BLACK in AMERICA

poster of black man hanging from Statue of Liberty

It had been too long a break. I'd not attended any session with the young adjudicated  men at SAFE PASSAGES the entire month of August of this year. Spirit told me to carry my prayer pipe and a pouch of Tobacco with me to the group. I wasn't feeling enthusiastic about going. Years ago, as a young man in my early 20's, I asked Bishop Green, of Free Gospel Church of Christ in Coral Hills, Maryland, some hard hitting questions. I wasn't alone. There were a few other young men, most from the Carribean Islands or West Africa. I was the only African Native American. Back then Bishop admitted, publicly, he was not an educated man, and should any of his sermons raise questions, for any reason, come and see him to get clarity and understanding. That's all I needed: a quest. It cost me dearly years later, but the acquisition of knowledge is full of risks, and worth the risks.

One of the answers he gave to one of our questions changed us profoundly because Bishop's openness was raw and unashamed. Bishop said, "If a pastor, any pastor, leaves his church for 3 or more weeks 2/3's of his congregation will leave. The third who stay are the tithers, the backbone of the church." I thought hard about this in the context of my group. In my absence I knew my co-facilitator, Eric Turner, was holding it down with the assistance of two of Dr. Kristal C. Owens-Gayle's adult male students from Bowie State University, but I wasn't pastoring a church. I was leading what was supposed to be a Rites-of-Passage program as an Elder. The difference lay in simple facts: no one tithes, I am not pastoring, and the young men are court ordered to be in attendance, and if they don't comply they are returned to jail, if they do comply and complete the course good for them.

What I felt was a rested restlessness. Healers had to to work on me for a couple of weeks in August. My spirit had worn down because of the amount and the kind of spiritual work with a continual flow of souls coming and coming over a long period of time. During the restoration process after the ceremonies my youngest son and I spent time together. He is 18 years old, and finding his footing at that age is a challenge. I remember being 18, and what that felt and looked like to me. My father became my strongest supporter. It is a pivotal time in a young boy's life, and not the time to abandon him to his own whims. Gregory E. Woods, 4.27.12