On the latest episode of GBH's Basic Black, host Callie Crossley is joined by four guests to talk about the Black church and its role in the Black community in Boston and beyond, following PBS' airing of The Black Church, a documentary hosted by Henry Louis Gates, earlier this week. The panel will touch on a range of issues from politics and church leadership to membership, attracting younger people, and more. Guests include Rev. Mariama White-Hammond, founding pastor of the New Roots AME Church; Rev. Barbara Simmons of Plymouth African Methodist Episcopal Church; Rev. James Ross, Area Conference Minister, Northeast Region of the Southern New England Conference of United Church of Christ; and Amey Victoria Adkins-Jones, PhD, Assistant Professor of Theology and African and African Diaspora Studies at Boston College.
White-Hammond shares how the diverse congregation and progressive theological approach at her New Roots AME Church differ from traditional church norms, with a congregation makeup that is 40 percent Black, 40 percent white, and 20 percent non-Black people of color.
“The key part about why folks come is they feel like we are talking about the relevant issues of the day," she says. "We are flexible in our worship approach and trying to do something that is more reflective of the lives that we live now. And we are fully welcoming.”
Watch: Rev. Mariama White-Hammond on how her church differs from others.
Throughout the pandemic, many churches have turned to virtual services — conducted over Zoom, Facebook Live, and other digital platforms — to gather with their congregations. Rev. James Ross discusses how the pandemic has positively impacted the Black church and ushered in a new era of virtual worship.
“I think the church has been transformed by this experience, as horrible as it’s been," he says. "There is no going back to what was before. There is a different expectation.”
Watch: Rev. James Ross on the power of virtual worship.
Watch PBS' The Black Church here, and view this episode of Basic Black here.
