European Tourists Discover Harlem Churches

As reported in Harlem World Magazine in an article entitled, "European tourists pack the pews at Harlem churches" on March 11, 2012 -- Having to turn away crowds of international visitors are black evangelical churches, particularly in Harlem – especially those with joyous choirs, sermons delivered in dramatic traditional cadence and unabashed congregations that enjoy the full experience of worshiping Jesus.

“Experience the soul-stirring power of Gospel at a church worship service,” reads a tourist guide sales pitch offering half-day excursions for cruise ship passengers. “See the Apollo Theater and the Cotton Club. Option to add lunch of Soul Food available.”

“Take a guided tour through Harlem’s charming tree-lined streets and historic districts,” reads another, “before attending a worship service in a local church, where you will experience the soul-stirring power of Gospel music.”

That’s right, foreign tourists in New York City are paying $65 to go to church.

“Out of respect for congregants, we ask you not to wear shorts, tank tops and flip flops,” cautions one website, which offers tour packages in English, French, German, Italian and Spanish. “Cameras and camcorders are not allowed inside the church.”

And the on-line reviews are glowing:

“The service was beautiful, very uplifting and everything that you would expect a Gospel service to be,” wrote a British tourist who rated the experience the full five stars. “My 16-year-old teen-age sons even commented that if all churches were like that more people would go. They only came as I really wanted to go and I thought they would be bored. I was more than a little surprised when they also got up to sing and clap – a really funky service and highly recommended for yet another flavor of New York! Afterwards, our guide, 82-year-old Andy Owens walked us round the highlights of Harlem – we had a job to keep up with him!”

“I visited in April with 20 school pupils from Scotland,” writes a teacher. “We booked for the Sunday gospel walking tour of Harlem. The Gospel service was an unforgettable experience for us. It gave us a sense of how important the church is to the lives of the people in Harlem. None of us had experienced anything like it before. It was fantastic to hear the choir! We were visiting as part of a history course which focuses on civil rights.”

“This was, without a doubt, one of the best things, if not the best thing, I have ever experienced in my life,” wrote another tourist. “Whether you are religious or not, or even slightly interested in Gospel, this will just blow your mind. I was mesmerized!!! Can’t wait to go back to the States; I will be spending more time in Harlem. It was just awesome. Everyone must experience this; it’s a great moment.”

Writing in a personal blog, a British Columbia university student who didn’t quite understand that evangelical churches don’t celebrate mass wrote: “The 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.

“If you’re 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 favorite church so far is definitely the Abyssinian Baptist Church on Odell Clark Place.”

On a recent Sunday morning, more than 200 tourists outnumbered the nearby Mother African Methodist Episcopal Church’s congregation 5-1. Pastor Gregory Robeson Smith said he refuses to work with tour operators – and thus forfeits the percentage that some churches collect.

European tourists pose in front of a historic church after attending services

Smith “doesn’t even like to use the word ‘tourist,’” he told a reporter from the British newspaper, “preferring instead to call them part of his ‘international congregation.’ And he won’t turn anyone away.”

“’I refuse to commercialize the church worship experience,’ he said. “‘You don’t charge people to experience the Lord, to come and pray. I think that’s unconscionable.’”

A recent visitor to the church, Celeste Lejeune, 16, from Paris, didn’t know anything about the congregation’s 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.

“I like to just hear voices of people who live in Harlem, and see the atmosphere,” she said. “We don’t have music like this in France.”

The church is “one 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”.

Tourists want to see the real thing

But there is a down side: “With 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.

Congregation member Carlos Smith-Ramsey says he dislikes being filmed by gawking tourists. “I understand that you’re visiting and you want to have a memory of it,” he said. “But when we ask you to stop and you continue to do so after the fact, that’s disrespectful.”

However, he appreciates the visitors often filling pews as well as the collection plates.

“Our building is in need of repair,” church member Paul Henderson said after the service. “We need assistance. They’re helping to sustain us.”

Tourists “want to see what they’ve seen on television,” says Larcelia Kebe, president of Harlem Your Way! Tours Unlimited. “They want to see what they’ve seen in the movies.”

“The Gospel tour industry has exploded since it was born in the early 1980s,” reports the Daily Mail. “On 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.”

And the glowing reviews continue to pour in: “The service was lovely, beautiful singing and Bible readings and visitors got a special welcome from the local congregation,” reads one from a European tourist.

A German couple notes: “We booked this on the spur of the moment from our hotel room and were so glad we did. The three best things were: It’s a tour that’s run by people from Harlem, not outsiders trying to cash in and these guys love their neighborhood. The opportunity to attend part of a Baptist Gospel service was unique. The walking tour uses the architecture of the area to help to explain its rich history. Finishing up in the foyer of the iconic Apollo Theatre was the icing on the cake.”

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 “Tourist Policy,” 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 “Tourist Entry Point,” unless they have made group reservations allowed for school groups, church groups, and family reunions.

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, said that he believes tourists walk away richer for the experience.

“In listening to the Gospel, they get something out that they didn’t expect,” he said. “The word of God.” (source: Harlem World Magazine, March 11, 2012)