By Ryan Ngala
[Harlem, New York] It
was a beautiful day at First A.M.E Church – Bethel. It was the morning for the
back to school service, the twelfth year of the event that brings
together young children and their parents around the first school day in the
month of September and provides each child with a new fully-loaded backpack.
Many parents, along
with their children, had gotten up early in the morning to stand in line outside
the church for the back-to-school celebration. While they were waiting, many
First Bethel staff members had brought out program registration cards and pens
for the parents so that they could register their children and write the grade
level and other information on the forms. Meanwhile the clock was still ticking
and the line still moving; it was almost time to start the service and all
parents and their children were about to enter the sanctuary.
As they got inside
the church, many people filled in the rows of each pew in the sanctuary. When
the service began, first up was the First Bethel Praise Ensemble singing “And
We Are Glad” by Joe Pace. This song lifted everyone to their feet; all members
of the congregation were moving their bodies as they sang worship songs to the
Lord. Next there was an opening prayer and welcoming words by Toni Santos and
LeShawn Bridgewater, respectively; Alex and Nia Moore read scriptures from
Romans, chapter 8, verses 16-18:
“The Spirit himself testifies
with our spirit that we are children of God; 17 and if
children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ; if indeed we
suffer with him, that we may also be glorified with him. 18 For I
consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared
with the glory which will be revealed toward us.”
And from Psalm,
chapter 55, verses 22-23:
“Cast your burden on Yahweh, and
he will sustain you.
He will never allow the righteous
to be moved.
23 But you,
God, will bring them down into the pit of destruction.
Bloodthirsty and deceitful men
shall not live out half their days,
but I will trust in you.”
The choir then sang
another song and there was also a praise-through-dance performance by Omar
Ingram. After the performance, Pastor Henry A. Belin III delivered the
inspirational message to the many students starting back to school in a brand
new year. Pastor Belin’s words gave the youth strength to make it possible for
them to work hard, study hard, make new friends, make good grades, and pray to
God for the ability to learn and succeed in life. Next, the congregation and the Ensemble sang
“Hallelujah”, everyone started to rejoice and enjoy a good time. In his closing
remarks and benediction, Pastor Belin urged the church to work to end violence
in Harlem and take back their neighborhood. Following the service, it was then time now
to distribute backpacks to all age groups; Pre-Kindergarten - 1st
grade, 2nd - 5th grade, 6th - 8th
grade and 9th - 12th grade. Students in each row went up
and got a backpack and then exited from the church.
Finally the praise
party began. Refreshments were served including hamburgers, hot dogs, corn and
watermelon; the DJ was playing music so that everyone could listen to the
sounds and dance to the rhythms. There were awesome rides for the kids to play
on, and of course there were icies, cotton candy,
and popcorn. The youth also turned on the sprinklers at the fire hydrants. Some
of them rode on a trackless train. Clearly, everyone had a really fun time.
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