В Гэри церковь провела богослужение в темноте из-за продолжительного отключения электричества после шторма

Pastor Dwight Mobley, Sr. posed a question to his congregation at Van Buren Missionary Baptist Church. “How many of you all had to throw food away?” A dozen people raised their hands. “Now, I need you to look at your waistline,” Pastor Mobley said before laughter erupted among the congregation. With no electricity, Pastor Mobley led a one-hour worship service in the dark on Sunday, where about 35 people sat in the pews without air conditioning and lights. There were no long announcements, drums, tambourines and organs playing. The main sanctuary was dark and empty. The day’s service was held in a side section of the sanctuary where light came from the sun shining through large stained glass windows. Twelve days after a storm with 99 mph winds struck Gary and left 95 percent of the city without power, Pastor Mobley’s church was still without electricity. Like most churches in Gary, Van Buren Missionary Baptist Church did not have Sunday worship service last week because of the storm. But on Sunday, August 23, during a sermon filled with jokes and lighthearted comments, Pastor Mobley, a charismatic figure, gave a serious message Sunday for worshippers. Sheila Lewis sings during a worship service at Van Buren Missionary Baptist Church, which was still without power 12 days after a powerful storm struck Gary. Members of Van Buren Missionary Baptist Church worship during Sunday service despite the building having no power. It came from the Bible scripture Matthew 6:19, the Lord’s Prayer. Pastor Mobley talked about getting one’s daily bread from God’s word for strength as church members struggle to recover from the storm. But during his message, Pastor Mobley shared a personal lesson he learned while living without power for several days. Pastor Mobley said he texted a friend and told him he realized that he was a “pampered bougie Christian.” Pastor Mobley said, “I discovered that all the amenities God has blessed me with, and I looked at all the stuff I threw out, and I looked at my smaller waistline. I got two refrigerators and despite all the food I threw out, I’m still eating. “What God wants us to know is that he provided us the necessities of life. He has provided us with what we need. “God, whether our lights were on or off, gives us our daily bread. God never depended on electricity. God will take care of Gary.” Sunday service at Van Buren Missionary Baptist Church in Midtown usually has full band of musicians and a choir on stage singing multiple hymns and songs. But Sunday’s worship service was short and simple. The music came from two guitar players and church member Sheila Lewis, who led a small five-member choir with just one song, “He’s an on-time God.” Church members clapped as Lewis sang. “I don’t know about you, but it feels good to be here today,” Lewis said. In his sermon, Pastor Mobley compared Gary’s power outage to Pharaoh whose heart remained hard as God allowed several plagues to strike him and Egypt. “Isn’t it something that the church is open this morning and that because there’s no electricity people decided not to show up,” Pastor Mobley said. “How many more times that lightening has to strike? How many more times rain has to drop for people to come to the Lord?” Van Buren Missionary Baptist Church was among several churches in Gary that were forced to worship in the dark Sunday because of the prolonged power outage. New Mt. Olive Missionary Baptist Church in Midtown held their service under a tent across the street from its building, where a large tree fell in front of its entrance more than week ago. Israel CME Church also had its Sunday service under a tent in its parking lot. New Mt. Olive Missionary Baptist Church in Midtown holds its Sunday worship service outside as it building remains in the dark. Christ Temple Church holds its Sunday worship service outdoors. As NIPSCO trucks sat in its parking lot, St. Timothy Community Church held its Sunday worship service inside its building despite it having no power. At Christ Temple Church near the Black Oak neighborhood, Pastor Michael Hudson led a worship service outside in the parking lot while his building remained without power. After service, the church held a barbeque and food giveaway. Four days ago, St. John Baptist Church held its midweek Bible study class by phone as the church remained without power. By Sunday, the church held its worship service in its sanctuary, where power had been restored. Gary’s oldest church, First Baptist Church, had its power restored August 18, according to its Facebook page. The church also said many of its members were still without power. Last Sunday, power was restored to First AME Church hours after its worship service ended. The church held its regular worship service inside the building Sunday, August 23. At Van Buren Missionary Baptist Church, Pastor Mobley urged members to rely more on prayer and the Bible to help them weather the crisis. He encouraged those still without power to take life one day at a time. “The Bible says give us this day our daily bread. God did not to talk about tomorrow,” Pastor Mobley said. “He said this day. “All you can do is focus on is Lord, just get me through the day. Ask the Lord to help you walk by faith, and not by sight.”