MEMPHIS, Tenn. (BP)–Tension gripped the city of Memphis, Tenn., on a recent Saturday as violence erupted during a downtown demonstration by the Ku Klux Klan.
Some people received minor injuries and windows were broken during what began as a peaceful counter-demonstration. Several hundred people braved winter cold to voice their opposition to the white supremacist group. Sadly, there were some in the crowd bent on violence, which resulted in several arrests and the use of tear gas.
For the casual observer, the next morning proved a stark contrast as the Brinkley Heights Baptist Church met for worship. In a city too often marred by racial strife, this congregation of 70 worshipers is nearly equally divided between white and black. If racial tension was on anyone’s mind, you could never tell it in the faces of this joy-filled church.
The church, located in a low-income neighborhood, has no time for ethnic struggles. As one member shared, “No one here even thinks about all that.” Several months ago, their auditorium was condemned due to structural failure. The obvious dips in the roof reveal a building that has seen its better days.
According to pastor Tim Cox, “The old building has got to go. Plans are being made for a new one. This is a new area of faith for us. We have always done ministry on whatever level God provided. Now we are having to plan and believe in advance for something as big as a new building.”
Recent worship services have been held in a tent. But during the previous week’s ice storm, the tent collapsed from the weight. So the congregation crammed into a small basement in the part of the building which is still sound. The crowded conditions and collapsed tent had no dampening effect on the people’s enthusiasm as they worshiped Christ, clapped, sang and prayed together.
It is from this same basement that the church distributed emergency food aid to more than 7,100 people during 1997, which equated to 64,000-plus meals.
Volunteers gather weekly to sort clothing, assist with food distribution, do blood pressure screenings, and offer spiritual counseling.
Frugality is the order of the day as volunteers seek damaged package goods, donations and funding assistance from the Southern Baptist World Hunger Fund. Besides feeding hungry bodies, the church seeks to feed the soul. More than 180 people prayed to receive Jesus Christ as their Savior last year. Through children’s and youth activities, many at-risk young people find acceptance, love and a sense of belonging. Through an addiction support group, there is help for those desiring freedom from the bondage of chemical dependency.
Little discussion was given to the previous day’s events in downtown Memphis during the Sunday worship service. But all heads, both black and white, nod in agreement, that the only answer to racial strife lies in a relationship with Jesus Christ.
