No new readings for this day. On Monday, we’ll watch a documentary in which you’ll see many of the people about which we’ve been reading (and some about which we will read) collaborate on a song which raised millions of dollars to fight famine in Ethiopia. There are two documentaries, actually. I’m working to decide which one to show Monday and which to show on the final day of class. I’ll surprise you and surprise myself. We’ll return to Heilbut for Thursday’s Class. You’ll note that I’m giving you a bit more reading than usual. It isn’t hard: there are no dates to remember, and you do have a goodly time in which to accomplish it.
Welcome Back from Spring Break
For Thursday, March 21
Read, in Heilbut,
Part III. The Holiness Churchpp. 175-252
•The Holiness Church
•The Traveling Saints
•The Crown Prince of Gospel: James Cleveland
•“I’ve Been Way Out on the Stormy Raging Sea” Marion Williams
•The Young Singers
You’ll remember from the video we watched earlier in the semester that the Freedom Movement was rooted in the Black Church. You saw in Eyes on the Prize how important music was within the church, and how that music carried the congregations and choirs out into the street in civil protest. Before the Civil War, most American Denominations split along racial lines. They stayed split for about 100 years, and only with the Civil Rights Movement did they begin to reunite–at least at the national conference level. Most churches remain segregated, because most churches serve neighborhood parishes. The Holiness Church is a bit different–formed within the Black Community and the Pentecostal Movement. You may have heard the derogatory term “holy rollers”. You’ve seen some parishioners “caught up in the spirit.” You will see more.
You will also discover some seemingly contradictory things–for instance, that many Holiness Churches were welcoming to members of the LGBTGQ community, in a day when “being out” was not the common thing. You'll also discover that every Holiness Church isn't housed in an elegant Victorian building like the one housins Mt. Zion. (The video was shot at a conference, not in the church sanctuary.
This week’s internet assignment has two required parts, plus a third optional part.
1.Find an example or two of church choir/congregational singing. Googling C.O.G.I.C. (Is a good place to start–the acronym stands for Church of God in Christ). You might also go to YouTube directly and search for COGIC or Holiness Church or Pentecostalism. Find a picture or two as well. For anyone interested in feminism in the church, you might check out Aimee Semple McPherson.
2.Not all Black churches were elegant Victorian affairs: With the Holiness Church emerged the phenomenon known as the “Storefront” Church. You’ll find images of many of them by searching Google Images. Choose a couple of them, save the picture to your resources, and see what you can find out about them.
3.(Optional–but I’m hoping many are snoopy enough to do this). See if you can find one or more of the storefront church whose pictures you captured, on Street View or Bing Maps. Prowl around neighborhood a bit, and capture the link and add it to your resources. Here's an example:
Wander the neighborhood you won't have to go too far to find a second storefront church.
