Dressed Up For Christmas
by Emmy Marie Vickers
Title
Dressed Up For Christmas
Artist
Emmy Marie Vickers
Medium
Photograph - Digital Photography
Description
Tonight I visited what is known as the Bishop's House. It's located at 1665 N. Portal Drive, NW in Washington, DC, should you wish to check it out this holiday season. This photo is the NC tree, one of 24 state trees on display.
"The display of (at least) 10,000 lights adorns the Tudor-style mini castle and grounds occupied by the leader of the D.C.-based United House of Prayer for All People. The Bishop's House cheerfully mixes complicated configurations of Christmas symbols sacred and profane: a life-size Nativity scene beside a bower of candy canes; soaring stone angels and a Santa's sleigh guided by Rudolph with a Christmas-light red nose. Around back, a giant snowman occupies a hilltop overlooking Christmas trees dedicated to D.C. and each of the 24 states with United House of Prayer congregations.
The story behind the Bishop's House is as colorful as the Christmas lights. Although the house is now occupied by the current bishop, S.E. Madison (his photograph hangs above the front door), the bishop who turned on the lights in 1963 was Walter "Sweet Daddy" McCollough, the church's charismatic leader from 1960 until his death in 1991. A spellbinding preacher, McCollough was credited with increasing church membership to some 3 million worldwide, constructing low-rent housing in D.C. and half a dozen other cities and making his imprimatur all but essential for election to office in the District.
His death occasioned a 4�-hour New Orleans-jazz funeral followed by a five-city visitation tour and a bitter internecine dispute. Bishop McCollough was first buried at Lincoln Memorial Cemetery in Suitland, Md., in a $700,000 memorial mausoleum built by the church to accommodate the huge crowds that regularly showed up for the Christmas lights. A year and a half later, after a successful appeal to the Prince George's County government by the bishop's widow, McCollough's body was moved to a family crypt at Fort Lincoln Cemetery in Brentwood, Md.
The United House of Prayer headquarters, known as "God's White House," occupies a complex of buildings at Sixth and M streets N.W. Even if you're not ready for redemption, make the pilgrimage for the famous soul food in the cafeteria (601-A M St. N.W., 202-789-2289; open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekends)."
Uploaded
December 16th, 2013
Embed
Share
Tags
