Mark Scandrette: August 2008 Archives

It seems that the longer we are on tour the crazier Preacher Withee becomes-- louder and more ferverent and full of spit and revival fire. He keeps giving it a whoop, and a push, and all he's got.

We arrived at Marble Collegiate Church in Manhattan yesterday afternoon shortly before the Moslim time of prayer. There is a modest mosque next door to the church that has become an overwhelmingly popular mid-day prayer destination. The mosque was filled and the overflow of hundreds of men, young and old lined the sidewalk on 29th street to observe the time of prayer, removing their shoes and sharing their prayer rugs with one another as they stood, kneeled and bowed. It was quite arresting to see hundreds of men bowing on the ground on the sidewalks of New York-- a startling demonstration of public faith and solidarity. We joined many of these men in the crowded line at the Pakistani restaurant next to the mosque after the prayer service concluded- and enjoyed a nice curry lunch.

You can see the youtube video here.

When I was 16 years old my family moved from urban Minneapolis to rural Alabama. I went from a large inner city liberal arts magnet school to a rural county high school where I graduated in a class of 41 students. Moving to Alabama was a real culture shock for me --and I am continually grateful for the way it expanded the horizon of my world. Thus, the most highly anticipated stop on the tour for me was Birmingham, Alabama, just up the road from Tuscaloosa where I went to University in the late 1980's. And I was not disappointed. We ate Dreamland Ribs in Tuscaloosa and we were recipients of so much friendliness and Southern hospitality. On Saturday night we were hosted by a most remarkable church called Disciple's Fellowship.

During our stop in New Orleans Kiwi Dave and I had an opportunity to see the lingering devastation of hurricane Katrina. It was heartwarming to see how the people of New Orleans have rallied together to rebuild their city--with the help of so many friends from across the country. New Orleans certainly has a unique and lively local culture of jazz music, Cajun and Creole cuisine and joie de vivre that is alive and well.