According to the article,
Pleasant Grove Baptist Church in
West Oakland received notice from the city of
Oakland's
nuisance abatement division that, because of complaints from a neighbor, they
would be facing $500 a day fines. The church was told the "excessive noise
of the organ, drums and amplified vocals" from the weekly choir rehearsals
violated the city noise ordinances.
We arrived about an hour before the
service and walked around. The church is in a residential neighborhood with houses
on either side and across the street. There are other churches about a block
away in either direction, and it's a few blocks from downtown Oakland.
When we entered, shortly before the
service was scheduled to start, I noticed an older woman and man greeting each
other. "How are you?" "Blessed. And you?" "Still above
ground. Woke up with some aches and pains but it gets better as the day goes
along." For most people in the church, "Blessed" was the answer
to the "How are you" question.
We were warmly greeted by a number
of people, with handshakes and hugs. When we sat down a pew by ourselves, a
woman called us to sit next to her, and we chatted for a while. Just before the
service began, she remembered she needed to be by the aisle, in case she was
moved to go forward to pray, so we rearranged seating.
It was a damp morning. In the call
to worship we were reminded, "We may be wet on the outside but we don't
need to be wet in our souls." The music began, and I could understand the
basis for the noise complaints -- not that I was complaining. The singing,
drums and keyboard were tuneful and joyous but definitely loud. On occasion
we've been warned before entering a church that the music would be loud. But
most of those warnings proved pointless ("Watch out! This Barry Manilow
album excessively rocks!" kind of warnings.) But the volume this Sunday
was high.
We were encouraged to praise.
"Regardless of the situation you're in, we're here to praise him."
"Devil take notice: you can't take my peace!" "Come on, come on,
give God some praise!" We didn't use hymnals or slides for singing time.
For most of the songs, the worship leader would sing and the congregation would
repeat.
Guests (there were a few others
besides us) were asked to stand and were greeted. "If you're looking for a
church home, you're welcome here." A woman read the announcements, including
addresses for bereaved family members. People in the congregation felt free to
call out corrections and additions to the announcements.
For the offering everyone was asked
to stand and face the outside walls, then we all walked forward to go by the
offering baskets. The ushers marched briskly by the baskets with a hand behind
the back.
The Reverend Thomas Harris III came
forward to preach. There was loud feedback which took a few moments to fix (the
one moment of sympathy I had for the issuers of the noise complaints.) He spoke
of being known by the way we walk. He talked about the way African American men
walked back in the '70's, "a cool walk, with a limp to it and one hand
behind the back". He walked that walk to the delight and with the
encouragement of the congregation.
He then called the congregation to
walk with integrity. "Integrity is a lost art," he said, and added
that we need to value our good name as advised by the Proverbs. He pointed to
the newly appointed deacons in the church as men of integrity and invited all
to stay after the service for their ordination.
He encouraged the congregation to be
there for each other. "You all know how I love illustrations, he said, then
asked me and another guest, a woman, to come forward. He asked us to stand on
either side of him. He leaned on both of us. "Sometimes a stranger can be
an easier person to lean on. At times we can speak more freely with such a
person." The worship team then led the congregation in singing "
Lean on Me."
Communion was served with
interesting plastic cups with the grape juice sealed in and the wafer sealed on
top of it. Women were offered small, white head coverings to wear during the
ceremony (most, but not all, women accepted them. A few women were already
wearing hats). The communion elements were covered with a cloth and remained hidden
while the elements were passed through the pews.
After Communion, padded black office
chairs were wheeled to the front of the church, and an invitation was given for
prayer. One man came and sat in the seat, and the deacons prayed for him. A
woman came forward and gave testimony of God's provision.
Two new
deacons were
invited to sit in the chairs after that, and their families were asked to come
forward. The pastor and the rest of the deacons prayed for them, officially
installing them in their new positions. The service was then concluded.
I had an opportunity to talk with
Rev. Harris when he came to greet us, and I asked about the fines for the noise
violations. He said they had worked things out with the city. The church has
been there for 65 years and "we were used to doing things our way."
The main problem had been choir practices on Wednesday nights that went past 9:00
pm. The church had agreed to end those practices by 9:00 pm, and the fines had
been rescinded. The community had really rallied around the church, which was a
blessing, the pastor said. And they had been able to make contact with other
churches that faced similar issues, providing a chance to encourage each other.
It seems that good has come through
this time of trial for the church. If nothing else, it made more people
(including us) aware of their warm and joyous ministry.
Statistics
Service Length: 2 hours 9
minutes
Sermon Length: 38 minutes
Visitor Treatment: We were
greeted warmly by "ershers" (I'm guessing it was a church joke, since
I heard the word used a few times by different people) and by other people
coming into the sanctuary. Our seatmate introduced us to all the people seated
near us, and "welcome visitors" was part of the very brief order of
service in the bulletin. Both during the welcome time and in conversation, we
were invited to come back and to consider making Pleasant Grove our church
home. We also signed the guest book in the foyer, but nobody else seemed to
have written in it since May.
Followup by Tuesday Morning: none
Our Rough Count: 65
Probable Ushers' Count: 80
Snacks: none
Musicians: drums (male),
organ (male), keyboard (male, worship leader), three men and six women (one on
tambourine) in the choir. Two children joined (I think) their mom by the end of
worship and were helping out with the tambourine. The young man on the organ
left before the sermon.
Songs: "This is the
Day"
"He
Has Made me Glad"
"I
Come to Lift Him Up"
"Magnify
the Lord with me"
"Praise
Him"
"Hallelujah,
You Have Won the Victory"
"We
Say Yes"
"God
is Great and Greatly to be Praised"
"Every
Day is a Day of Thanksgiving"
"Lean
on Me"
"Bridge
over Troubled Water"
"Show
Somebody the Way"
"King
Jesus my Savior"
Draw
me Nearer"
"At
the Cross Where I First Saw the Light"
"Leaning
on the Everlasting Arms"
Miles to place: 64
Total California Miles: 17,411
