40. St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church, Sacramento, CA [June 8, 2014]
This last week I made a couple visits to Oak Park in Sacramento.
The first was on Sunday, when a friend and I attended church at St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church. Pulling into the parking lot, the first thing that I noticed was the size of the building. It’s large -- expansive both inside and out. The greeters were genuinely friendly and the ushers were dressed in uniforms, complete with white gloves, similar to what we had seen at other traditionally black churches. We arrived at what we thought was on-time, only to find the pastor already at the pulpit speaking as we were led to our seats. Pastor Dr. Ephriam Williams was relating stories, some current and some nostalgic. He appeared to be giving his personal op-ed piece on some current events to get the service started. My favorite line, as he was commenting on a recent happening in the African-American community, was “Just because we are black doesn't mean we have to be crazy.”
The church prominently displays: The Church Theme: “Edifying the Church to do the work of the Kingdom.” (Ephesians 4:11-16), and the Church Priorities: Evangelism, Discipleship, Prayer, and Outreach/Missions on banners at the front of the sanctuary. You can also find the Vision and Mission Statements on the front cover of the bulletin each week.
Look in the dictionary under “Sunday best”, n -- (Clothing & Fashion) “one's best clothes, especially regarded as those most suitable for churchgoing,” and you just might find a photo of St Paul. The choir was in well-dressed in all black, as I mentioned, the ushers were in uniform and everyone, it appeared, was in their “Sunday best,” even in the summer heat.
There was a fine gospel message by associate pastor, Rev. Francis Moore, entitled “Bridge the Gap.” Making a tie-in to the motto of their Family Life Center, he gave a thoughtful exposition of 1-Timothy 2:5 on how “the man, Christ Jesus” is the Bridge Builder between man and God.
We stopped by for Pho from KP International Market in Rancho Cordova. And here's a photo of what we didn't eat!
Wednesday night, I returned to Oak Park to attend a 916 Ink book release party -- the 33rd book published by 916 Ink, and our first comic book. The event was held at The Brickhouse Art Gallery at 36th St & Broadway. This book project was the result of a 12-week creative writing program with 3rd-5th graders at nearby Capital Heights Academy. Fantastic evening in Oak Park!
