--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: They could never go back to being a…" description: "\"They could never go back to being a uniracial congregation again. It brings excitement. It brings life. It allows them to be able to know people they w..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/31e/michael-emerson-4622_able_they-could-never-go-back-to-being-a-unir_3043067.jpg" --- # They could never go back to being a uniracial congregation… ![“They could never go back to being a uniracial congregation again. It brings excitement. It brings life. It allows them to be able to know people they would never know, to meet people that are outside the congregation they would have never connected with, you know, through the networks that they…” quote by Michael Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/31e/michael-emerson-4622_able_they-could-never-go-back-to-being-a-unir_3043067.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/31e/michael-emerson-4622_able_they-could-never-go-back-to-being-a-unir_3043067.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/31e/michael-emerson-4622_able_they-could-never-go-back-to-being-a-unir_3043067.jpg) > “They could never go back to being a uniracial congregation again. It brings excitement. It brings life. It allows them to be able to know people they would never know, to meet people that are outside the congregation they would have never connected with, you know, through the networks that they developed in the congregation.” [Michael Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-emerson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker reflects that returning to a homogeneous group would lose the excitement and growth that comes from diverse connections formed through shared networks. **In simple terms:** Diverse groups bring excitement and new relationships, unlike uniform ones. Key Takeaway Embrace diversity for richer experiences. Themes diversity community growth Mood reflective inspirational Type statement philosophical When to use this quote - team building - networking events - community outreach - cultural programs Key Concepts social networks cultural exchange inclusion Questions to Reflect On - What benefits have you gained from diverse networks? - How can you foster inclusion without losing identity? A Different Perspective Homogeneity can feel safe but limits perspective. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Able](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/able/) [Congregation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/congregation/) [Congregation Brings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/congregation-brings-5024817/) [Congregation Connected](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/congregation-connected-5024818/) [Connected](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/connected/) [Developed Congregation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/developed-congregation-5024819/) [Excitement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excitement/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Outside Congregation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/outside-congregation-5024820/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Uniracial Congregation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/uniracial-congregation-5024816/) ## Related quotes > [So you find a lot of these sixth Americans congregate in these interracial congregations. They hang out together at work, at school, wherever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-emerson/so-you-find-a-lot-of-these-sixth-americans-congregate-in-these/) [Michael Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-emerson/) > [It's one of the things we find in these congregations is that they are much more likely to be sort of up-beat worship styles,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-emerson/it-s-one-of-the-things-we-find-in-these-congregations-is-that-they/) [Michael Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-emerson/) > [What happens is sometimes these congregations will still have the white style of worship, even though they're mixed, because folks are willing to give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-emerson/what-happens-is-sometimes-these-congregations-will-still-have-the/) [Michael Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-emerson/) > [So the tradition from Europe is that you're supposed to emphasize the mind over the body, so you sing from a very kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-emerson/so-the-tradition-from-europe-is-that-you-re-supposed-to-emphasize-the/) [Michael Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-emerson/) > [One of the things we find when we talk to people that attend these congregations, they all have social cost to it. People want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-emerson/one-of-the-things-we-find-when-we-talk-to-people-that-attend-these/) [Michael Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-emerson/) > [So we didn't get the denominations and the separate congregations really till about into Civil War time. What's happened then, of course, is now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-emerson/so-we-didn-t-get-the-denominations-and-the-separate-congregations/) [Michael Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-emerson/) > [There's a lot of terminology, like "washes whiter than snow," and these things which when they're said in a uniracial congregation, they just go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-emerson/there-s-a-lot-of-terminology-like-washes-whiter-than-snow-and-these/) [Michael Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-emerson/) > [Then of course there are bigger things that matter, like who do I see up there in the congregation? Do I see myself up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-emerson/then-of-course-there-are-bigger-things-that-matter-like-who-do-i-see/) [Michael Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-emerson/) > [That's a big fear, right, and when I talk with black pastors, the same thing: If we try to have this move towards interracial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-emerson/that-s-a-big-fear-right-and-when-i-talk-with-black-pastors-the-same/) [Michael Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-emerson/) > [Absolutely, although every congregation will say, you know, every worship leader will say it's vital. It's very important, but again these are, you know,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-emerson/absolutely-although-every-congregation-will-say-you-know-every/) [Michael Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-emerson/) > [I certainly think so, and I argue so, and I give talks on that. Are there risks by putting people together? Absolutely. Is there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-emerson/i-certainly-think-so-and-i-argue-so-and-i-give-talks-on-that-are/) [Michael Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-emerson/) > [If we go into white congregations, non-whites will sometimes say it felt like worship never started. It was sort of dead and didn't feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-emerson/if-we-go-into-white-congregations-non-whites-will-sometimes-say-it/) [Michael Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-emerson/) > [There's one denomination in particular, though, that has pushed very hard to be multiracial in its denomination - not only its denomination but, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-emerson/there-s-one-denomination-in-particular-though-that-has-pushed-very/) [Michael Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-emerson/) > [I think it's easier, I really do, because of not having that similar history, so that's why I think two-thirds of these mixed congregations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-emerson/i-think-it-s-easier-i-really-do-because-of-not-having-that-similar/) [Michael Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-emerson/) > [I see it happen in uniracial congregations all the time. But people - when they're in mixed company, we speak differently.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-emerson/i-see-it-happen-in-uniracial-congregations-all-the-time-but-people/) [Michael Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-emerson/) ## More by Michael Emerson > [It may be changing, but still it's the one place, that total control of an institution, that African Americans have. So sometimes, you know,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-emerson/it-may-be-changing-but-still-it-s-the-one-place-that-total-control-of/) [Michael Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-emerson/) > [Call-and-response style, yes, exactly. So whenever different groups get together then there has to be this long period of negotiation. How will we worship?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-emerson/call-and-response-style-yes-exactly-so-whenever-different-groups-get/) [Michael Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-emerson/) > [I think people respond to villains because people in general are more villainous than heroic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-emerson/i-think-people-respond-to-villains-because-people-in-general-are-more/) [Michael Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-emerson/) > [So you find a lot of these sixth Americans congregate in these interracial congregations. They hang out together at work, at school, wherever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-emerson/so-you-find-a-lot-of-these-sixth-americans-congregate-in-these/) [Michael Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-emerson/) > [There are roles that are terrifying because they're large or you may feel that they're out of your line, but I'm never terrified once…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-emerson/there-are-roles-that-are-terrifying-because-they-re-large-or-you-may/) [Michael Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-emerson/) > [We do not have an American culture. We have a white American culture and a black American culture. So when those two groups try…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-emerson/we-do-not-have-an-american-culture-we-have-a-white-american-culture/) [Michael Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-emerson/) > [I think of myself as a problem-solver. I want to go in and help the director and the writer to get the best they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-emerson/i-think-of-myself-as-a-problem-solver-i-want-to-go-in-and-help-the/) [Michael Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-emerson/) > [But what we found in the study is that churches are ten times less diverse than the neighborhoods they sit in. So there's something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-emerson/but-what-we-found-in-the-study-is-that-churches-are-ten-times-less/) [Michael Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-emerson/) > [And different traditions stress different - so then there's that. I talked to an African American who says before she goes into an interracial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-emerson/and-different-traditions-stress-different-so-then-there-s-that-i/) [Michael Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-emerson/) > [I think it's easier, I really do, because of not having that similar history, so that's why I think two-thirds of these mixed congregations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-emerson/i-think-it-s-easier-i-really-do-because-of-not-having-that-similar/) [Michael Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-emerson/) > [There are three things, and it depends on the group that we're talking about, but there's history, there's culture, and then there's social networks.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-emerson/there-are-three-things-and-it-depends-on-the-group-that-we-re-talking/) [Michael Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-emerson/) > [I ask the clergy why don't I see myself represented in leadership? And I'm told, and this happens quite a bit, "We don't think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-emerson/i-ask-the-clergy-why-don-t-i-see-myself-represented-in-leadership-and/) [Michael Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-emerson/) > [I was a magazine illustrator for many years before I became an actor, and I used to think, 'Oh, God, all those wasted years!'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-emerson/i-was-a-magazine-illustrator-for-many-years-before-i-became-an-actor/) [Michael Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-emerson/) > [We go where our family goes. We go where our friends are, and because our social networks are so segregated by race, we end…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-emerson/we-go-where-our-family-goes-we-go-where-our-friends-are-and-because/) [Michael Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-emerson/) > [This is this thing I harp on: Sometimes acting can be a self-defeating psychological enterprise if we feel like we're desperate, if we feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-emerson/this-is-this-thing-i-harp-on-sometimes-acting-can-be-a-self-defeating/) [Michael Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-emerson/) [Explore all 108 Michael Emerson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-emerson/) ## More Able quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/) [Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/) > [In the '80s, the way radio was programmed, if you didn't have a hit record you weren't going to be able to make any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huey-lewis/in-the-80s-the-way-radio-was-programmed-if-you-didn-t-have-a-hit/) [Huey Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huey-lewis/) > [I think I've had the longest career of strength, focus, and still being able to sell records. I think I'm that guy. I'm still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/i-think-i-ve-had-the-longest-career-of-strength-focus-and-still-being/) [Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/) > [I have that need in me, I want everyone to love me, but I'm embarrassed by that need, so I wanted to cover it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-jeselnik/i-have-that-need-in-me-i-want-everyone-to-love-me-but-i-m-embarrassed/) [Anthony Jeselnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-jeselnik/) > [Thinking about the things that happened, I don't know any other ball player would could have done what he (Jackie Robinson) did. To be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pee-wee-reese/thinking-about-the-things-that-happened-i-don-t-know-any-other-ball/) [Pee Wee Reese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pee-wee-reese/) > [I wanted to remember in order to be able to return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/i-wanted-to-remember-in-order-to-be-able-to-return/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [Government schools, with your tax money, now discourage the teaching of multiplication tables by rote memorization but teach reading by the 'look-and-say' method which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-perry/government-schools-with-your-tax-money-now-discourage-the-teaching-of/) [Greg Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-perry/) > [I don't know if I would qualify as mainstream. I think I have managed to function pretty successfully on the fringes of the music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-metheny/i-don-t-know-if-i-would-qualify-as-mainstream-i-think-i-have-managed/) [Pat Metheny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-metheny/) > [What we're supposed to do as actors is be able to portray real human beings and emotions. And if you grow up in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-browning/what-we-re-supposed-to-do-as-actors-is-be-able-to-portray-real-human/) [Emily Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-browning/) > [The reason that Apple is able to create products like iPad is because we always try to be at the intersection of technology and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/the-reason-that-apple-is-able-to-create-products-like-ipad-is-because/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [It was an important period for us, because even though we weren't a "punk band", and what became a model for a punk band,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-mallinder/it-was-an-important-period-for-us-because-even-though-we-weren-t-a/) [Stephen Mallinder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-mallinder/) > [- You look fine. - Right. I look fine. Except I don't, said Zora, tugging sadly at her man's nightshirt. This was why Kiki…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/you-look-fine-right-i-look-fine-except-i-don-t-said-zora-tugging/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [There is a way to be a woman, ask for what we deserve and be able to negotiate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracee-ellis-ross/there-is-a-way-to-be-a-woman-ask-for-what-we-deserve-and-be-able-to/) [Tracee Ellis Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracee-ellis-ross/) [Browse all 17,257 Able quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/able/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "They could never go back to being a uniracial congregation again. It brings excitement. It brings life. 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