Salem Baptist Church of Chicago
752 E 114th St, Chicago, IL 60628
October 19, 2015
African American Church
The worship service was energetic and unlike anything that I had
been part of before. Women were dressed in their finest and men in full suits.
Upon entering, I was immediately greeted by older women who spoke highly of
their pastor, Reverend James. This was common throughout my interactions with
others; the congregation nearly venerated him. There were large photos of him
in the lobby, he was on the cover of the bulletin, and when he got up to speak,
the congregation fully expressed their admiration. I have always attended
churches with rotating teaching pastors, so this experience was quite different
than what I was familiar with. Additionally, my experiences with mega-churches
have always been casual and almost impersonal; at Salem, I could not have gone
unnoticed. Perhaps this was because obvious racial differences, but it seemed
as if members of the congregation went out of their way to welcome everyone,
giving it the feel of a small church.
In addition to the congregation’s esteem of Rev. James, the
musical portion of worship was exciting. It was led by a worship leader- many
times Rev. James- accompanied by a gospel choir that neared 50 people. The
congregation seemed to be composed more of women than men, and most women
engaged their full bodies in worship: singing, raising their arms, shouting,
crying, and dancing. At times, some women had to sit because they were
overwhelmed by the music or pastor’s call. This lasted throughout the duration
of the service, including the sermon. The congregation was actively involved,
shouting “Amen” after nearly every sentence.
The service lasted a good while; the sermon along lasted an
hour. This was challenging for me, but not at all for the rest of the
congregation. However, the most obvious difference was that everybody was black
except for myself. I admit I was insecure about this. Because I felt
out-of-place and because I was constantly acknowledging the fact that I was in
an African American church, I had an expectation that the church would be
repetitively affirming this fact. They did not, which came with much
understanding after reflecting upon this. Their community was normal, and they
felt the greatest sense of community among each other. There was no need to
acknowledge “differences” because among them, there were no differences.
I am more commonly familiar with
notions to God the Father and sermons reflecting the nature of the Holy Spirit.
Regarding Salem Baptist, there was a significant Christological approach: one
that was constantly affirmed. God the Father and the Holy Spirit were
mentioned, but the worship songs, scripture cited, and words of Rev. James
continuously acknowledged Christ as “Redeemer” and “Savior.” There was no
denying that all praise was given to Christ.
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