It was a Tuesday and we were all sitting in the room where we would have our weekly staff meetings. There was never really room for us to add input to the agenda but we knew what we wanted to bring up at the end of the meeting.
GOSPEL MUSIC.
We worked for a Church planted in Harlem by White pastors from Florida and about 70% of the congregation was Black as well. So we thought, well this is a given - they just probably haven’t thought about it yet.
We were wrong.
They either had thought about it or hadn’t and it was just going to be a NO automatically.
At the end of the meeting, we asked, “can we start implementing gospel music at our Sunday Services?” Not a wild question but their face said otherwise.
They made a face like we were asking for a $20K raise from the outlandish $35,000 salary we were getting a year (yes, you read right - Church staff living in NEW YORK CITY were getting paid $35,000 for a full-time job while the Pastors lived in a new luxurious apartment in NYC). But no, that’s not what we were asking for. We were asking to implement music that the majority of the congregation probably already listened to in their house, grew up worshipping to, and the community outside the doors of the Church would most relate to cause well, we were in Harlem after all.
But the answer was no.
They thought, our race and/or culture shouldn’t be a part of our faith so it shouldn’t be a part of Sunday services. But their race and culture were certainly part of the Sunday services and church culture as a whole.
Did you know that if you google “worship” or type the word “worship” in unsplash.com - you’ll find pictures of mainly White people worshipping or crowds of unclear color? When did worship to a Divine and Good God become central to one group of people or skin tone? Gospel is worship. Coritos is worship. CCM is worship. Hymns are worship. Yet, this is what we see - dark rooms with lights that look like they belong on a Broadway show and barely any sign of gospel or coritos unless it’s a ‘Black Church’ or ‘Latino Church’. Songs, music, and sounds toward our God gets to be a collective tapestry of worshippers from different tribes and tongues.
I think I’ve said this already but if you’re new here. Welcome :) and just so you know I’m Black Dominicana (from Dominican Republic - not Dominica). Which means, I’m not African American but I am Black - nevertheless.
Growing up I went to a church that had two services. One in English and one in Spanish. The English one had a whole lot of gospel because it was mainly attended by Black people and the Spanish service had something we call Coritos (basically Spanish gospel music). And actually, I didn’t hear CCM (contemporary Christian music) until I was about 12 or 13 years old. And when I heard it I liked it. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good Housefires, Bethel (sometimes, cause as a church, they're problematic in many ways), United Pursuit, Maverick City Music, etc. but I grew up with gospel and coritos.
That’s how I worshipped God through song. So when they said ‘no’ to the way I sang to God - I was taken aback and confused.
So, I have to worship God with songs that are popular right now and not ones that perhaps my soul connects to?
So, I have to worship God with the songs you find comforting and relatable to your culture and upbringing and not mine?
Sounds like colonization to me.
Revelation 5:9 tells us, “And they sang a new song with these words: “You are worthy to take the scroll and break its seals and open it. For you were slaughtered, and your blood has ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.”
The thing about trauma is that it’s often an experience that happened to you or that you witnessed with little to no control. To some, reading this you may feel like this isn’t traumatic. But it actually is. Because this was only one of the ways my race and culture were removed and belittled in this Church space.
Racial trauma within the Body of Christ is not new. I’m not going to get into slavery because I’m not here to educate on what most of us already know. But to make someone feel like a genuine request to connect with their culture and faith is wrong or irrelevant is to determine that they are wrong and irrelevant.
But just because they thought that of me and the congregation, that doesn’t mean it’s true. Part of healing, for me, has been learning to discern what are truths that I’ve heard or that have been spoken over me and what are lies.
To my understanding, this church NOW does include gospel in their services on Sundays every once in a while but sometimes we need to see the heart of something. It was our dear beloved mother of beautiful words, Maya Angelou who said the famous quote:
“When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.”
Because hiding behind a “changed mind” is what makes some people the most dangerous kinds of people. Some people don’t change their minds. Some people just think if they look a certain way on the outside, their insides won’t show. And that’s fine if people want to live that way but for the rest of my days, I will be much more concerned with what God sees within me than what man sees outside of me because I know what’s within is the truth.
“But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”
- 1 Samuel 16:7
And perhaps you’re reading this and thinking I only believe their mind isn’t changed because I’m bitter or haven’t forgiven them. And that would be an incorrect analysis because I have forgiven and I’m not bitter. What I am is discerning. And speaking of discernment - we are currently in Black History Month and although our culture and faith are essential to bring together and celebrate - there’s also a wrong way to do this so, friends, here are some things to consider and observe:
If you go to a Church that rarely has Black pastors come to preach or rarely ever sings gospel, and they are doing it this month - that’s a red flag.
If you listen to a podcast that rarely ever has a Black person come speak on it as a guest and this month they do have a Black guest speaker, that’s a red flag.
If you are part of a ministry that rarely talks about race and justice and they want to talk about it this month, that’s a red flag.
Part of our journey of healing from The Body and being a part of The Body is that we hold accountable who needs to be held accountable and we speak up, in an honorable and humble way, when we see red flags.
And if you yourself are fighting to include your culture in your faith community, can I free you right now? You can stop fighting if you want to, friend. Your fighting an internal battle that they will only allow you to see the external parts of. Be still and give it to God.
your fellow wounded and gospel-corito-loving sister in Christ,
Pricelis Dominguez
If you are a woman looking to be a part of a space that honors faith and culture - then I’d love to invite you to the Sowers Summit! We will have multilingual worship (in English, Spanish, and Korean) and we’ll have multiethnic worship (gospel, ccm, coritos, and hymns). Let’s bring heaven to earth at the Symphony Space Theatre this summer June 29th to July 1st in New York City!
To learn more about this conference, GO HERE!
Healing From the Body was actually born out of a course I launched last year. It was a 5-week course and community for those who’ve been wounded by the Church and this year we are doing it again - this time in two different groups, Group 1: Healing from Religious Trauma and Group 2: Healing from Racial Trauma in a Christian/Church Context.