HOMEGOINGS IN THE BLACK CHURCH HELP

In the African American tradition, there are several religious and cultural rites that exist to help individuals and members of the community grieve their loss.

Homegoing services, as they are traditionally named within the Black Church, broadly name the viewing of the body, the celebration of life, the internment and the fellowship meal, which marks the conclusion of the day-long ritual of remembrance. The wake historically was held in the home of the deceased and lasted for several days. It provided the opportunity for families and members of the community to pay their respects and literally “sit with” those who were grieving.

Unique to Black funeral rites is the spoken word — the reading of the obituary and the eulogy.

For many African Americans researching their families’ lineage, the Black Church continues to be a significant site of genealogical data to trace one’s family history. The other presentation of spoken word is the eulogy, which serves as a moment to both offer a theological ideology of a promised future that is not contingent on a past filled with marginalization, pain and oppression, and to name the significance of human life. Musical selections shape the service and express joyful hope, comfort and confidence in a God who, in the end, defies death.

The internment is typically a much more intimate gathering at the final resting place. There, in the shadow of tall trees whose roots touch coffins and whose branches wave in the wind, final prayers and blessings are offered by the clergy, and flowers mark the moment, the time and space.

In the fellowship hall of the Black Church, women gather in the kitchen to prepare the meal, and fried chicken, collard greens, potato salads, rolls,

cake and red punch are often staples on the table. Black women, who serve as the primary keepers of the tradition, stand behind tables with aprons and gloves serving the grieving family comfort foods.

At this festive gathering, both the family and the community come together to reconnect with one another and remember their loved one. In this joy-filled space, children run free, hugs are extended, camera shutters click and laughter is pronounced. The community gathers in full recognition of the frailty of life, and recognition of the homegoing services that will be held in their honor and absence.

The global pandemic has decidedly forced those connected with the Black Church to rethink these traditions. It has made it

near impossible for the customized cultural traditions to name as boldly its eschatological hope and members of the community’s inextricable need for one another.

COVID-19 has forced individuals to suffer in isolation and quarantine. The presence of digital memorial services has sought to fill the empty gap, but with marginal success. There is no digital substitute to a maskless community gathering to grieve and celebrate life. There is no digital substitute to a maskless community marching flowers from a sanctuary to a gravesite by honorary pallbearers. There is no digital substitute to a maskless community fellowship together with family and friends. As the African American community faces the realities of COVID-19, it is reminded of the sacredness of community, and the power of community to make light the weight of grief or sorrow that we all will know.