Church Folk - Michele Andrea Bowen [44]
Theophilus sighed once more. He did not want to deal with Glodean today—or on any day ever again.
Elroy Thorn now took the microphone. A plain, medium-brown-skinned, portly man in his early forties, he was dressed in a plain black suit with little adornment except the gold watch and large diamond rings on his right hand. He said, "Giving honor to God, I want to thank you, Bishop Jennings, for giving us the opportunity to sing at this great Annual Conference of this mighty, God-filled denomination. The song we've picked out for you is a gospel ballad. I hope and pray it reaches deep down in your soul and helps you know the Lord just a little bit better."
Elroy motioned to his musicians (a pianist, organist, tenor saxophonist, bass guitarist, lead guitarist, and drummer) to start playing. Then the three men and four women who were the Gospel Songbirds lifted their voices in the opening chords of Thorn's beautiful arrangement of "Touch Me Lord Jesus." And when Elroy Thorn finally joined in, a thrill ran through the church as his lovely, soothing voice evoked the presence of a wondrous and mighty God. By the time they finished the last verse of the song, Theophilus was wiping his eyes from the intense emotions he was feeling, and even Eddie Tate, who was always stoic, could not stop the flow of tears down his cheeks.
Bishop Jennings came back up to the pulpit podium, dabbing at his eyes with his handkerchief. "Church, if you didn't feel the Lord stirring your heart after that song, you just don't know a thing about Jesus. Rev. Thorn, thank you so much. Let's all show our appreciation for this good music by standing and giving Evangelist Elroy Thorn and the Gospel Songbirds another big round of applause."
Rev. Gant tugged at the back of the Bishop's robe, handing him a note. A quick grimace flashed across his face as he read, but he proceeded to tell the congregation, "Church, Rev. Gant has informed me that we are blessed to have another special guest in our midst. There was some doubt as to whether he was even going to be able to make it, but God is great. Our guest is someone who has served God for longer than many of us have been alive and who needs no introduction to many of you out there. He is a faithful servant and one of the oldest practicing preachers in the entire United States."
A few barely stifled groans escaped from the audience. The bishop continued: "At the tender age of fourteen, he became a traveling, itinerant preacher and called many to Jesus at tent revivals throughout Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. After marrying, he continued his evangelizing until the Lord led him to the pastorship of a small church in Lafayette, Louisiana. Years later, he was summoned to Mississippi by the late Bishop Zeebedee L. Carson, Sr., where he pastored churches in Hattiesburg and Grenada. He is now at Solid Rock Gospel United Church in Yazoo City, Mississippi, where he has served as pastor for the past forty-five years. And he says that he intends to stay at Solid Rock until the Lord calls him home. Church, I give you Rev. Roscoe Alexander."
"He can't be gettin' ready to try and preach," said Coral Thomas as Rev. Alexander signaled to several of the younger pastors to help him out of his chair. "He too old."
Rev. Alexander tottered up to the pulpit podium. He was a tall, lanky man with a weatherworn face. He had a thick head of white hair and gray eyes. He put on his glasses and began to fumble with the papers he was holding with one hand, while using the other to adjust his false teeth. Then he began to speak in a strong but scratchy voice: "I don't have a whole lot to say to you this afternoon. But I just wanted to tell you about holdin' up yo' chutch. Hol . . . din' up yo' chutch. You see, you can pray by yo'self, you have to get saved by yo'self, you can even shout quietly in the midnight hour by yo'self, but you cain't go to chutch by yo'self. You need others for that. Others, which include yo' pastors."
Rev. Alexander stopped talking, looked around the church, and cleared