Several years ago, on a lazy Sunday morning toward the end of a weekend getaway, my husband and I were strolling down the main street in Annapolis. The quiet was a presence in itself since shops were still closed, and the street was bereft of its usual bumper to bumper traffic. We took in how different the sleepy street seemed compared to the hustle and bustle of the night before.
As we approached a nondescript brick-faced building this amazing jazzy music from a live band filled the sidewalk space with inviting and energetic sounds. Saxophone and trumpet, along with piano and drums rhythmically provided a counterpoint to the quiet.
I wondered aloud what bar would possibly be open on a Sunday morning. I looked above the glass doors for some signage, but there was none. Not a single hint of what was inside. This was so strange.
But the music didn't let me go.
So we lingered awhile, taking in the phenomenal music. I guess we might have been there a bit too long, because a bouncer-type person approached us through the closed glass doors, his arms muscular and huge, wearing a crisp white shirt and necktie with pressed pants.
Opening the door, he asked if we wanted to come in.
Since I couldn't actually tell whether he was, in a nice way, asking us to move along and leave, or offering a genuine invitation to enter, my expression most likely said 'thanks, but no thanks'.
All kinds of things ran through my head. Was this a gambling hall? An illicit private party?
Curiosity got the better of me. Almost as we were getting ready to move along I asked "What's inside?", probably a little too naïvely and not hiding the doubtful look on my face.
"Ma'am, we're a Baptist church, wanna come in?"
What, a church??? Not what I thought at all.
"Uh, we were just listening to the music, it's fantastic...so amazing....but we're Jewish, but thank you...."
"You sure? It's not a problem, you can come in and visit anyway."
"But we'd be interrupting...isn't there a service? Besides, we can't stay long...we would have to leave....." Of course, I was envisioning the services I was used to, when on Shabbat it would be almost pointless to arrive after the Torah service. We didn't want to be disrespectful.
"It's no matter at all, stay as long as you like, leave when you want. No pressure."
Wow, this was a different concept.
So we entered slowly as he ushered us through heavy wooden doors. We found ourselves in a wide open room, filled with long wooden pews speckled with about 100 people or so. I was relieved to see that the surrounding walls were totally bare, no visuals or images that would have made us feel instantly uncomfortable, prompting us not to stay.
We sat in an unoccupied pew, toward the back of the room, trying to be inconspicuous. Right. We looked around and instantly felt so underdressed in our athleisure wear. We were a stark contrast to everyone's Sunday best. Both women and men wore hats, and the women's were works of art; feathers, sequins, and netting. We were also the only white people in the room.
This was another world entirely. A spirited chorus on the stage (bimah?), dressed in white robes, joined in for the next rhythmic rendition of a prayer, and everyone started clapping, slowly rising from their seats, energetically singing along. The lyrics melted into each other but nothing of what we heard was squirm-worthy for us. In fact, I hear more objectionable music around the winter holidays than I did that morning.
The music picked up and the excitement was palpable as the oak floor pulsed with the beat and as the stomping grew louder. Arms waved to the rhythm and it was evident that each person was making the experience personal. There seemed to be no peer pressure to behave in a certain way. This was striking.
Everyone was 'all in' and personalizing their experience. They were communing with a higher power, and it seemed as if that's what they cared about and what they were there for. No one was looking around to see if their behavior was out of line, or too spirited.
There was no way I wanted to leave, even though I was an observer, because before my eyes were deeply spiritual people who were so involved in their prayer experience that I was mesmerized. I had never experienced anything like it.
The service continued in that way while people began noticing us. Some turned toward us and smiled, with kind and understanding looks that seemed to say "yup, we know you're the only white people here, but don't you bother about that, just enjoy."
So we did. We listened to the minister preach as his arms emphatically gestured through the ups and downs of his message, which was about love and being true to the Lord and true to yourself. His passion grew to a crescendo, and his sermon ended with more singing and praise. If I took the word "Jesus" out of it, the message had meaning for all.
For the rest of the time that we were there (we didn't stay for too long after that) there was no part of the service that wasn't energetically sung or swayed to. They were there to gain spiritual nourishment not approval.
We left with an indescribable fulfilled feeling, and an appreciation for what we just witnessed, people who were enthralled with their faith and not shy about showing it, even to two outsiders.
When immersed in a truly spiritual experience, you are lost to thinking about time and the judgment of others. The purity of what you're feeling surely carries you, and I think it is what we all strive for in our prayers, an untainted experience of the Divine so powerful that others can feel it.
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