Baptism by Firehose

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Baptism-by-Firehose-for-AR_001

Women pray and speak in tongues to the feverish beat of one of four brass bands, as the International House of Prayer holds their annual Baptism by Firehose in the middle of M Street NW in Washington, DC, Sunday, August 30, 2015.

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Baptism-by-Firehose-for-AR_002

A man stands with his washboard instrument and waits to join his brass band, as the International House of Prayer holds their annual Baptism by Firehose in the middle of M Street NW in Washington, DC, Sunday, August 30, 2015.

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Baptism-by-Firehose-for-AR_003

A man stands in a quiet moment prior to the firehoses being turned on, as the International House of Prayer holds their annual Baptism by Firehose in the middle of M Street NW in Washington, DC, Sunday, August 30, 2015.

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Baptism-by-Firehose-for-AR_004

Men and women, young and old, all wear white, and he men wear black ties, as the International House of Prayer holds their annual Baptism by Firehose in the middle of M Street NW in Washington, DC, Sunday, August 30, 2015.

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Baptism-by-Firehose-for-AR_005

A young man walks past women praying and playing music as the International House of Prayer holds their annual Baptism by Firehose in the middle of M Street NW in Washington, DC, Sunday, August 30, 2015.

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Baptism-by-Firehose-for-AR_006

A man stomps his feet and prays to the feverish beat of one of four brass bands, as the International House of Prayer holds their annual Baptism by Firehose in the middle of M Street NW in Washington, DC, Sunday, August 30, 2015.

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Baptism-by-Firehose-for-AR_007

Men dance and pray to the feverish beat of one of four brass bands, as the International House of Prayer holds their annual Baptism by Firehose in the middle of M Street NW in Washington, DC, Sunday, August 30, 2015.

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Baptism-by-Firehose-for-AR_008

Women rise from their seats to pray and speak in tongues to the feverish beat of one of four brass bands, as the International House of Prayer holds their annual Baptism by Firehose in the middle of M Street NW in Washington, DC, Sunday, August 30, 2015.

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Baptism-by-Firehose-for-AR_009

Women protect their hair from the deluge of the firehoses, wearing shower caps and plastic grocery bags as they sing and speak in tongues to the feverish beat of one of four brass bands, as the International House of Prayer holds their annual Baptism by Firehose in the middle of M Street NW in Washington, DC, Sunday, August 30, 2015.

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Baptism-by-Firehose-for-AR_010

After many prayers, a sermon and feverish brass band music, the firehoses are let loose, the cool water raining down upon the congregation as the International House of Prayer holds their annual Baptism by Firehose in the middle of M Street NW in Washington, DC, Sunday, August 30, 2015.

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Baptism-by-Firehose-for-AR_011

A man lifts his face to the sky as the deluge from the firehoses rain down upon him and others, praying in the in the water as the International House of Prayer holds their annual Baptism by Firehose in the middle of M Street NW in Washington, DC, Sunday, August 30, 2015.

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Baptism-by-Firehose-for-AR_012

Men, their clothes soaked in the water, their hands to the sky in the deluge of the firehoses raining down upon them as the International House of Prayer holds their annual Baptism by Firehose in the middle of M Street NW in Washington, DC, Sunday, August 30, 2015.

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Baptism-by-Firehose-for-AR_013

Women pray and sing while being soaked in the deluge of the firehoses as the International House of Prayer holds their annual Baptism by Firehose in the middle of M Street NW in Washington, DC, Sunday, August 30, 2015.

Baptism-by-Firehose-for-AR_014

Baptism-by-Firehose-for-AR_014

The firehoses are let loose, the cool water raining down upon the congregation as the International House of Prayer holds their annual Baptism by Firehose in the middle of M Street NW in Washington, DC, Sunday, August 30, 2015.

Baptism by Firehose for AR_015

Baptism by Firehose for AR_015

A young man walks through the congregation while being soaked in the deluge of the firehoses raining down upon them as the International House of Prayer holds their annual Baptism by Firehose in the middle of M Street NW in Washington, DC, Sunday, August 30, 2015.

Baptism by Firehose

Photography by Rod Lamkey Jr.

Welcome to baptism by firehose, the emotional conclusion to a weeklong annual spiritual convention for the congregants of the United House of Prayer for All People in Washington, DC, on the last weekend of August.

Each year they gather on M Street NW for the confluence of prayer, song and fellowship. Four brass bands take turns, each beginning with a slow melody, sweet and soft, ending in a fever pitched beat with screaming horns, their golden brass shining in the sunlight, their sounds blending with the cries of redemption.

In the hot August morning sun there were no clouds. White dresses, shirts and pants with neat bow ties and shower caps protected their skin from the oppressive heat. 

The wind carried the prayers of the elderly women sitting on plastic fold-out chairs lined up in rows in the street, speaking in tongues to the sound of the brass band screaming to the tempo of the drums as the congregation from the United House of Prayer for All People stomped their feet on the hot melting pavement. 

The wooden pulpit creaked and bumped as the pastor spoke to his flock from the shade of the pulpit, “You don’t have to take it home with you, Daddy will fix it”. “Yes!” cries a woman next to me, and hands reached for the heavens above, all moving together like waves in the ocean, tears running down soft cheeks, lips quivering, bodies swaying. 

Aching for those ancient words of redemption and peace, in the dazzle of the heat waves on the pavement. 

They waited. 

Then it came, the blessing, the final words to baptism and the firehoses were then opened up, and a torrent of water arching up high and bending down to Earth, the clear cool water, was unleashed and was heavy on the skin, cascaded over the congregation like rain from a cloudless sky, down and down upon them. 

They danced in the dazzle. Soaking wet clothes soothed them in the heat, the baptism soothed their souls and the soft, faint whispers of sorrow and stress were washed away and they were again redeemed. 

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