After attending a soul-stirring
sermon by Bishop Louis Jefferson at the Garden of Prayer Pentecostal Church
in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, I was no longer hungry for the word of the
Lord, for my appetite had been filled. Participating in a down-South, hand-clapping,
foot-stomping sermon, powerful enough to move the heart of an atheist, does,
however, have its downside. It made me hungry, and I needed to fill my appetite
with food. 
Food and church definitely go hand in hand, and it was now time to bring on
the grub.
After the sermon ended,
members of the congregation
began to chat, mingle, and embrace within the sanctuary. Eager to learn and
soak up as much knowledge as possible within the warm hospitality of the South,
I approached Bishop Jefferson with a few members of my class to discuss church
traditions and, of course, food. Unfortunately, being the busy man that Bishop
Jefferson is, he did not, at that moment, have time to sit down and have an
in depth conversation. He was not, however, going to let us walk away empty
handed. He arranged a time for us to come back and talk about the traditions
of his church and their relationships to food and African-American culture.
We met with Bishop Jefferson
a few days later, and within the first few minutes of our conversation, it
was evident that he was a phenomenally active member of the church. At the
same time he was not extraordinary. Like many members and Bishops of African-American
churches, he is a man of many trades. He attends services, leads them, and
he has also donated his talents in carpentry and contracting. Bishop Jefferson
told us about the recent additions to the building itself and the manner in
which they were created. Not a single item, from the new sanctuary to the
entry of the church, was built by a person outside of the church. Bishop Jefferson
explained that every member has a special trade, and when the church has a
need for that skill, those members drop everything to help out.
Another form of this kind
of cooperation
takes
place in the Church's annual cookout. Frank Charles Jefferson started this
tradition, and it is now in its twelfth year. Bishop Jefferson explained that
the origins of the cookout have very simple roots. In fact, it did not take
much planning at all. According to the Bishop, the cookout was founded solely
upon this statement: " Us guys should get together once a year and have
a cookout or something". The men of the church were excited about the
idea of an event to promote a greater sense of unity amongst them. Shortly
after their conversation, the men of the church came together to cook and
the entire congregation feasted.
Each man presented a specialty dish of his choice and shared it with his fellow brethren. Together, they sat and ate from a variety of foods including fried catfish, hushpuppies, collard greens, shrimp, okra, chicken, and greens. The men ate and conversed together over issues as serious as politics and as lighthearted as the big game.
The following year the men asked Mrs. Coakley, another member of the church, to cook her special dish "hoppin' John", and it was a huge success. The congregation enjoyed her food so much that they decided to modify their tradition. The next year, the men opened the cookout to women. It eventually became an event where the men catered to the women to show their appreciation for the contributions women made to the community. If a woman is eating oysters during the cookout, for instance, one of the men will crack the shells for her and make her meal easier and more relaxing.
What originally started as an activity to connect the men of the church has truly blossomed over the past twelve years into an event in which the entire community takes part. When asked how many people usually attend the cookout, Bishop Jefferson responded, " Oh, anywhere between 400 to 500 people. It just happens now; we start cooking and people start showing up. Some bring us fish to cook while others come with deserts. Some people smell the food driving down the highway and just pull over to join in on the fun. Every year more people partake in our cookout, but the tradition remains the same. This is just a way for all the people in the community to come together and be a unified people. It is truly something beautiful."
After talking with the Bishop I began to think about my church and some of my family traditions. Much of what Bishop Jefferson explained to us about his church's traditions and the cookout applied to traditions found in my church and family. Whenever there is a family reunion or a large gathering at church, it is undoubtedly accompanied by mass quantities of the best food around. This raised some questions. What is the relationship between African-Americans and food? Is it a coincidence that the traditions shared by Bishop Jefferson and his church can be linked to very similar traditions amongst African-American churches across the nation? Why is food such a powerful medium for African-Americans to congregate with one another? Are there deep historical traditions compelling such ties between food and community?
These are questions that I can not answer immediately, and it is only after many attempts to remove the veil from my eyes that these "coincidences" start to have greater meaning. Historically, churches have provided an environment where African-Americans can come together to fulfill their sense of community. But the greater significance appeared when I realized that traditions such as Bishop Jefferson's annual cookout allows members of the church to pass aspects of their lives along to younger generations. Bishop Jefferson told us that in the coming years, the younger men will step up to plan the annual feast. In fact, some have already expressed their wish to handle the beloved event. Thus, the Garden of Prayer Pentecostal Church becomes a mode of cultural preservation.
