NEW YORK, NY November 10, 2008 —Sunday services were extra special for many of the city's black congregations celebrating the historic election of Barack Obama. WNYC's Arun Venugopal went to church in Jamaica, Queens, at the Greater Allen AME Cathedral.

FLAKE: Our topic this morning, at last: the Promised Land.

REPORTER: The Reverend Floyd Flake started his sermon quietly, but he was soon thundering. He called the election of Barack Obama monumental. The president-elect, in his eyes, served as Joshua to Martin Luther King Junior's Moses, the person who could deliver the full promise of the civil rights era.

FLAKE: Thanks be to God. Here we are, almost to the point where we can actually call somebody who looks like us the President of the United States of America. It is a good season. It is a season for celebration.

REPORTER: But Reverend Flake cautioned against high expectations, and said African Americans should follow Obama's example, by bettering themselves. Less bad language, less violence, and no wearing of pants below the waist. For WNYC, I'm Arun Venugopal.