Mt. Zion United Church Of Christ, Cleveland, Ohio - A Review.

     Page Two Hundred Ninety.

     I may have written prior that I really enjoy going to church. I'm Jewish and my definition of God falls squarely within the parameters of traditional Orthodox Judaism, but I also enjoy a good Protestant sermon. When ministers start going on and on, I simply translate the term "Jesus" to "God" and then I'm able to access most pulpit messages with great ease. However, if the sermon is actually about Jesus, i.e. his life; his struggles or what have you as opposed to his teachings, i.e. love one another; don't be a hypocrite, etc. I'm bored to tears and zone out. That really doesn't happen often though. Thankfully, most sermons really are about his message.
     How I got to this point in my life is a separate blog which I won't deliver now, just know that many, many Sundays, if I don't have to work at the museum, I'm darkening the door of some nearby Protestant church. (When the ministers sense me coming, they run and hide.) Quite often I'll even attend 2 different churches on the same Sunday, attending 9.30AM service at one, then 11AM service at another. I refer to these as "Double Features". In past blogs, I've implied that a REAL lot of people know who I am. This is one reason why.
     So, Sunday morning, November 16th,  I was in the mood for something really different. I went to Mt. Zion United Church of Christ down in University Circle. I've mentioned before that University Circle is Cleveland's arts & cultural hub, and also home to some glorious houses of worship. Well, Mt. Zion isn't one of them. It's in an old, huge mansion with a large, 1960's sanctuary added on in back. But, brother, they get the job done.
     I met the minister of Zion at an event last summer and liked him and had also heard of the church in the past, so that's what prompted me to attend. I was surprised to find it 98% Black. I was expecting an integrated church for some reason, don't now why, just was. So, this happened to be a special Sunday for a variety of reasons: it was potluck Sunday; it was a celebration of  male prayer and there was a visiting minister who'd be delivering the sermon. This visitor was from a nearby Seventh Day Adventist church, but had a nationwide reputation for his preaching skills.
     So... where to start... where to start... where to start...
     How about the music? It was the real deal. This was the music that James Brown, Aretha and Little Richard grew up on. It was serious. It was worth the price of admission. Fabulous!
Music: 10/10
     Sermon. This guy was unreal. In the African-American tradition, some ministers deliver a message in a loud, fast voice. That message is sometimes so loud and fast that the words, themselves, are unintelligible, and indeed, almost unimportant (but the congregants would never, ever say that). But, the spirit and emotion of the delivery and the spirit and emotion of the room is what lifts away the congregation. Truly, the message itself is unimportant (but again, they would never, ever say that). By contrast, this guy was sometimes very loud, and sometimes spoke very fast, but EVERY SINGLY WORD WAS UNDERSTANDABLE AND THE MESSAGE WAS FANTASTIC! His message was this: you are God's child. You are entitled to his blessings as any child expects his or her father to take care of them. Have the audacity to expect to be taken care of. Have the nerve to not take "No" for an answer. Keep praying over and over for blessings. Live in prayer and never give up the prayer. Expect answers and expect blessings. It was extraordinary.
Sermon 10/10
     Comfort/grace/reception. I was received graciously. This was a congregation clearly used to visitors. They were friendly and appropriate. It goes without saying, but I'll say it, I ran into people whom I knew. Nobody bent over backwards to make me feel welcome, but that's okay.
Reception of the newcomer/visitor: 8/10
     Children. I adore kids, of course, and savor kid energy. The more children that are in a congregation and the more the congregation values those children, the better. In this group of 100-125 warm bodies, there were only about  8 children. That's not a good sign in my opinion. The number of youths should've been double that. But I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps a bunch of kids were home with colds.
Children: 6/10
     Total experience: 8.5/10
     Remains to be seen what the congregation is really all about. Demographically, as already stated it's 98% Black. Appears to be solidly middle-class and upper-middle class as evidenced by the number of BMW's in the parking lot. The congregation was absolutely NOT dressed to the nines. That's very unusual for a Black church. I suspect that's another sign of their financial stability. Politically, I'll have to do some snooping. We all know that Black churches can run conservative on social issues, but I'm assuming that some conservatism in this particular church may be tempered by the fact that Mt. Zion is a member of the United Church of Christ, a denomination widely recognized for it's extremely and intensely liberal stance on social issues. And, there are very few Black UCC churches around. So, I'm thinking that there may be something very magical happening at Mt. Zion.
     I plan on phoning the minister and setting up an appointment to sit, have coffee and chat. I'll let you know what I find out.

A Few Non-Sequitors

     Page One Hundred Seventy-Nine.
     Three days ago I catered an event at Williams-Sonoma. They were having a bridal shower in the store and hired me to come on in and make all the food. It was a headache. It was a pizza party for 30 so I made 10 pizzas with all the usual variety of toppings. Plus there was the salad, raw vegetable shish-ka-bobs and chocolate-dipped strawberries. In fact, I demonstrated the shish-kas and choco-berries, so I was technically the entertainment at this bridal party. (The second time in my life when that's happened. But, the first time is a separate and somewhat inappropriate story.) I made all the dough and sauce the day before. My back hurt by the time the whole thing was over on Saturday night.
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     The next day, was Sunday and to relax post-pizza, I decided to take in a church double-feature. I haven't done that in a while. By "church double-feature" I mean that I attend one church service at 9.30 and a different one at 11. Please don't question this. It all makes perfect sense in my Jewish universe. I figure if I'm going to attend a different religion's house of worship at all, why not do 2 in one day? I have copious numbers of friends in both of these particular churches and the senior minister of one is sort of like my spiritual advisor. So it really is quite an enjoyable morning.
     They're both United Methodist, a denomination which I know is undergoing difficult evolution and transition. So, it's doubly fascinating as an outsider for me to watch them evolve, but from within. I knew that they'd be celebrating Martin Luther King Day in their respective services, in one form or another. Subsequently, I correctly assumed that their current struggle with gay civil rights would come up.
     The United Methodist denomination has a poor record with embracing civil rights for all people in the first place. However, 1 of the 2 churches which I attend is somewhat willing to engage in dialogue about it's history. For the record, United Methodism wasn't established with civil rights of any form in mind, anyhow. It was established in the 18th century solely to spread the word of the Christian Gospel to the needy of the world. So it makes sense that it would have a slow record on embracing human rights issues still today. Human rights has simply never been it's priority. Converting the poor to Christ through hope and prayer has been.
     This, as opposed to a denomination like The United Church of Christ which was established almost exclusively for civil rights issues back in the 17th century; and, subsequently began ordaining black people to their ministry in the 1820's, females in the 1890's and homosexuals in the early 1970's. The Congregationalists (the former name of United Church of Christ) practically invented the abolitionist movement. That's simply how they identify themselves. They'll also admit that they use the Bible as a "reference" book.
     I'm learning that different Christian denominations are really like different schools. Would you go to MIT and expect to get a degree in Art History? So really... come on. Why be surprised when a certain denomination (Methodism) that didn't even acknowledge MLK's assassination in 1968 at it's services on the Sunday following the shooting, would struggle with gay rights?
     I'm like a Jewish Mr. Spock. I find the whole situation fascinating. (Tel Aviv, Israel is currently the #1 vacation destination in the world for gay travelers. Jews love the gays. Just love 'em. Even Orthodox Jews, our version of Southern Baptists have begun embracing homos.)
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     My job with the kid is coming to an end again. He's switching schools right now so I'll no longer be needed. Anybody have a job to offer me?