New Orleans part 2 (Sunday)

Sunday, March 14

This was quite possibly the best day of the trip. Nobody was on my nerves yet, I was fairly rested, and there were a lot of awesome things about the day. First, we got up late (late being 9ish) and walked over to the same little strip where Pizza Milano was to the Sweet Savors bakery. I got an apple Danish as big as my hand and a bottle of apple juice for less than $4! The Danish was so delicious- fresh with a hint of warmth left in it. We ate our food outside in the parking lot of the church. The weather was so comfortably warm, I was wearing short sleeves.

After eating we went to church at First Grace UMC on Canal Street, and I have to say that it was an amazing experience, possibly the best of the entire trip. This church is actually two congregations who merged in 2007, First UMC and Grace UMC. They are so diverse, with black people, white people, Hispanic people, and Asian people. They had two pastors, one white and one Hispanic. But the diversity isn’t what struck me. It was the pure joy that they had at being able to worship. They weren’t even in their sanctuary because it was being remodeled, but they were SO happy to be there in their fellowship hall. It was standing-room-only, but nobody cared, they were sharing seats and pointing out empty seats.

This was a church that definitely had taken Jesus to heart and was trying to truly live out His message. To quote the blurb in the bulletin: “As you can see with your own eyes, our congregation mirrors the diverse wonder of our city. Our mission is to celebrate that wonder as the body of Christ through our commitment of living together in our city and joyfully engaging all city dwellers through our worship and missional ministries, serving meals on Sundays, sheltering women at Hagar’s House, having Wednesday night pot luck and community Bible study, an organic community garden, and various other ministries. We want you to feel welcomed and moved by the loving Gospel that lights our path.”

We, as a group, didn’t even care that the service was nearly two hours long, it was so very joyful. There was jazz music performed by a live band, a choir of people singing, and the Spirit was in that place. There was communion, with the sweetest communion bread I’ve ever tasted. It was like being in a family. Even though they were strangers to us, they hugged us, clapped for us, and thanked us profusely for doing what we were going to do.

There was one woman in the choir who didn’t stop smiling almost the entire time. Even though I didn’t get the chance to talk to her, I could tell that she had the joy of Jesus, and she was magnetic to watch as she sang and clapped with the choir. I don’t think I will forget her face; she was almost glowing.

Once the service was almost over, they asked, “Does anyone want to be the first new member to come forward?” and two men got up and went to the front, and the din was deafening as the church cheered and clapped for them. It was amazing.

Thinking about it now makes me desire that kind of community on Simpson’s campus. If we could really have the joy of Jesus shining through us… Wow. I don’t know how to get it going, but I really want to share it.

After church we went to Walmart to get food for the week. The Walmart was disgusting but we got our food and got out. We ate lunch and then headed down to the French Quarter. The French Quarter was an interesting experience. The roads are narrow, the shops crowded close. Signs everywhere, dollars changing hands. The flea market was so crowded I made sure to keep a hand on my wallet and phone in case someone decided to be a pickpocket. It was a little overwhelming. Two of the other girls and I escaped from the commercialism and went down to the cathedral. Passing to the back we saw a statue of a man (I assume it was Jesus) who was missing fingers. But then we turned to the other direction, and it seemed like we were in a movie set: the balconies and colors and such, the way the sunlight was hitting things. It was a little disorienting, but fascinating.

We went down to see some break-dancers, and it ended up being an uncomfortable experience too. They seemed to be greedy, always asking for money, but what was worse was the way they were making jokes about race. I admit that I laughed at first, almost because it was so shocking to me, but then I felt bad, and actually a bit offended, because they were making these jokes about people who didn’t know what they were getting into. We didn’t give them any money (but we stayed to watch the show… hmm.). They actually were impressive when they were doing their dance moves, but most of the show was the joking and banter.

We left the French Quarter as the sun was setting, and we walked along the river. I got pictures of a bridge and a steam/paddle boat. The atmosphere was laid-back, mellow, easy-going. We ended up at the van and found our way back to our church. We had a reflection meeting and then I went to bed.