My Church is better than your Church

A question.

If you went to church on Sunday, did you have to drive over a very large water pipe in the road that almost beached your car in order to get there?

Also, when you arrived, were there two seats set aside for you at the front making your own separate row?

Think about these, don’t rush your answers.

And while I’m on this, did you have choir who sang accapela, without any music sheets or words in front of them who did a really cool shoe shuffle & rhythmic clapping at the same time?

Did the hairs on the back of your neck stand up when the whole congregation sang?

Come to think of it, was there a door to your left, open to allow in a breeze, where local children ran over, looked in, saw a white man, giggled with amazement & then went & got their friends who did the same.. for the whole service?

In addition,  were you asked to stand up & introduce yourself to everyone with the help of an interpreter?

Oh yeah, & was the whole 2hrs 20mins service done in Swahili meaning you understood almost nothing, but yet found you concentrated possibly better than you do sometimes when it’s in English?

P.S. Were you asked to be in loads of photo’s afterwards & then have lunch with the Bishop?

If the answers are no (feel free to check back through & be sure) then I conclude that on Sunday, my church was better than yours.

My church on Sunday was called St Boniface & is set in the village of Ruashi, on the outskirts of Lubumbashi, & it was awesome.

As the Kimbilio project is part of the Anglican Church here in Lubumbashi, it is important that I am introduced to the members of the local Anglican churches.  There are eleven churches I believe.  So far I have been to two, so you know, a few more to go to yet!

There is something for getting picked up in the morning to head to church with no idea where you are going or what it will be like!  But as you can tell, it really touched me.  There is just so much to love, from the colour on the traditional African dresses & headwear of the ladies, to the warmth of the welcome & spontaneity of the congregation in worship.

It honestly feels like a little piece of Heaven is touch Earth when everyone around you is singing & dancing in harmony, with joy & shouting!  They don’t have service sheets or projectors with words, or someone on the piano, they know the songs, the words etched in their hearts & it’s a beautiful sound.

The awesome choir!

So, next Sunday morning when you are in church or bed (tut, tut), think of me, I’ll be on my way to another new adventure at another church!  Maybe the Bishop will be there again, maybe I’ll remember to say my name when I introduce myself this time, but most definitely I know I’ll meet God there amongst & because of everything I’ll encounter.

Ian

PS.

To be fair I don’t think the Bishop was there for me by the way or that all the photo taking was for me either!  It was apparently a special presentation in the service for some people who’d completed a sort of Alpha course