Dear church friends in America, imagine this scenario if you can: a church has 2 Sunday morning worship services scheduled, one at 8a.m. and the other at 10a.m, each to last about 90 minutes. Then imagine the first one not ending until 10:30, with the second finally getting started at 10:45 and lasting until 1:45p.m, with a 45-minute sermon thrown in for good measure.
Well, such was the case with the Roman Catholic worship service we attended this morning. We found out later that the priest was visiting from another area and was of a charismatic bent (though I had guessed that along the way) and though the music was wonderful, three hours is a really, really, really long time for a service of worship to last. Oh, and did I mention that we were sitting on backless benches? Of course, being a liturgical service, we were up and down a number of times and there was lots of swaying and clapping which helped break things up, but I was so-o-o ready for the service to finally end.
Lest you think I did not enjoy or appreciate this worship experience, let me assure you that there were some elements of the worship that I loved. The choir not only processed in during the opening hymn, led by a quintet of little dancers, a drum and a shaker, a crucifer, and 2 acolytes, but they also went out and then processed again for the Gospel procession, with the Bible being held aloft by a tall, smiling lay person. AND they again processed to present the offerings which had been received, as well as to present the elements for Communion. Each time there was clapping and singing and swaying and "stepping" by the choir, echoed by the entire congregation.
I also really like the entire congregation coming forward to present their offerings. The imagery is so powerful...the people of God presenting themselves and their gifts in a continuing procession of men, women, and children. Oh, and I might add- there were 5 offerings! Since the service was in Swahili, I didn't get all of the reasons for them, but after the offering by the entire congregation, there was one by the men, one by the women, and one by young people. And last, there was the offering received in behalf of the newly-begun "Kenyans for Kenya", to help with the famine in the northern and western parts of the country. I tried to imagine doing this in either the congregation where I am a member or the one I presently serve and I figure I would be quickly run out of town on a rail! But these folks- living in a poor area, I might add...not quite the slums but the next step up, known as "estates", where people live primarily in apartment buildings which resemble tenements in some of our major cities...dark hallways, laundry hanging from the porch railings, streets unpaved and deeply rutted, and the perpetual mounds of trash everywhere- responded. Giving, like hospitality, seems deeply ingrained in the hearts and souls of the Kenyan people and I suspect more than one of the donors was giving "the widow's mite"...the last of what they had for this day.
One more thing I loved was the painting of the Last Supper on the wall behind the free-standing altar, portraying an African Jesus and 12 disciples. It was simply beautiful and, along with paintings on the other 3 walls, greatly enhanced both the worship space and the worship experience for me. So be prepared, dear friends in America, for this Lutheran pastor to make some slightly daring changes in our worship experience. Be prepared to open your minds and hearts to welcome some of the "gifts" from our African sisters and brothers. After all, we're ALL God's children...and we're all in this together.
Pomoja, watoto!
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