African-american Worship

African-American worship has been a renewal movement from the beginning, when African-American slaves gathered to affirm God and in turn were affirmed, renewed, and transformed by the presence and power of God. The African-American tradition in worship encourages free and creative response to all that happens in worship, from gestures to song to the spoken and preached Word. Music is fundamentally communal and varies widely, particularly in instrumentation. African-American churches are not concerned so much with ecumenical worship trends as with "Discovery and Recovery" of African and early African-American worship. Renewal in worship is not a new concept for some African-American worshipers. This fact becomes evident when one participates with understanding in services of worship where there is some apparent continuity between the unique early African-American worship history and current practices. From an African heritage, worshipers understood that God alone was the source of res…