Last night I attended an event at St. Sabina’s Catholic Church, billed as the Mother’s of the Movement. The keynote speakers, the mothers of Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, and Breonna Taylor. Say their names!
It was my first time visiting St. Sabina’s, an all Black Catholic church on the south side of Chicago. We weren’t treated like strangers, we were literally welcomed with open arms. Upon entering the front door, we were greeted by two Black men dressed in dark suits and wearing white gloves. They didn’t bat an eyelash at 4 white women entering their sanctuary. We walked 10 steps through the vestibule and another set of church members greeted us with the same graciousness. Thus began the stark differences between this and the mostly white churches I’d attended. Seeing an obvious stranger who didn’t belong there, did NOT seem to cause a moment of fear, distrust or even curiosity in the congregation. The “all are welcome here” motto actually seemed genuine.
As we entered the church, I couldn’t help but notice the HUGE depiction of Jesus behind the altar. It wasn’t the white man laying passively on a cross that I was accustomed to. It was a larger than life Black man. His hands disproportionately large, literally reaching out to the congregation, as if he was going to jump out and join us. I found myself gaping at the depiction, in awe.
Fr. Pfleger, St. Sabina’s pastor, is a legend. Not only is he a white leader of an all Black church, he’s been their pastor for 40 years. Most Catholic priests serve a parish for 6-12 years before the diocese transfers them to another parish. But the differences don’t stop there. He didn’t appear to be in charge.
The congregation was greeted by a series of WOMEN. One who welcomed us, another led the opening prayer (full on Black evangelism), a third who announced the passing of the donation basket, and finally a group of Black women who performed a dance full of pain, struggle, and redemption. This wasn’t a service for the sedate, everyone was moved and moving.
In case you missed it, I haven’t mentioned Fr. Pfleger yet. That’s because he was sitting quietly in an obscure corner of the church. This was the “peoples’ church. Fr. Pfleger didn’t approach the lectern until the end of the program.
I’m still processing the message of the evening but I had to share the amazing experience of “worshipping” with this congregation.
