Revelations

Photographs of Cleveland's African American Churches

Michael Stephen Levy

• Publisher: The Kent State University Press
• Year: 2013
• ISBN:
  9781612779164
• Topic: Arte
• Subtopic: Fotografia

A rich collection of images celebrating African American faith communities

"Cleveland's African American houses of worship exemplify the best of American civic vision: building community together for the common good.... African American ministers have struggled to define the best way to lead their people toward successful lives.... They have been leading their flocks since the first black church was founded in Cleveland in 1833.... The photographs in this book... reflect the universal themes of the struggle for empowerment, the need for comfort and guidance, and the need for mutual support common to all people."
—from the Afterword by Norman Krumholz and Michael J. Tevesz

Photographer and teacher Mike Levy has spent most of his career in northeastern Ohio. He was given an assignment from the Cleveland Plain Dealer to photograph a small, storefront church in Cleveland, Ohio, called Manna House. Levy, experiencing some difficult life situations at the time, found healing in the church so he continued to attend and to photograph during the services. Revelations grew out of this assignment.

Revelations captures the spirit of the African American worship experience through arresting images of congregants' facial expressions and body language, their colorful uniforms and dress, and the solemnity of their worship. The images of baptisms, weddings, funerals, Sunday services, and special celebrations are at once serene and exaltant, pensive and inspirational. Revelations honors not only the spiritual dimension of the African American church but the pride and dignity that prevails within the churchgoing family.

Published in cooperation with Cleveland State University's Maxine Goodman Levine College of Urban Affairs' Center for Sacred Landmarks

The Gospel train’s a-coming,

I hear it just at hand.

I hear the car wheels moving,

And rumbling through the land.

Get on board, little children,

Get on board, little children,

Get on board, little children,

There’s room for many a more.

The fare is cheap and all can go,

The rich and poor are there,

No second class aboard this train,

No difference in the fare.

Get on board, little children,

Get on board, little children,

Get on board, little children,

There’s room for many a more.

—Traditional

OPEN WINDOW
Eaglewing Missionary Baptist Church, May 28, 2006

TRINITY
(Left) Noon Day Deliverance Nondenominational Church, Central Avenue, September 16, 2003. (Middle) Greater Mt. Tabor Missionary Baptist Church, October 10, 2003. (Right) Gospel Temple of Apostolic Church of God, October 27, 2003

TOO CLOSE TO HOME, OR WHY WE PRAY
(Left) Playground at Outhwaite housing project, the scene of the fatal shooting of a boy, April 4, 2005. (Right) Friendship Baptist Church and Outhwaite housing project, February 5, 2006.

CHURCH
Antioch Baptist Church, July 22, 2006

THE TOUCHING OF A YOUNG MAN’S HEART
(Left) Shiloh Baptist Church, January 25, 2005. (Right) Mt. Sinai Baptist Church, January 25, 2005

FOSTER
Windermere United Methodist Church, June 4, 2006

TWO CROSSES
(Left) Ebenezer Assembly of Christ, January 25, 2004. (Right) Eaglewing Missionary Baptist Church, May 28, 2006

GIRL WITH RED SHOES
Pentecostal Church of Christ, February 8, 2004

WHAT IS WORSHIP?

The Reverend Marvin A. McMickle

From the earliest days of the New Testament church in Jerusalem, worship has been the common thread that binds the believers together. Even though the people were different in terms of language, culture, religious background, and life experience, they became a community of faith when they joined together in several distinctive acts of worship that marked them as followers of Jesus Christ.

The first distinctive act is the regular observance of the Lord’s Day: “Do not forsake the assembling of yourselves together” (Hebrews 10:25). Central to the life of a Christian is the weekly observance of the worship of God on the first day of the week in honor of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Weekly worship with other members of the believing community is the beginning of the Christian life; without that regular time of communal worship, the church cannot accomplish its evangelistic purpose.

The meaning of worship evolves out of the regu...