Urban Tomography of Faith On the Move Ministries
From Oct — Nov 2014 we began an ethnographic tomography centered around Faith On the Move Ministries, located on 810 E. Broad St, Savannah, GA. The project was focused on religion but also meant to include topics such as race, class, and work. Considering that both of us are atheists with our own opinions on faith and spirituality, it was important for us as ethnographers to avoid any ethnocentrism caused by our preexisting world views. We decided early on that when conducting interviews, we should avoid mentioning our own beliefs, while encouraging our subjects to express theirs. It was inevitable too, that we would be attending a Sunday service in which we needed to observe without participating, and still remain respectful of the culture we were studying. Despite what we believe individually, we could still agree on similar ideals. The goal of this project was not only to paint a clearer picture of the culture, both tacit and explicit of the church, but to also gain a knowledge of its history and understand the world view of the people who constituted its membership.
Before beginning our field work, engaged in the typical procrastination that accompanies it, we checked the church’s website for anything regarding the history of the building and the people currently in charge of it. Not too much was available on the website, which mainly suggests that people attend a church service to find out more about what it does. Inevitably, we were going to have to start by going there on a Sunday. Despite initial apprehensions, we were greeted rather warmly as soon as we entered the building by Tremayne Jackson who was more than happy to schedule an interview with the pastor for us, and was also helpful in answering many of our questions. We noticed that almost all of the people facilitating the service were young (in their twenties), a statistic which Tremayne confirmed. We were approached by and shook hands with many of the members of the congregation who were mostly dressed formally. Our subsequent visits further supported these findings.
The interior of the church appeares neatly designed and functional, with a large amount of easily movable seating. The arrangement of the church is made to account for the multiple community events. The pastor expressed to us the multitude of functions that the church offers the community; ranging from plays, to concerts, to classes for children. A projection screen in the front displays lyrics to the songs used in the service as well as general announcements to help facilitate things. A large portion of Sunday services is group singing, with a live drummer in addition to several lead singers equipped with microphones. Crowd participation varies, with the more involved located in the front and center, and less vehement participation by people sitting in the back and on the fringes. The age of the participants spans from extremely young children to the elderly. The overwhelming majority of the congregation is African-American, and as we discovered later from the pastor Eric Jackson, forms the whole spectrum of socio-economic backgrounds.
The first time we saw Pastor Eric Jackson take the floor, he argued that Faith on the Move was less formal, and thus more functional than most churches. He informed the congregation that there was an upcoming blanket drive for the less fortunate. Bibles were handed out by church volunteers to help follow with the passages he was using as examples. Much of his preaching focused on the relevance of the Christian religion in the twenty first century in an increasingly globalized world. We noticed to that he denounced other religions; specifically Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism. An animated and dramatic speaker, he could draw intense reactions from the crowd when he involved them at certain points in his speaking. Although it wasn’t required to submit money into the donation plate, we were the only two people in the group of nearly one hundred who did not participate in this redistribution. To further avoid breaking any more taboos, we did participate in the bread and wine ceremony of communion.
Later, when actually talking to the pastor, we found that he had been with the ministry for 22 years, while he had moved to the East Broad Street location in the year 2000. The pastor Eric Jackson and his wife/co-pastor Braunadette Jackson met in high school and have been together ever since. They joined The Air-force soon after getting married, then came back to work on bettering their community. His fondest memory of the church was that move from a store front to the large building that it now encompassed. He believed the church was pivotal to the inner city work it was doing for the city of Savannah, and informed us that the basement also functions as a food pantry that feeds 150 families 2 times per month. As well as the Sunday and Friday services he gives, Jackson also visits church members in hospitals, prisons, and schools. In addition to feeding the homeless and impoverished, he would also like to have space for a homeless shelter that provides people with a place to sleep for the night.
When we picked this church we wanted to discover what made it different than the numerous others in the city; in the pastor’s own words “there’s a church on every block in Savannah.” Having little knowledge of the inner workings of the Christian religion, we assumed the role of student, and let our informants to do the teaching. The pastors and volunteers told us that the people who work there are mostly young, and they are able to reach more young people primarily through word of mouth. There is a lot of emphasis on member involvement, and the people who comprise the church’s infrastructure told us they worked on church projects throughout the week; not just on Sunday. One of the differentiations that Pastor Jackson wanted to specify was the fact Faith On the Move is non-denominational, which allows them to accept people into the ministry with less ceremony and effort. Given the fact that the congregation is about half regulars with deep roots in the city, and half new-comers or passers through, it makes sense that the church be non-denominational as to not alienate it’s membership.
https://soundcloud.com/urban-tomography/eric-jackson-interview-1
As non-religious people we were able to appreciate one of the answers the pastor gave in response to a sensitive inquiry on Faith On the Move Ministries’ view towards homosexuality. Jackson responded that “we are all made equally in god’s eyes.” Additionally, he went on to express that no matter what class, race, or sexual orientation a person may be; all are equals. He believes that “the greatest gift that god gave us was the gift of choice.” Pastor Jackson doesn’t think that God judges people based off of their identity as an individual, but rather what they do with their lives. According to him, his original parish had many drug addicts, single mothers, and ex-convicts; Jackson felt that these people especially are in need of the help provided by the church. Despite the narrow minded conservative Christians we have become accustomed to seeing in the media, we found ourselves in agreeance with a great many of his beliefs, albeit the non-spiritual ones.
https://soundcloud.com/urban-tomography/eric-jackson-interview-2
The history of The Bethel AME building which the church now occupies cannot be found on the internet or otherwise. A plaque on the front says it was founded in 1879, although Braunadette Jackson admits that they only know the history as far back as 60–70 years. Both pastors claim that in the early 1960's civil rights leaders such as Andrew Young and Martin Luther King Jr had met there. Furthermore, they stated that there were documents proving as much, but failed to produce such documents. Given the lack of historical documentation of the building, all we know for sure is that several churches had occupied the building before Faith On the Move Ministries made it theirs.
When assessing the church from a ethnographic perspective, it is clear that it plays a central role in the surrounding community. The church’s location puts it in the “inner city” according to Eric Jackson, which means that it near the people who need the services it provides the most. The microculture within the church relies on it as an outlet for taking action in the community and as a gathering place for interactaction with others. For those living in poverty, the services the ministry provides can help improve the quality of life. There are many churches in Savannah but it is clear, even to us who are not religious, that Faith On the Move is a central pillar to the community it inhabits and is currently thriving.
Writing & research by Alex Harn and Doug Westurn.
