Boys as young as age 4 with little black socked feet and white painted faces grew in their faith alongside teenagers who pantomimed messages of blessings, gratitude, hope and deliverance in a respectful balance of acrobatics, athleticism and artistry.
This was the scene as Worship Without Words helped lead the Pentecost Sunday service at Christ Our Redeemer AME Church in Florissant, Mo. The Rev. Edmund E. Lowe Sr. is pastor.
The ministry was started to allow young men of the church to have an opportunity to express their love for God through song and dance.
“This ministry has been used to also mentor young black males on what is expected of them in the church, as well as in our society,” said David Lewis, who founded the ministry in 2004.
“We have traveled to a number of venues throughout the St. Louis metropolitan area. The young men understand that God’s work has to also take place outside of the walls of Christ Our Redeemer Church.”
Lewis is assisted in this work by four men’s ministry members, Lamar Rose, Cedric Bailey, Curly Herrod and Terence Small.
The four older mime ministry members are in high school and college – brothers Travis and Troy Bramlett, Tyler Scott and Samuel Boyd. Lewis said the older dancers are also responsible for conducting and assisting the younger dancers with practice and life issues.
“I have seen the young men evolve spiritually through this ministry,” Lewis added. “What they do is not a performance, but a praise!”
Points during the service where a choir would normally sing or where the young people would come forward for a special daily living message are where the mimes lifted praise translations to gospel selections, including “He Still Loves Me,” “I Will Trust You” and “He Saw the Best in Me.”
Pentecost Sunday (May 23) marked a third important date on the Christian calendar, next to Christmas and Easter. It occurred 50 days following the Resurrection of Christ when the Holy Spirit descended upon the believers who were in one place and of one accord (Acts 2). The day of Pentecost is when the church received its divine power; some refer to it as the birthday of the church.
Pentecost also fulfilled the Triune God, the threefold manner God reveals his presence – God the creator and Father; God, the Son Jesus, savior of mankind; and the Holy Spirit.
Perhaps it is the animating Holy Sprit of God that undergirds the praiseful, stirring movement of those who make up Worship without Words.
“And the youth shall lead them” (Isaiah 11:6).
The church’s pastor is quick to point out the youth are the church, making the mime praise ministry particularly relevant to today’s young people and to those who are opened to receiving The Word through diverse avenues. Lowe said if you ever wondered why one church is thriving while another one is struggling next to it; consider whether it is inclusive and relevant.
“It would be a shame and a travesty if we had all these young people and they just sat in the pews,” Rev. Lowe said to the congregation.
In his sermon, “We Need a Pentecost,” Rev. Lowe preached about what Christians need to do today to make the church at its best: be unified and respectful of other’s personhood; be unified and specific in prayer; and be unified in purpose.
In Christ Our Redeemer’s inclusive fashion, on this day of Christian power from on High, Men Without Words skillfully gestured in fresh expressions of praise from its first female mime, Elizabeth Lewis, daughter of the mime ministry founder. The mime ministry continues to grow in numbers and in blessings.
