Faith and worship in the Bible Belt
Perspective by
I can still hear the echoes of chatter and guitarists warming up as my mother and I snaked through the aisles to the high-rise balcony of our North Carolina church. My mother found refuge there after a long and draining week at work.
Her relationships from church, like a second home to her, spilled over into daily life in regular prayer groups. They offered her the support a single mother needed. I admired that.
A sign and cross glow in the evening light at Bethel AME church.
Geyna Moore, 19, raises up her hands during a worship service with other students at the Baptist Campus Ministry at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green.
Ross Turner, 16, takes a rest on the sanctuary steps as he and other members of the Signs of Praise Mime Ministry wait for their performance cue during morning service at the Big Bethel AME Church in Atlanta. The boys perform a mime dance to contemporary Christian music as part of the church service once a month.
The boys perform a mime dance to contemporary Christian music as part of the church service once a month. Kawanza Smith, an advisor and longtime member of Big Bethel AME church, directs the group.
The Reverend John Foster wipes his forehead while giving a sermon.
A member of the congregation raises her hands in praise.
Cedric Nalls, 39, says that he wears his cross as a display of his religious faith and for fashion.
Scribe Paean, 21, tattoos a cross and a lion on the forearm of Michael Thompson, 25. After growing up in the Catholic faith, Thompson said that he decided to add a cross to the tattoo to symbolise his grandmother, who is very religious and spiritual.
A bar called Church displays satirical signs on its doors. The bar is currently closed after being affected by a fire.
A model of a Stone Age woman sits next to a dinosaur in the front lobby at the Creation Museum in Petersburg.
Judy Osborne, 68, of the Precious Blood Catholic Church displays a sign as she and other church members take part in a demonstration against abortion in Owensboro.
Pastor Raymond Bell, 56, jokes during his sermon at the Cowboy Church at the Mount Crawford Ruritan Club. Pastor Bell says that the church operates according to five principles: it is non-denominational, there is no dress code, no membership, no offerings are collected during services, and services are held in non-traditional settings.
Mike Stoher Senior, 67, bows his head in prayer during a Cowboy Church service in Harrisonburg.
