making a bold fashion statement.

-- Mindy