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Why is it that the Ethiopian Orthodox churches, especially in the US, aren’t well connected to their community? Even though the doors of the churches remain open to everyone, they don’t seem to be taking much effort to invite other communities in. Well, last Sunday (Feb. 24th), the Debre Genet Medhane Alem Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church at Maryland broke that tradition by opening its doors and reaching out to members of the community as it celebrated Black History Month.
The event took place after the Sunday Mass in the presence of the congregation who seemed to have little idea about the culture shock that was about to follow. Kesis Memeher Zebene Lemma, Head Priest and head of the church, started the program by delivering the sermon of the day in English. For the congregation used to listening to the gospel being preached in their own language, there appeared the first culture shock of the day. Memeher Zebene explained the origins of the term Ethiopia and the biblical importance of the land that stretches its hands unto God. It seemed that many in the audience didn’t know what to make out of the event but as the preacher progressed into his facts about the land of the Cush, it was getting more interesting.
Following Memeher Zebene, Mr. Andrew Lawrence, guest speaker of the day, talked about various events in history that showed a strong connection between Ethiopians and African Americans; Â among these were: the Ethiopian merchants who co-established the first non-segregated church in Harlem, New York; Colonel John Robinson, a Tuskegee Institute pilot who fought alongside Ethiopia and led the Ethiopian air force against Italy; Madame C.J. Walker a self made African American female entrepreneur and civil rights activist who went to Ethiopia to visit Empress Zewditu in 1922 to witness the wealth and beauty of the empress. However, not surprisingly, the subject that most resonated with the youth was that of Beyonce visiting Ethiopia. At the end of his speech, Mr. Lawrence was given a standing ovation by the energized audience; it seemed that his efforts to remind a people about their forgotten history were well received.
Students and professors from Bowie State University then talked about their journey to Ethiopia which was organized by one of the University’s professors, Dr. Fiseha Eshete, as a study abroad program to Ethiopia. The students delivered their message calling upon the youth to visit Africa and give back to the people.
This step to reach out to the community has far reaching implications. The young generation, born to Ethiopian nationals, has questions of identity as they are raised in two different cultures. If they can’t answer where they come from, then the world will define it for them. The problem is, the Western world knows very little about Ethiopia’s history. The media feeds the news about our hunger and political strife, not the days of our glory. And if the young generation doesn’t have a true sense of where they come from and who they are, they won’t have the courage to travel very far. The church has taken a step towards the right direction in educating the youth about Ethiopia’s past and encouraging current events. In fact, talking to a member of the committee that organized the Black History Month, I was told that the idea to celebrate the event came as a way to educate the youth about its history. Cheers to the committee in hitting their goal! Promising signs of the youth taking leadership at the church is already evident from the lively choir of beautiful kids to the young event announcers who were proudly adorned with Habesha kemis.
The church has also fulfilled its purpose as it preached the gospel of hope, love, and courage for the Diaspora, who at times find it difficult to live outside their home country. For such people, sometimes, the only words of encouragement come when the clergy begin their sermon with “You, the people that God loves.†As such, the churches have responsibilities to unite and uplift their congregation. Far too many times though, they have failed to rise above their differences. It was as though they had stopped practicing what they preached about the messages of unity and love. And many people have stopped going to churches as a result.
We need to understand that the Ethiopian churches aren’t only places of worship but also pillars of social gathering. And so carry the responsibility to echo time and again, “Lift up your hands.†Kudos to Debre Genet Medhane Alem for making history and for being the light bearers of its people! Other churches should learn from this. When we stop focusing on our differences, when we stop being politically driven and divided, maybe we can start thinking about and doing such worthy and noble causes.
A final note: time and again our churches keep telling us that they struggle with membership. People come and go for Mass but those that register as members aren’t too many. Personally, I’m not a member of any church and in fact, I have membership-phobia to any group organized under the sun; perhaps an influence of my youth as people holding political membership were haunted down and jailed. However, sitting inside the church on Sunday, as I watched Black History Month celebration unfold inside the church, all I could think about was how to be a member and live up to the message of giving back. I have found a church with integrity and right causes – yes Debre Genet Medhane Alem, you got me on Sunday!
for more info please click here Black Hisotry Month Celebrated at Medhane Alem MD
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