"The church became the center of life [in the past] because you were protected in that context, you were nurtured in that context, you did things in the black church that you were barred from doing in the segregated schools and institutions. Churches taught reading and provided books for blacks at a time when it was illegal to teach African Americans to read. African American children had leadership roles in plays and learned to stand up and recite and excel at public speaking and academics and the church elders were there to encourage and correct them. They didn't get those opportunities in school. In straightforward terms, that means that the black church has always recognized that it is not relevant to talk about God in mystical and mysterious ways ... Wherever there is a revelation of God, it is a revelation of how he impacts our lives and our development."
| A quote from Michael A. Battle, author of the 1994 study of community-based ministries in black churches "The African American Church at Work," in Avis Thomas-Lester's Washington Post article "A Family Life Filled With Faith"
posted in articles on November 20, 2003 6:06 PM | t (0)
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