First Poet's Church Visits Center of Hope Church

Sunday, March 27, 2011

First Poet's Church Visits Center of Hope Church

Bishop Ernestine Reems,

Founder, Center of Hope Church

Oakland CA

Marvin X, Prime Minister of Poetry, First Poet's Church of the Latter Day Egyptian Revisionists

Ptah Mitchell, Minister of Poetry and Education, First Poet's Church

Aries Jordan, Minister of Poetry and Intergenerational Affairs

First Poet's Church Visits

East Oakland's Center of Hope

On Sunday, the First Poet's Church ministers of poetry, Aries Jordan, Ptah Mitchell, and prime minister Marvin X, visited East Oakland's legenary Center of Hope, founded by Bishop Ernestine Reems. Rev. Brandon Reems is acting pastor. But have no illusion that the 82-year old Bishop Reems has lost her Holy Ghost spirit. At one point this International Day, with the congregation dressed in African attire and a Japanese choir in the house, Bishop Reems told her congregation they were Isrealites and needed to be killed for their iniquities. She told them, "Don't be looking at me crosseyed. Sometimes I want to kill you!"

The Queen Mother slipped off her shoes at one point in her sermon, then continued, "You got to see yourself as a winner. Think as a winner, knowing you are annoited to win." The Church choir gave an up tempo version of We Shall Overcome that fit in with the rapidly moving events around the world. It was the most powerful version of the Civil Rights classic Marvin X had ever heard. When her son, Bradon, took over the pulpit, he read from Second Chronicles, wherein we are told to be still and let the Lord fight our battles. Just be still. If you move you just mess things up when God is got the entire situation under control. Get out the way and let God fight this battle. You've done all you can do. This is why you are so frustrated and depressed, because you are fighting when you simply need to be still. Marvin X thought about the words of his mentor, now ancestor, John Douimbia, "Marvin you fought battles you didn't even need to fight."

Bishop Reems had made a similar point in her sermon. "You women worried about a no good man, just let God handle him. You just pray and see if God don't bring that no good man home and he won't even know why he's home. Yes, let the Holy Spirit bring him home. Just be still and prayerful."

Look at the motion in the ocean, in the mountains and hills, rivers and streams. Look at the motion in the people around the world standing up for righteousness. We see some of them simply stand still and refuse to move, and yet this is enough to make tyrants leave town.

When the First Poet's Church ministers were called, only Marvin X was supposed to read a poem, but he said a few opening remarks on the recent visit to juvenile hall, arranged by Rev. Brandon, and how he was overwhelmed with emotion seeing the babies locked up for serious crimes. Rev. Brandon told him later that the visit by the poets to juvenile hall is the talk of the town, that he hated to admit the youth said they wanted to hear from the poets rather than the Rev. Marvin X's classic Fable of the Black Bird has shaken the incarcerated youth.

Rather than read himself, Marvin X deferred to his associate ministers, Ptah and Aries Jordan. Ptah read a spiritual poem on having God inside yourself, rather than tripping on the outside, homicide, suicide, eastside, westside, northside, southside. When Aries discovered she had left her book of poems on the pew, she decided to sing a song from her church days. The two junior ministers of poetry rocked the church in the heart of East Oakland, next door to the infamous Castlemont High School. In her sermon, Bishop Reems had questioned why do we pay taxes but don't have the same quality schools as white areas of the Bay? Castlemont is one of the poorest schools in Oakland. Bishop Reems was so estatic with the poets she invited us to return for a program featuring our group of poet/authors that will address youth issues. Before Marvin X stepped down with his ministers of poetry, he reminded Bishop Reems she had contacted him many years ago, 1977, when he worked with then Born Again Christian Eldridge Cleaver. At her request, Marvin encouraged Eldridge to make his first appearance at a black church, Center of Hope. Bishop Reems said she would be honored to help Marvin establish the First Poet's Church of the Latter Day Egyptian Revisionists.
--Marvin X, Prime Minister of Poetry, First Poet's Church
www.firstpoetschurch.blogspot.com