 us anyhow. The whites looked us over with hostile eyes. One of them, a young t-shirted tough who seemed to think he was quite handsome & tough, strode over to a doughnut shop next to the station. Soon several faces were staring out at us. The attendant asked if we wanted the water & oil checked. Not wanting to stay there any longer, we said no. When Wally gave him his credit card the white owner came over & demanded identification. He seemed to be looking for some excuse not to honor it, but Wally flashed his wallet & the man was satisfied.
The Negro spoke the customary farewell, “you all come back.” “Oh no, don’t do that!” the white man hastily added. The young tough, who’d come out of the doughnut shop to look us over more closely, cheerfully chimed in, “I hope you don’t make it through the night.”   Even money, first in so many men’s lives, is second to their hatred & prejudice.
Two COFO Volunteers from Gulf Port drove in late in the afternoon. Wally had heard they would be near by & invited them to show some slides. The one had been to Africa two years before as a member of Operation Crossroads Africa. A small group of about 20 gathered around 8. More kept drifting in during the show until by the end of the meeting the church was almost full. The slides & lecture appealed to all of us. Tom had worked in Senegal where he & an interracial team constructed the shell of a small dormitory for a new high school. Actually, however, the most memorable scene was shot not in Africa, but in America. Before the group of students left, President Kennedy came down to speak to them and shake their hands. There was an excellent side view of him that brought back many poignant memories.
It was interesting later to compare projects. Tom & Steve felt that they had really been in Miss. for the first time since leaving Gulf Port. The Negroes there made up only 1/6 of the population. The Movement had picked up little of the steam or the momentum. There was little tension as a result. They had been swimming in the Gulf late at night & doing all kinds of recreational activities not possible in other parts of the state. Because of their small numbers & dependency upon the white man’s good will, many – probably most – of the Negroes there were immobilized by fear.
Sunday morning we picked up Elliott Gotheen (?) in Cleveland. Elliott had been invited to preach the sermon at Church of Christ, Holiness. We arrived at the church to find a very small congregation waiting. It was not their usual Sunday to have church services, though a mimeographed flier had gone out. We waited for a little while for more to come. Mr. Perry, the presiding deacon put it well, “There aren’t many here, so we’s going to wait & have faith that this church will be filled.” He must have had great faith, for the church was almost filled half- way through the service as people kept drifting in.
The first part of the service was conducted by Mr. Perry & another deacon. It consisted of prayer, the singing of several songs – all known by heart by the congregation (there were only two hymnals in the church and no pianist), the reading of a Scripture lesson and announcements. Then Mr. Perry turned the service over to Elliott. His text was the Lukan account of the Good Samaritan story. Focusing primarily on the first part of the account – love of God & of neighbor – he presented a very moving sermon, ending with a plea that the Negroes help the white man to regain his soul, lost now in the jungle of hatred & violence.
Roger & I had been asked, as ministers, to sit on the chancel with Elliott. When he concluded his sermon, Mr. Perry arose and remarked how fortunate they were to have not one but three ministers who had come from the North to help them win their freedom. He then asked us to speak. Roger & I looked at one another, & he signaled me to go first. I expressed our thanks to them for all that they had taught us this summer. Then picking up Elliott’s theme I emphasized that the Samaritan was of a despised minority also, & so had every reason to pass by the hated Jew, even as his own fellow Jews had done. But he didn’t; his love overcame the high wall of prejudice & hostility, even as Christ’s love sought to break down the wall between blacks & whites. I continued Elliott’s plea for love & forgiveness as the only lasting solution to the pressing problem~.
Roger also spoke to this and emphasized the great need they would have for the sense of the presence of God, even in the midst of trouble & tribulation (these were no idle words for those before us!). He concluded with a stanza from a hymn – the effect of it was that even in the darkness that surrounds & threatens to overwhelm us, there is Jesus seeking our hand.
The response was warm & stimulating. The people nodded their heads, burst out with “Yes, that’s right,” or “That’s the truth”, as well as the usual “Amens.” The atmosphere was alive & exciting. They were indeed a Protestant congregation hearing & responding to the Word at the same time. No idle, dozing spectators waiting to be amused or entertained, they participated with everything that they had. The service was not dignified in the usual, traditionally stately sense, but it was not just a noisy, boisterous crowd.
Mr. Amzie Moore, owner of a Standard Oil Station in Cleveland, expressed the feelings of all of us when he spoke next. Quoting liberally from Scriptures he spoke of the fellowship that we were sharing together, black and white. The barriers erected by man had been torn down by Christ as we worshiped together today. He thanked us and the volunteers – far more generously than we’d deserved – & wished that we were staying. I wish some of my laymen could have heard him – here was a man who had apparently lived with his Bible for a long time. Mr. Perry gave the brief final talk – a fiery one, thanking us, & urging the people to stand up for their faith.  Send them to Miss. We need them more.” A huge cheer greeted this: Mr. Perry repeated this exhortation several times, stressing the fact that the church had failed so terribly in the South. Called to be the Light on the Hill, the church had been led rather than taking the lead.
Mr. Perry, one of the bravest Mississippians whom we were privileged to meet.
Mr. Perry announced that an offering would be taken, part of which would go to the preachers as a gesture of the people’s love & part to the maintenance of the building. A song was struck up & during the singing each person came forward to place his gift in the plate on the communion table. They also came over to shake our hands and greet us. Their words were warm and sincere, I believe. They seemed very touched that we had come and shared in their service.
After the service we talked for a while with Mrs. Moore & Perry & went home. We were surprised to learn that the service had lasted for 1 1/2 hours!
Next week Roger and I pay a call on the pastor of the white Presbyterian Church in Cleveland, MS.
You’re getting married! And now begins the most exciting part of all, wedding planning! Whether you’re going to plan your wedding on your own, hire a wedding planner, or work with a day-of coordinator here are some tips and tricks that you can start off with that will make your life easier and more organized.
Make an email account that can be accessed by both you and your fiancée. My sister-in-law gave me this advice originally and it has since become a life saver for my husband and I. As you plan your wedding and inquire to all the various vendors and venues to gather information you will need to provide them with an email. Email is such a popular form of communication now a days and you will get more wedding related emails than you ever thought possible…fair warning. I can’t stand a cluttered email inbox and as the wedding emails started pouring into my inbox I couldn’t keep all the information straight. The joint email address allowed us to sort all of our information by folders and give us a one stop place to find whatever it was that we needed. Since our wedding the email address has since been turned into what we use for all of our utilities and anything that requires both of our attentions.
Designate a notebook for all of your wedding notes and ideas. Again, not the originator of this idea but it was seriously helpful. A friend of mine had a small notebook that she wrote everything down in when planning her wedding. It could be a complete sentence, a list, incoherent ideas, key words, and anything else you can think of. The point is to keep everything in one place so that way you are only responsible for one item. I took this notebook to all my meetings with potential vendors, venues, and anywhere I went in case something struck my fancy. I littered it with post it notes, paper clipped photos and clippings, and stapled swatches of dresses and colors. I chose a notebook that was small enough to fit within my purse and easy enough to keep on the dash of my car so I could always have it near and dear.
Don’t be afraid to ask for help but don’t ask too many people. Weddings can involve a lot of opinions, especially if you have a large and super involved family. You can feel