They stood together at the Communion table in the chancel of First Presbyterian Church – the symbol of the unity that all Christians share in Jesus Christ.

Sarah Morelock, organist and music director at First Presbyterian, has been on the job at her church for 23 years.

With her stood Darrio Melton, a recent graduate of the prestigious Candler School of Theology in Atlanta, who returned home to Selma in May to serve as assistant to the pastor, the Rev. Effell Williams Sr., of Tabernacle of Praise.

Each is a native Selmian, each comes from a different part of the Selma community, each has a lot of family in the area and each loves the same Lord and the one church, and each is strongly committed to the unity of the church.

Area Christians will be gathering once again next Sunday, Aug. 8, for the most recent of the quarterly community worship services that began in April 2001.

Over the past 3 1/2 years the service has been held in eight or nine churches in the community and has attracted from 200-400 members.

Each service is planned by the host church, with as much input from other pastors and churches as that church desires.

This past week Morelock and Melton were meeting to lay plans for the service with a focus on prayer and praise.

Decided is that there will be at least one speaker, along with the Tabernacle of Praise praise team led by Tabernacle’s minister of music Rick Jolly and a singing group from Cooper Christian Church. There will be some traditional hymns but a good deal of contemporary Christian music.

The service will last for approximately one hour and will begin at 6 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church, located at the corner of Broad Street and Dallas Avenue.

Both Morelock and Melton, on behalf of their pastors – the Rev. Dr. Ron Stone of First Presbyterian and the Rev. Effell Williams Sr. of the Tabernacle of Praise – are hoping for a good turnout for the first of the services held at one of the historic downtown Selma Protestant churches.

Morelock, who has worked extensively with the Rev. Gordon Welch, minister of music at First Baptist Church across the street from First Presbyterian, is no stranger to working across denominational lines. For her that’s an important part of what it means to be a Christian.

“God made us this way (diverse ways of worshiping God) – like a rainbow. God put his image in each of us. What we have is a puzzle. Each piece has a little place, but all the pieces have to be on the table – his Table,” she said.

Melton said he felt a deep call to return to Selma to serve the Lord and the church through Tabernacle of praise.

“If people who grew up here don’t work to change the community, who will?” he said. “I felt the call to come here passionately. I couldn’t walk away from it…. Nearly 40 years ago we walked across the bridge, but in the past 40 years we’ve been wandering in the wilderness. Now, it’s time for us to cross the bridge again and to enter the Promised Land. This is a pivotal time in the life of this community,” he said.

Doug Coats, a layman who belongs to First Church of the Nazarene who has been one of the principal planners of the unity service since its inception is inviting people who attend to gather in small groups following the service to become acquainted with people they had not previously known.

Also, for the first time, a collection will be taken at the service, to benefit the Selma Area Food Bank. Offering plates will be located at doors through which worshipers enter and exit.