Minneapolis (AFP) - In the Shiloh Temple church's parking lot, a pastor releases two doves into the Minneapolis sky on this Pentecost Sunday before a mainly African-American congregation sitting in their cars and seeking comfort in troubled times.
The birds, their plumage as white as the pastor's suit, fly high over a city shaken by violent protests since a black man, George Floyd, died prostrate on a city street, his wrists shackled behind him and with a white policeman's knee crushing his neck.
"People are sick and tired, and we see a lot of frustration, a lot of anger," said pastor Andre Dupree Dukes. "However, we are not riotous people, we are peaceful people. And so we do our best to try to maintain the peace."
For the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic spread across the country, Dukes organized services on his church grounds, but only on a "drive-in" basis to limit any risk of spreading the virus.
Parked in their cars, the faithful honked their horns to signal "Amens" -- and in noisy support when Dukes issued a warning to rioters, saying, "If they come to destroy our community, we cannot allow that, we cannot tolerate that kind of behavior."
- 'To get some clarity' -
"What we hope to hear today is really to lift us up ... and that's gonna keep us going beyond the hate that's going on in the world, and give us what we need to go out and be world changers," said Jalila Abdul-Brow, a 38-year-old pastor in a neighboring community, who was filming the service with her cell phone.
Another woman, children's book author Tina Turner, sat alone in her car, wearing a mask.
"With the rioting, the protesting and the looting, it can be quite confusing. And so to be able to pull up to this point, to get some clarity, means a lot to me," she said.
In his sermon, Dukes addressed the younger generation, congratulating them for their capacity to mobilize and their commitment to creating a more just world.
But he also warns them against violence.
Words of caution also came from 62-year-old Jack Burnett, a church manager who oversaw the logistics of Sunday's services.
"Our children have been pathologically enthusiastic about getting out because they've been in for so long, no school, they needed a cause, they need a reason to get out and now they have a cause and it's bigger than themselves," he said.
"So they're out (but) it's hard to put that genie back in the bottle."
- Love and firmness -
A few white faces could be seen in the gathering. Most were not members of the church but came with offerings for a food bank.
At the end of the service, a few of the faithful emerged from their cars, stretched and engaged in some lively dance steps before heading home.
Pleased at the chance to preach in person for the first time in two and a half months, Dukes said he tried to strike the right balance, "to always show love," but to also "stand firm."
Young people, he said, are "very vocal about the injustices" and are adept with modern technology, so that George Floyd's death was filmed on Monday morning and "by that evening, the entire world knew."
"So we try to walk alongside of them. But if they come to destroy our community, we cannot allow that... People are already suffering here."
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