In Christ there is no East or West

We woke up Sunday morning of that weekend in Pommern and got dressed for church, all four of us women wearing our newly purchased kanga. Mama Tony showed us the proper way to put on the traditional African garments, which are brightly colored rectangles of fabric that have many uses. A kanga can be worn as a skirt or a shawl or a decorative stole or used as a pad on the head when carrying goods or used to hold a baby to your back.

Mama Tony helps Amy wrap her kanga while Sonia watches

Four wazungu ladies dressed for church: Amy, me, Kendra, and Sonia

Me in front of the newer church building

Two of the local children, cleaned up and dressed in their Sunday best

We attended the Lutheran church for services, which is located right by the mission house. "Adult" church was held in the newer building, while children's church was held in the older building next door. Men and women sat on separate sides of the church, though we wazungu and a group of wazungu who were visiting from the Pommern church's sister church in the Twin Cities, as well as a couple of leaders in the church broke this "rule."

Church bells ringing, calling the parishioners to the service

Near the beginning of the service, one of the church elders gave statistics regarding the previous week's attendance, offering, and so on. This took several minutes to complete. There were far more women at church than men, maybe about 80 women and about 20 men. The children next door seemed to far outnumber the adults. If only we had so many children in church at home! But these numbers are also reflective of the population in general in Pommern (more than half are under age 18), and most of the adults are parents and not grandparents or great-grandparents (lower life expectancy).

The choir provided amazing a capella music with no one directing them, and there were a couple of congregational hymns and prayers. The service was generally conducted in Swahili, but because the Minnesota people provided the message/sermon (translated by Pastor Saga), we did get some English too. The service wasn't as vocal as an African-American church at home but was more energetic than my own church. The typical call-and-response was for Pastor Saga to say "Bwana Asifiwe" (praise God) and for the congregation to respond with "Amen," usually twice in succession.

The choir singing during church. I *love* the music in Africa and will hear it again very soon! The "trill" at the end of the song is a common way of showing applause and approval in Tanzanian culture. Try as I might, I can't come close to making that sound myself.

Near the end of the service, two offerings were taken. The first was a general church offering, and the second was for a specific cause. That particular day the cause was supporting the parish staff. The offerings were collected by having the congregation members walk to the front of the church to deposit their money in a box (1st offering) or basket (2nd offering). Following the service, the congregation moved outdoors where a brief auction was held. Those who didn't have any money to give for offering brought fruits or vegetables or firewood. The rest of the congregation bid for the items, and the money went to the church. We bought a sweet potato and a bundle of firewood to take back to the mission house, which Sonia and Kendra attempted to carry on their heads African style. This of course generated many chuckles from the locals!

Kendra carries the firewood, while Jack spots her. Sonia carries the sweet potato in a basket.

All in all, it is a tremendous experience to share in worship with people who live so far from our own homes. I love the following hymn, and its words are very fitting for describing the emotion of such an awesome opportunity.

In Christ there is no East or West,
In Him no South or North;
But one great fellowship of love
Throughout the whole wide earth.

In Him shall true hearts everywhere
Their high communion find;
His service is the golden cord,
Close binding humankind.

Join hands, then, members of the faith,
Whatever your race may be!
Who serves my Father as His child
Is surely kin to me.

In Christ now meet both East and West,
In Him meet North and South;
All Christly souls are one in Him
Throughout the whole wide earth.