The Baptismal

     I grew up attending Pilgrim Home Baptist Church under the leadership of Reverend Cleophus Ware.  That was my grandmother’s church too.  Grandmother Sarah Dorsey Mitchell Generette was in her sixties and soon to be retired when I was born.  She was old enough and had probably been through the depression and hard-times.  She never complained and told me about what she went through.  She always kept her conversations geared toward teaching the difference between what she thought was right or wrong.  She used the scriptures to make her point.  Like the time I closed my eyes and saw a fire breathing dragons standing over me.  I jumped out of bed, “Grandma, Grandma, that dragon is gonna' get me.”  She walked over to my bed, asked me to get out of bed and onto my knees.  This is the day that she taught me the Lord’s Prayer and the Twenty-third Psalms.  I repeated the prayers, when back to sleep and didn’t see that dragon anymore.  Grandma told me that was the devil and that I should pray.  

   Grandmother truly believed that her family should attend church.  I guess she had attended that church even before Reverend Ware became minister.  An average sized man, light-skinned with a beautiful smile.  I remember his smile showing mostly all thirty two teeth when he opened his mouth.  I don’t know how long Reverend ministered at the church because I was only five or six years old when he baptized me.  The baptismal pool was hidden underneath the floor of the pulpit where the pastors and their visiting pastors sat.  That Sunday, grandmother prepared me for baptism by removing my Sunday dress, lace socks, and patented leather shoes.  She slipped on my white gown, placed a plastic bag over my hair and then wrapped the towel around my head.  She led me to the baptismal pool while Pastor Ware and one of his deacons, I think Mr. Holmes, stretched forth their hands to assist me down the steps into the water.  One man on my right and one man on my left, Reverend uttered some biblical words, pinched my nose, placed one hand behind my back and the men pushed me back into the water and pulled me out so fast I didn’t know what happened. 

            “Gee whiz, golly gees, what in the world,” I must have thought, “Dag.”  Dag was my favorite word even though I didn’t know what it meant.  I would just say, “Dag” whenever something happens that I didn’t understand.  Reverend smiled.  I turned as each man helped me up the steps where my grandmother awaited to embrace me with the towel.  I didn’t know what that was all about but I guess she did.  She smiled too. 

            After the ceremony was over the choir sanged, “Wade in the Water.”  The song went something like this:  “Wade in the Water, Wade in the water children, wade in the water, God’s gonna’ trouble the water.”  The choir kept on singing that song.   Grandmother took me to the ladies’ bathroom to change from the wet clothing back into my Sunday outfit.  Church continued that day, the choir kept singing, and the pastor started preaching.  My grandmother got down on her knees and she sang, “A Charge to Keep I Have.”  My grandmother sounded like she was saying, “hey Charles” but I know that she was saying, “A Charge to Keep I have a God to glorify.”  That lady could sure enough sing and moan.  Moan is when someone hums the words to the song.  

            Every Sunday morning grandmother walked with me, James, and Nora as we each waved, nodded, bobbed and weaved to the people either standing in their doorway or about to leave their houses.  Grandmother always made sure we spoke to everyone we met.  “That’s the right thing to do” she taught each of us.  “Speak to people” she would say.  We did, “hi, Mrs. So and So, hi Mr. So and So.”  Each person would acknowledge saying, “hi Jean, hi James, hi Nora.”   Afterwards we marched on to church like little soldiers with our attention on getting a good bible teaching.  We attended Sunday school from 9:00 to probably 10:30.   Our church’s morning services consisted of a teacher for each age group.  After Sunday school was over and before Church Services started at 11:00 a.m. grandmother gave me and my brother each a quarter.  Some of the money was to buy sweets at Mr. Baldwin’s services station on the corner as you turn to get to our church.   I don’t really know what James bought with his money but I purchased small round grape chewing gum balls.  After James and I made our purchase we skipped back to church.  I skipped.  James slowly walked. 

            At 11:00 a.m. all the church members began to take their seats in the pews.  There were three rows of benches with one to the left as you walk into the church, a middle section, and a row of benches to the right.  There was also, benches on the left side and the right side which was turned long ways.  Right in the middle of the church stood a long table used for placing the collection plates filled with money.  Also the ushers placed the grape wine (juice) and crackers until Reverend Ware could say a prayer before distributing it to the congregation.

            Now I believe I know why grandmother wanted me baptized.  She knew I would not get any grape juice and crackers if I were not a member of the church.  Grandmother always looked out for me.  Her quiet demeanor, her soft spoken yet firm voice always intrigued me.  Her voice always soothes me whenever I needed a little extra love to get me through the day.  Before church services started I along with James was told not to spend all our money.  “Save some of that money to put in church” grandmother said.  I and James assured her that we would not spend all the money as we quickly ran from the church.  However, when church services started and the choir began to sing, “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” the ushers all wearing white dresses, white shoes, white gloves and carrying a silver dish, a collection plate to be exact.  The usher stuck that plate in my face.  I pretended I was asleep and so did James.  We faked sleep so that we could spend the rest of the money after church was over.  Grandmother decided to check to see if we had done what she told us, she said, “Did you put the money I gave you in church?”   “Ah, no” I said.  I could not lie to such a sweet lady.  After all she always put money in Sunday school and some in church.  After she turned back around James and I slouched down in our seat and began eating our treats from Mr. Baldwin’s story.  My grandmother was a short, brown-skinned woman who wore glasses.  Also, she spoke soft and firm.  Her yes meant yes and her no meant no.  Whatever she told you she would do.

            Many Saturdays the two of us watched “The Grand Ole’ Opry” on her probably 16 inch black and white TV.  The Grand Ole Opry was on her favorite TV shows.   Grandma and I enjoyed watching country singers, Porter Wagoner, Dolly Parton, Roy Clark, Buck Owens, and of course comedian Minnie Pearl.  The two of us watched The Lawrence Welk’s Show which debuted in 1951, two years before I was born.   Lawrence Welk’s had singers and dancers on his show with beautiful scenery to concide with the dances and songs.   Grandmother and I did a lot of things together.  I believe her to be a person of aesthetics and grace.  My grandmother and I also watched faithfully on Saturdays the ice skating show called “Holiday on Ice.”   This show depicted grace, beauty, poise, elegance.  The ice skaters both male and female would dance to music around the iced skating rink.  This was not just about watching young men and women perform such fantastic feats but it was about introducing me to world she aspired for me. I believe grandmother was instilling in me as to what I could accomplish if I set my mind to it.  

             I remember how she believed that Saturday was wash day because she didn’t believe anyone should wash clothes on a Sunday.  That was a policy she stood by.  “Get all those dirty clothes together so that I can wash them.  Even more so before New Year’s Day,” every piece of clothing had to be clean before New Year’s Day.  That was her belief that if you have dirty clothes in the house on January 1 then you would have dirty clothes all year.  Maybe it wasn’t exactly like that but that’s how I remember it.