A Priest Walked into a Target.......

No this is not the beginning of a joke.  During one of my weekly Target runs, I noticed Father Ralph getting a buggy. I followed. Chap stick. Fascinating. Ok, he wasn't exactly Father Ralph de Bricassard. Remember those TV mini series? "THE THORN BIRDS" was one of my favorites. Thank you Target for giving me a Priest along with my cat litter. 

Thank You FRIENDSHIP MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH

We ventured out in the freezing cold this past Sunday (1-20-08) heading towards Friendship Missionary Baptist Church. Taylor was performing with the Charlotte Children's Choir for a special Martin Luther King celebration. The C.C.C also collaborated with Friendship's children's choirs.   She had to be there at 8:30am, which meant we had to leave our home by at least 7:30am because of the road conditions.  Friendship Missionary Baptist Church is located on Beatties Ford Road in Charlotte.  We took the same route that we had to take Candace to school (NWSA) for three years.

Hal and I had some time to look around the church before the 9:30am service began.  The sun was pounding through all the colors of the stain glass windows. Young men were posted at each entrance to the sanctuary handing out materials.  They had white gloves on and dressed in dark suits. They were very polite and welcomed us.  We were greeted with many hand shakes.  Even though the members of this church were mostly African American and it was quite clear that we were visitors, we felt WELCOMED!  A safe place,  a sanctuary and God was present.  

The gentleman sitting next to Hal was a church member and told us that his two children were also singing this morning.  We were proud parents watching our children enter the choir area. There was a family seating next to me that also had a little girl that was singing.  The mother sang along quietly to all their songs.  She had probably heard them a million times.   The choirs sang together and separately. During one song, they all held hands and we clapped!  We also sang "We are One in the Spirit".  This was a song Hal and I grew up singing at every youth retreat and camp we attended.  The guest speaker was Rev. Neville Callam, the General Secretary of the Baptist World Alliance. He was from Jamaica and his credentials were impressive.  The sermon was very moving and informative.  We held hands during the last prayer.  The gentleman to my left (during the 11:30am service) had very warm hands and I whispered in his ear after the prayer: "Thanks....you have very warm hands."  He laughed and said "good...have a bless week."

We stayed for both the 9:30 and 11:30 services.  I did have some observations.  PETA representatives need not attend!  Lots of FUR COATS! THANK YOU FRIENDSHIP MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH.  I needed you this Sunday.  You warmed my heart and made me smile.

 FRIENDSHIP - Missionary Baptist Church

Observations and Documentary

Giving this a try.  Observations:  Noticed that the movie "Fried Green Tomatoes" and "Sweeney Todd" have some things in common, killing a person (Frank Bennett in F.G.T) and  many victims in Sweeney, then somehow getting away with serving the remains in a tasty treat.  BBQ was how Frank was served-up and of course everyone that met Mr. Todd's blade became the main ingredient in pies. Just an interesting observation while watching "Fried Green Tomatoes" tonight.

Watched an interesting documentary on Sundance,  "The Angelmakers".  Over 140 men were poisoned with arsenic in a small village in Hungary.  Who killed them?  Their wives!  The documentary is basically just interviews with those who were children when it happened.  Most of the killings took place between the years 1920-1929.  Divorce was illegal.  These women were victims of abuse and claimed that many of the husbands were drunks. A mid-wife in the village was providing the arsenic. Then suspicion and graves were dug-up.  The authorities started to arrest the women of the dead husbands.  Many women committed suicide once they heard about the arrests and the mid-wife killed herself.  It is never RIGHT to murder.  The older women that were being interviewed seemed to think that this was the only way out for their Aunts, Grandmothers and sisters.  The men that were still alive were telling others:  "It's been said, don't come here, if the husband doesn't behave, he will be killed."  Watch it!