User:Vbalestriere
From The Peopling of New York City
Well, here's my page. For now, it only consists of a journal entry.
I think everyone was thrown off by the switch to Daylight Saving Time...I know I was.
After staying up till 4AM to finish a paper, I had retired for the morn...night. I woke about 5 hours later craving more sleep, but responsibility prevailed. After breakfast and loading bags into my car for later-day endeavors, I realized I didn't have the 25 minutes required to take my medicine...so I went without it. I got in my car and jacked in my iPod, hoping some music would substitute for coffee. It didn't really work, to be honest, but I went on my way anyway.
It was a rather nice drive over Manor Rd. hill, though there were a few morons on the road...as always. After I reached Forest Avenue, I noticed a large police presence. I thought that a crime had taken place nearby, but then I noticed the aluminum bars lined up on the sides on the road - the parade. I had completely forgotten about it, and immediately regretted choosing the church that required me to cross Forest Avenue to get to it. Anyway, I continued down to Castleton via one of the hundreds of one-way street sections on the Island, Elizabeth Street.
At first, I passed the New Life Church without noticing it was...well, a church. The outward appearance was more akin to a bodega than a house of worship, but then again the first Christians worshiped in private homes. After navigating one way street some more and a few K-turns, I parked on a side street relatively near by...its name escaped me, but I do remember that it wasn't exactly the most pristine area. When I did arrive, however, the interior of the church was much different than I thought it was going to be - its size could be likened to that of a very small law office.
Valerie was the only other one of our group who had shown up, so I took a seat next to her in the third row. The senior pastor immediately recognized who we were, and came over to greet us...can't say it must've been difficult to pick us out, as we were the only non-blacks in the church. Not that it made a difference to me, it's just an observation...most of the churchgoers were very open towards us, but I did notice some shifty looks aimed in our direction. When the mass started, Valerie and I were still the only MHC reps i attendance...I had heard that Jon was sick from sushi, but I never knew what Tony was doing.
The service started out with a bang, as one of the sisters of the choir began singing and dancing on her own. Soon after, the rest of the churchgoers followed suit, and we once again stuck out - we're both from Catholic churches, who aren't know for their animation in services. In fact, for the first 30 minutes, I stood very uncomfortably in a very "Catholic" manner. When we introduced ourselves about 50 minutes in, I mentioned that I was from a Catholic church - most laughed, seemingly unsurprised. Eventually, I sang along and danced with the rest of those in attendance.
The sermon was probably the longest part of the service, but the speaking pastor did cover a lot of things: Creation, Evolution, and Agnosticism, to name a few. I wasn't surprised by the mention of Creation in such a heavily religious church, but their interpretations of Darwin and Agnosticism bothered me - they painted Darwin as a heretic for studying and observing the changed in Earth's creatures. Agnostics (I happen to be one) were also criticized for not having faith and simply being "confused about their real god." I took that piece of the sermon with a grain of salt and a grimace on my face, as I'm sick of discussing faith with zealots - I'm an Agnostic because I believe religion is faulty, as it is an institution of man....but that's another topic to cover at another time. For simplicity's sake, I stayed and listened, and prayed alongside everyone else, even though it wasn't true for me at all.
About 2 and a half hours (!) into the service, Valerie had to leave, as she was required to be at her part-time job before two o'clock. So, I stayed as the lone representative until the end of the service. Afterwards, I took a few of the senior pastor's business cars and promised to set up an interview with him in the future.
Luckily, most of the buzz from the parade had passed, and I was able to cross Forest Avenue of the way to my next destination.