{"id":11043,"date":"2012-03-11T10:39:27","date_gmt":"2012-03-11T14:39:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/news\/?p=11043"},"modified":"2012-03-13T15:26:11","modified_gmt":"2012-03-13T19:26:11","slug":"european-tourists-packing-the-pews-at-harlems-historic-black-churches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2012\/03\/european-tourists-packing-the-pews-at-harlems-historic-black-churches","title":{"rendered":"European tourists packing the pews at Harlem’s historic black churches"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Gawking European tourists are paying to stand in long lines\u00a0so they can\u00a0enjoy a unique New York City experience \u2014\u00a0the legendary\u00a0Gospel music<\/a>\u00a0of<\/em> Harlem’s\u00a0black\u00a0churches<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Having to turn away crowds of international visitors are a number of evangelical neighborhood\u00a0churches famous for their\u00a0joyous choirs, sermons delivered in dramatic\u00a0traditional cadence and unabashed congregations with an exuberant\u00a0style of\u00a0worshiping Jesus.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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A poster aimed at NYC visitors from Spain and Latin America<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cExperience the soul-stirring power of Gospel at a church worship service,\u201d reads\u00a0a tourist guide sales pitch<\/a>\u00a0offering half-day excursions for cruise ship passengers. \u201cSee the Apollo Theater and the Cotton Club. Option to add lunch of Soul Food available.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTake a guided tour through Harlem’s charming tree-lined streets and historic districts,\u201d reads another<\/a>,\u00a0\u201cbefore attending a worship service in a local church, where you will experience the soul-stirring power of Gospel music.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s right, foreign tourists in New York City are paying $55 and $65 to go to church.<\/p>\n

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Members and tourists pack the pews. (Photo by HS NYV Tours)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cOut of respect for congregants, we ask you not to wear shorts, tank tops and flip flops,\u201d cautions one website<\/a>, which offers tour packages in English, French, German, Italian and Spanish. \u201cCameras and camcorders are not allowed inside the church.\u201d<\/p>\n

And the on-line reviews are glowing: The service was beautiful, very uplifting and “everything that you would expect a Gospel service to be,\u201d wrote a British tourist who rated the experience the full five stars, noting that her 16-year-old son even commented that if all churches were like that “more people would go.” Thinking\u00a0her family\u00a0would be bored, she\u00a0said she was more than a little surprised when\u00a0they\u00a0joined the congregation in singing and clapping.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\u00a0 From the Harlem Spirituals\u00a0website<\/a><\/dt>\n<\/dl>\n<\/div>\n

“WOW!!” writes Lina N<\/a>.<\/a>\u00a0about the All New York Tours experience:\u00a0“from the second we walked into the church I was moved to tears! The choir was simply magnificent and engaging.”<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was, without a doubt, one of the BEST things, if not THE best thing, I have ever experienced in my life,\u201d wrote Jasmine B<\/a>.\u00a0on the Viator visitors’ feedback site:\u00a0\u201cWhether you are religious or not, or even slightly interested in Gospel, this will just blow your mind. I was mesmerized!!! Can\u2019t wait to go back to the States; I will be spending more time in Harlem. It was just awesome. Everyone must experience this; it\u2019s a great moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Tourists come to hear real Gospel music (Photo by HS NYV Tours)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Writing in a personal blog<\/a>, a British Columbia university student who didn\u2019t quite understand that evangelical churches don\u2019t celebrate mass wrote: \u201cThe churches in Harlem take Sunday mass very seriously, so plan ahead if you want to attend a service. I have been to two gospel services and have been absolutely blown away both times. Call ahead to ensure they welcome visitors, dress up, bring money for the collection, and be prepared to clap your hands! Believe me, it will be everything you imagine a Gospel service would be.<\/p>\n

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What tourists hear is heart-felt and genuine (Photo by HS NYV Tours)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re hesitant to attend a service alone, there are a lot of tours that will take you, although they might not be able to get you into some of the more exclusive churches. My favourite church so far is definitely the Abyssinian Baptist Church on Odell Clark Place.\u201d<\/p>\n

On a recent Sunday morning, more than 200 tourists outnumbered the nearby Mother African Methodist Episcopal Church\u2019s congregation 5-1. Pastor Gregory Robeson Smith said he refuses to work with tour operators \u2013 and thus forfeits the percentage that some churches collect.<\/p>\n

Smith \u201cdoesn’t even like to use the word ‘tourist,’\u201d he told a reporter from the British newspaper the Daily Mail<\/a><\/em>, \u201cpreferring instead to call them part of his ‘international congregation.’\u00a0 And he won’t turn anyone away.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c’I refuse to commercialize the church worship experience,’ he said. \u201c\u2018You don’t charge people to experience the Lord, to come and pray. I think that’s unconscionable.’\u201d<\/p>\n

A recent visitor to the church, Celeste Lejeune, 16, from Paris, didn’t know anything about the congregation\u2019s history. Mother AME Church is the oldest black church in New York, was a stop on the Underground Railroad, and its congregants have included Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman.<\/p>\n

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Mother AME Zion Church (Photo by HS NYV Tours)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI like to just hear voices of people who live in Harlem, and see the atmosphere,\u201d she said. \u201cWe don’t have music like this in France.\u201d<\/p>\n

The church is \u201cone of many Harlem churches that have become tourist attractions for visitors from all over the world who want to listen to soulful Gospel music at a black church service,\u201d notes the Daily Mail<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

But there is a down side: \u201cWith a record number of tourists descending upon New York City last year, the crowds of foreigners are becoming a source of irritation among faithful churchgoers. To preserve the sanctity of the service, pastors struggle to enforce strict rules of conduct. But the reality is that these visitors are often filling church pews that would otherwise remain empty.<\/p>\n

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The crowd is spellbound (Photo by Grupo Tom Brasil)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Congregation member Carlos Smith-Ramsey says he dislikes being filmed by gawking tourists. \u201cI understand that you’re visiting and you want to have a memory of it,\u201d he told the Daily Mail<\/a><\/em>. \u201cBut when we ask you to stop and you continue to do so after the fact, that’s disrespectful.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, he appreciates the visitors often filling pews as well as the collection plates.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur building is in need of repair,\u201d church member Paul Henderson said after the service. \u201cWe need assistance. They’re helping to sustain us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tourists \u201cwant to see what they’ve seen on television,\u201d says Larcelia Kebe, president of Harlem Your Way! Tours Unlimited<\/a>. \u201cThey want to see what they’ve seen in the movies.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The gawking tourists can be intimidating (Photo by Fotografartifici)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThe Gospel tour industry has exploded since it was born in the early 1980s,\u201d reports the Daily Mail<\/a><\/em>.<\/a> \u201cOn a busy summer Sunday, Harlem Spirituals, one of the oldest and largest tour operators, might run 15 full buses, said Erika Elisabeth, a company vice president.\u201d<\/p>\n

And the glowing reviews continue to pour in: \u201cThis fantastic event was the highlight of our New York holiday,” writes Craig N. from Australia.<\/a> “I am not a religious person, but I could have been easily influenced to join the faith after this experience. We were very welcomed by the church community and they delivered a service that was so inspiring that it almost bought me to tears. Congratulations on a well planned & delivered event.”<\/p>\n

“Had a wonderful time on the Harlem Spirituals tour, when my folks came over from Italy in August,” writes another<\/a>. “My parents didn’t know what to expect, and neither did my kids, since I typically would have taken them all to other places. But I’m glad we went. Great and moving service, great singers, great tour guide. My parents are still talking about it!!! \u201d<\/p>\n

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Tourists line up outside of a Harlem church (Photo by Camera on Autopilot)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Abyssinian Baptist Church is perhaps the most popular tourist magnet. There visitors are often turned away because the pews are too full. It has a two-page \u201cTourist Policy,\u201d which explains that gawkers are banned from the 9 a.m. service, as well as the 11 a.m. service on certain special days — and are required to wait outside a designated \u201cTourist Entry Point,\u201d unless they have made group reservations allowed for school groups, church groups, and family reunions.<\/p>\n

Sad that the crowds have necessitated such rules, longtime congregation member Dabney Montgomery, 88, a Tuskegee Airman during World War II and a civil rights activist, told the Daily Mail<\/a><\/em>\u00a0that he believes tourists walk away richer for the experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn listening to the Gospel, they get something out that they didn’t expect,\u201d he said. \u201cThe word of God.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Gawking European tourists are paying to stand in long lines\u00a0so they can\u00a0enjoy a unique New York City experience \u2014\u00a0the legendary\u00a0Gospel music\u00a0of Harlem’s\u00a0black\u00a0churches. Having to turn away crowds of international visitors are a number of evangelical neighborhood\u00a0churches famous for their\u00a0joyous choirs, sermons delivered in dramatic\u00a0traditional cadence and unabashed congregations with an exuberant\u00a0style of\u00a0worshiping Jesus. \u201cExperience the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":270,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[32,102],"tags":[2007,1655,2005,2008,2006,38],"class_list":["post-11043","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christian","category-feature","tag-abyssinian-baptist-church","tag-gospel-music","tag-harlem","tag-harlem-spiritual-tours","tag-mother-ame-zion-church","tag-new-york"],"yoast_head":"\nEuropean tourists packing the pews at Harlem's historic black churches<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2012\/03\/european-tourists-packing-the-pews-at-harlems-historic-black-churches\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"European tourists packing the pews at Harlem's historic black churches\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Gawking European tourists are paying to stand in long lines\u00a0so they can\u00a0enjoy a unique New York City experience \u2014\u00a0the legendary\u00a0Gospel music\u00a0of Harlem’s\u00a0black\u00a0churches. 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