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The New Pentecostal Church of God 



The New Pentecostal Church of God On 82 Babson Street, in Dorchester, not only lies a Haitian church but a second home for many, a place where they can seek solace and find hope and love. Established in 1978 and founded by Pastor Eleanor Lavalas. The New Pentecostal Church of God, which is a Protestant church has gone through so many changes, however in its whitish beige cabin like building, it is still standing. The church only stands about 15 or 17 feet, and built of stone. When facing the front of the church, you want to imagine a box like structure, resting on long gray stairs. Before a name was founded for the church The New Pentecostal Church of God was formerly known as Babson because of the street it was on. The members of the church who are not quite comfortable with the name yet still call the church Babson. The church has been standing for 31 years but has not always been on Babson Street. It was originally on Washington Street­­­­­­­, and has recently celebrating their anniversary at a concert and as an Action of Grace in which there was five hours of devotion and worship and then followed by food for all attendees. As a member of the church myself, a few other adults, my sisters and I, and my mom were assigned to kitchen duty. Where we prepared the food, packed them into to-go pates, and also handed them out. Most of all the current members of the Church were born in the church and have families who have been going here forever. Although the church is very family oriented, outsiders; visitors are very welcome. Before entering the church, one must climb a high and long set that many have tripped over or stumbled because they go up so high. Upon entering the church, you’re hit with the sweet intoxicating aroma of flowers, coming from the altar, at the head of the church. At the entrance there is a friendly looking female usher waiting to escort you to an empty seat on one of the benches, although the usher’s positions vary every Sunday, today the usher at the door is Sister Rachael who is about 35 years old and who is always wearing a smile and designer high heeled pumps. She wears her hair down, and is wearing her usher uniform, which is a black suit with a white undershirt. The congregation is about 100 plus members. A few months back there were cushions that went with every bench, however the church has gone through many reconstructions, and new benches with no cushions are one of them. For the members of the church finding a seat is first come first serve. I asked one of the members what he thought about the benches and finding the right seat, “The whole trick is coming on time, coming early, if you do that you’ll get your seat.” The members only want to feel comfortable and they find that in the commonplace of their seat. There isn’t assigned seating, but the members do often sit in the same spot every Sunday, it brings about a sense of routine and a comfortable status.

When finally situated in a seat, here is the best place to finally get a feel of what the church looks like. In the center at the far back of the church is the altar, although not very big, it holds five seats for the pastor and the other members of the community. When finally seeing the altar the knowledge of where the strong scent of flowers is coming from is gained. The flowers, which are currently red and white, completely surround the alter giving it more of a garden look. Many of the flowers that grace the altar have been donated by the members of the church, the flowers change every season, and are greatly appreciated by everyone. Though not very popular the walls of the church alternate between brick red and yellow beige. When I asked my twin sister why she didn’t like the colors she answered, “It kinda just gives the church a dull feeling, the atmosphere gets boring all of a sudden.” With three plain square windows on two sides of the walls, the need for lights is only necessary for the night activities. For many The New Pentecostal Church of God is where people grow bonds with others and where they can relax and be with the Lord at the same time. For some this church is all that they have, “I found most of my best friends here and I found my husband here also, we’re all just a big a family, everyone knows everyone,” states one of the youth leaders. The New Pentecostal Church of God isn’t the only church on Babson Street. The local competition is Jubilee, who in comparison is way bigger and more versatile. Jubilee is an American church, and more often than not the youth at our church are have been persuaded to join Jubilee. At Jubilee there isn’t any pressure to carry on a tradition, and it’s all youth, so there’s more freedom to do whatever. For me, I grew up at The New Pentecostal Church of God, I’ve participated in most of the activities and I’m in the choir and will soon be joining the youth choir. Nonetheless the appeal of Jubilee is very attractive for most of the youth, “I love Babson but at Jubilee everything is less stressed ya know?”, says one of the youth who is undecided on whether to join Jubilee or not. The main language spoken at the New Pentecostal Church of God and during the services is Creole, although it is a Haitian Church, downstairs where the youth have their services, English is the primary language and on some Sundays, the church has youth Sunday where whether you’re downstairs or upstairs the main language is English. The adults speak more Creole than the youth do, because most of the youth were born in America, so English is the primary language spoken for them. As a youth, the pressure to learn the language of our heritage can be difficult and some of us don’t really want to learn. However the adults deem it imperative that the youth learn how to speak Creole to carry on the generation and tradition. The main sounds that can be heard throughout the building are the sounds of a pleasant earsplitting electrical piano, the high thumping of drums and the slow melodic strumming of a bass guitar. For the church on Babson Street one doesn’t need to be a star or Beyonce to sing your heart out. Attending the service are all different types of people, there’s Brother Favol who’s almost seven feet tall and probably the funniest guy I’ve ever met. And there’s Sister Yoland, the gossip queen of the church, and probably the meanest women I’ve ever met. But whether you can sing or not or if you’re the nicest person or not when we sing together all that disappears and all you can hear are different voices.; soprano, alto, tenor, and bass, and all you can feel is the common love we all share for God. When making your way downstairs it’s best to hold onto the railing because the stairs become very narrow. The girl’s bathroom is the first thing you see ahead when making it t the second floor. With only two stalls there is often a line that snakes its way towards the kitchen. If the sign on the door indicating that it is the girl’s bathroom the bright fluorescent pink should clue you in. The “auditorium” is the most popular spot in the entire building; it’s where all the activities take place. Even when there is not an activity going on the “auditorium” is the hangout spot for the youth members. The auditorium isn’t so big but in it is a huge flat screen TV and a mini stage in the corner. Glorine Beauport, who is one of the youth member states, “Downstairs for me is where I can just go to hang out with my other friends, and not worry about my mom asking me where I’m at.” The New Pentecostal of God is different from other congregations in that the church the more relaxed and warm, rather than stressed and solemn The neighboring community which is mostly black all know this church and when we have visitors, they’re mostly people who have passed by the church and have heard the worship and love.

