FN's post about Miriam Makeba's 81st birthday (t'was actually 82nd methinks) took me back a year ago to a Sunday service in Harlem, New York City.
I was determined to hear gospel music and what better place to hear it than Sunday mornong in Harlem. Although I was staying in Long Island which makes it a long hour's drive, I reached well in time to look around and find a nondescript church that did not cater to tourists and that got filled with actual neighborhood folk going for their Sunday worship. It was one of the best experiences of my life. The pastor delivered his sermon amid the background of drum rolls and the expected fire and brimstone. There were the solo singers whose voices were silky smooth and mellifluous without them ever forgetting that the songs were all about worship, not ego. The Gospel Choir dressed in all finery and unbelievably harmonious was the height of prayer and if God was listening He would have been pleased. There are lots of places to see in New York city and there are well organized tours that will take you to the best of them but after you do that, keep a couple of days to see things on your own like this Sunday morning in Harlem thing, off the well trodden path and you will be glad you did. These are sights and sounds of a lifetime like walking down Broadway and Times Square on a late and crowded summer Saturday night. Roland. Sent from Samsung Mobile
