Where will you ring in 2009?

As the New Year rolls around, will you be searching amid the pages of a party planner or the pages of the Bible? Many will celebrate the entrance of the new year with prayers, songs and testimonials to God as part of Watch Night services.

"It's a time of thanksgiving. Our service will incorporate singing and praying, but one of the most important parts that I like about it is the testimonials," said the Rev. Whittaker V. Middleton, pastor of Canaan United Methodist Church in Cope.

"People will share with other members and friends some of the trials and tribulations as well as some of the joys that God has brought to them over the year. What we hope to do through our witnessing is tell in a declarative way what God has done for us. All of us can truly say that God has blessed us in some way," Middleton said.

The service has become a tradition among many residents in The T&D Region, particularly African-Americans. A centuries-old tradition, Watch Night was celebrated by slaves on New Year's Eve, often lasting until the dawn of the brand-new year.

It was the culmination of a week-long gathering that began on Christmas Eve when some planters allowed their slaves to celebrate with neighboring family and friends. The special week came to an end with a New Year's Eve vigil that began early in the evening in a church or praise house and featured songs, prayers and a "watchman." In the midst of prayers and songs, the watchman would be asked what time it was, and he would tell the congregation the time.

"We're hoping that it will bring people together. A lot of folks say they're going to turn over a new leaf when the new year comes in. My thing is take care of the one you already have," said the Rev. Nathaniel McNeal, pastor of Cedar Grove Baptist Church in Norway.

McNeal said his church's Watch Night service will start at 10 p.m. and include choir singing followed by a short sermon. He said the service should encourage believers in the faith and carry them positively forward in the new year.

"It's a new year, but the same message. God doesn't change. We change, and this is the problem. We're telling God, 'You're too slow. Catch up if you can.' People talk about going to a new level. If you do what you're supposed to do on the level you're on and God sees fit to move you to another level, then he'll do it," McNeal said. "We're living now on the prayers of our old foreparents. I'm not saying that we hadn't made a little change, but those prayers don't change.

"I'm hoping that our service and others will get people to thinking and down to the right perspective of life and what it's all about. It's all about Christ."

Following prayers, singing and testimonials, most parishioners at churches where Watch Night is celebrated are on their knees praying as the clock strikes midnight. Most will then congregate in fellowship halls for a joy-filled feast of love and unity.

Even with the food and camaraderie, the Rev. Donald Greene Jr., pastor of Andrew Chapel Baptist Church in Orangeburg, said "It needs to be more than just coming together and standing in the foyer talking to each other. It needs to be a serious moment with people and God. It should be a moment of focusing on what's to come."

Pastors say the time of celebration should include giving thanks to God for the ability to navigate the economic uncertainty.

"Even in all that, there is hope. There is a new day on the horizon, and this is something to look forward to. We must realize that God has given us enough strength to run. In the new year, we must ask God to give us more strength to run like champions and learn how to listen. It's very important that the word of God is explained in a way that it touches all those in the congregation," said Greene, whose church's Watch Night service will begin at 9:45 p.m. with Dr. Melvin Wade from Los Angeles, Calif. as speaker.

"There's only one way we can turn. We know that the president-elect has promised to do a lot of things, but there are things he can't do," Middleton said.

"The only person who has the power to change our condition right now is God. ... It is only through our worship and praise of God that we can expect for change to come in our lives," he said.

T&D Staff Writer Dionne Gleaton can be reached by e-mail at dgleaton@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5534.

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