Devonne Brown

When the Bellview choir sang the old gospel spiritual, it was so powerful it blistered the paint on the walls, Sister Eloise sang with such feeling. When she cut loose on I’ll Fly Away the top of the sanctuary lifted a good six inches up off the walls of the building. The whole house of worship was on its feet, sanctified in the Lord, awash in the Blood of the Lamb. 

The vase of zinnias, carnations, and mums on the altar donated by Sister Evangeline rocked like it was about to turn over. It fairly walked past the Bible, the air was so moved by the Holy Spirit. You could see the ferns quaking in the arrangement, yes, the Lord was present that Sunday. 

The piano player slowed down the melody. The congregation diminished its frenzy, and the choir began to sway. Sister Eloise launched into a low slow version of O Happy Day for background music so the reverend could call the miscreants to the altar to pray.

The crowd shuffled and moved to the music and some walked down the aisle to the front to kneel on the steps of the sanctuary. The music carefully controlled the crowd, prayers, and mood of the congregation. The reverend invited everyone to take their seats to listen to the Word of God for the People of God.

The Right Reverend Evangelical got all worked up and sweaty about love and neighbors, and he shouted about what was and was not right in the eyes of God. 

There was dinner in the assembly hall after church. The Sisters of the Poor had organized a pot luck. Everyone was invited. Sister Suzanne had made her special seven layer salad. Everybody looked forward to that.

Before church let out, the choir rocked the house once more with the saints all marching in. Sister Eloise found a way to sing it over the top and move that vase of flowers all over the altar table, as well as lift the roof off the building one more time before the gut stretching in the assembly hall. Amen.