It’s a grocery gospel, picking up spirits along with the milk
February 24, 2010 by G360o-Admin
Filed under OutBox Ministries
Milk, Cheese….God
Somewhere between the produce aisles and the bakery counter, the Rev. Anita Naves is working up a sweat. She is holding a somewhat surprised shopper’s hand, anointing his forehead with oil and crying out for the Holy Spirit to enter the man’s life and drive out all worry and doubt.
This is what happens when the divine meets the mundane, when speaking in tongues collides with picking up milk, when God’s love is offered alongside the express checkout. You get weird looks, Naves says, as well as jokes and outright scoffs from the more hardened souls. But if you persist, you also find people desperate for someone to talk to — people who come in to buy cereal and walk out crying tears of joy and relief.
“That’s how you know it’s from God,” Naves said. “He wants to see people’s lives changed. If that’s happening, you know you’re in the right place.”
Officially, of course, Giant Food has no position on God.
Ask the District Heights, Md., supermarket how Naves ended up preaching in its community room (think cafe seating near the checkout registers), and manager Mike Balenger replies: “All I can say is, we don’t have a problem with whatever goes on in there. We’ve had birthdays, baby showers, chess clubs there. As long as it’s helping people and the community, it’s a good thing.”