![]() ![]() In the liturgical language of the Judeo-Christian tradition, the word "bread" is often used as a metonym for food in general. They sing this line repeatedly as a meditation to focus the minds of the members of the group so that they can all come together in religious solidarity, as the disciples did on the day of the Pentecost (Acts 2:1-2), and the Spirit may become manifest among them. On other occasions, the same groups append the line "Bread of heaven, bread of heaven, feed me till I want no more" -a line drawn form the hymn "Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah" by William Williams (1717 –1791) -to the end of long, lined out hymns. This use of "bread" as a metaphor for the Holy Spirit among the bands is not uncommon. After receiving this blessing from the Spirit, people in the bands seemed to decide that the service could begin to wind down. The moment the singing group heard this verse, they increased the energy of their singing, their clapping, and their foot stomping in a way that finally was successful in invoking the Holy Spirit. This couplet, drawn from a large repertoire of folk poetry distinct to the band, summarizes the attitude of desperation of the Israelites, and applies their condition to that of the band members on that particular summer Sunday afternoon. In response to the murmuring of the Israelites, God caused bread, or manna, to rain from the heaven. The second line refers to the Israelites' muttering against Moses for leading them out of Egypt, only to face starvation in the wilderness (Exodus 16:2 –3). The first line refers to the episode when Moses ascended Mount Sinai and disappeared from the camp of the Israelites, causing them to wonder about his continued survival (Exodus 32:1). ![]() This couplet combines two episodes from the book of Exodus. Finally, one senior member slipped into the center of the singing group and called out the following verse to be added to the hymn:Ĭhildren in the wilderness crying for bread. That day in particular, they were having no success: the Spirit simply was not stirring. ![]() The Singing and Praying Bands are groups within some African-American Methodist churches in the Chesapeake Bay area of the East Coast of the United States that hold services in which they sing and pray with escalating fervor to invoke the Holy Spirit and to convert the unsaved. While doing folklore fieldwork with the Singing and Praying Bands of tidewater Maryland and Delaware, the present author observed a minor event that made a major impression on him. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |