Dancing in the End Zone at Trinity United Church of Christ

Trinity United Church of Christ

After vacillating between wanting to go and not wanting to go to church on New Year's eve, I am very glad that I did make the right decision by going. I attended the 10:00 p.m. New Year's Eve Watch Meeting service at Trinity United Church of Christ located at 400 West 95^th Street in Chicago.

The Praise Ministry literally got the congregation started chanting lines by singing in a recitative lead by the song leader, ending on a definitive pitch. The congregation “surged in”, often before the line was completed. The song leader did an excellent job by not only setting the pitch, but also to project loudly, clearly, and enthusiastically enough so as to encourage full participation by the congregation.

The Trinity Youth Dance Ministry was outstanding. I was emotionally moved when I saw one of the young female praise dancers, dance herself into an apparent trance (Holy Ghost).

Trinity's adult choir was a great blessing. Man, the music was just wonderful. The traditional African American worship services was filled with music, soul praise, gospel, hymns, and spiritual songs of the African-American Church.

The service was full of plenty of church-style gospel singing spirituals and heartfelt songs that were sung. I had a ball – dancing with hand clapping, foot-stomping, and head-shaking. This excitement was exactly what I needed to usher in the new year.

The Unison scripture was from Revelation 7:4-17 (NRSV):

4 And I heard the number of the sealed, a hundred and forty-four thousand sealed, out of every tribe of the sons of Israel,

5 twelve thousand sealed out of the tribe of Judah, twelve thousand of the tribe of Reuben, twelve thousand of the tribe of Gad,

6 twelve thousand of the tribe of Asher, twelve thousand of the tribe of Naph'tali, twelve thousand of the tribe of Manas'seh,

7 twelve thousand of the tribe of Simeon, twelve thousand of the tribe of Levi, twelve thousand of the tribe of Is'sachar,

8 twelve thousand of the tribe of Zeb'ulun, twelve thousand of the tribe of Joseph, twelve thousand sealed out of the tribe of Benjamin.

9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no man could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands,

Rev. Otis Moss III, preached on the topic Dancing in the End Zone. The pastor was articulate with his astute theological knowledge in comparing and contrasting “Dancing in the End Zone” as it compares to a football game with Revelation 7:4 (the chosen tribes) and Revelation 7:9 (those tribes that came out of great tribulation and had been mistreated and mismanaged).

How did you spend your New Year's Eve?