Sunday, February 16, 2014

Our Anglican Sunday

Today we went to the christening / baptism of a friends 2yr old. I felt really privileged to be invited since we haven't known one another long. It was held during a normal Sunday meeting at the Anglican Church where she is a member, and since we do child dedications where we come from, going to a child's baptism was also something new for us.

We have visited a couple of churches since being here, but the ones we have visited have been less traditional since that is what we have come from.

Although the church is English speaking, and the message was in English, I have to admit to feeling like I was a participant in a foreign film. I had no idea which book to use, when to sit, when to stand, where the prayers came from and when I was supposed to read together with the congregation and where to find what to read.  By the time we found the page, it was over and we were finished reading and into singing.

Having said all that I LOVE FOREIGN FILMS!  I really loved this church too.  Yes, I felt like the odd man out and felt that everyone knew that we didn't have a clue what was going on - but that's OK.  It was quite refreshing to not have 4 fast songs, 3 slow songs, offering, preach, prayer and coffee.

It all felt supremely sci-fi-ish.

I absolutely loved the priest.  In his authenticity he reminded both of us so much of our CG guys, (although he is older and wears robes!)    :)

He strolled around casually as he shared with us instead of standing behind a lectern.  He used no notes, he had passion, sincerity and heart.  He spoke "our language", about being inclusive, about mercy, about sharing the love of Christ with people who are generally excluded. About not always thinking that we are right and "they" are wrong.  He talked about engaging with the Word and never thinking we know it all, and encouraged us to hear freshly from God and to seek truth.   He said (and I may paraphrase this because I can't remember the exact words) something like that if Christ saw Christianity today it would break his heart because it is more legalistic than the laws he came to free people from.  That took my breath away.

All in all, today was fresh air.  Yes, there were the traditional trimmings, but there is nothing 'religious' about this priest - he is all grace.

Thank God for today. 

2 comments:

  1. So glad you enjoyed it. We went to a "Hervormde kerk" for a talk about the Mission on Sunday. Very like the NG kerk...but it was so sad to see that there was barely 50 people and most of them were pensioners. The young folk are all out looking for something new.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Lynette,
      Thanks for your comment.

      It is sad, but on the other hand - I kind of understand the desire for a new way to live and express my faith. However, this certainly does not imply that there is anything wrong with the existing expressions - I think I made this thinking of mine clear in this post. God is at work in all expressions I believe. If your heart is to follow Christ, then I think he is with you in whatever expression of faith one finds themselves in. :)

      Delete

So, what do you think?

Reverse Culture Shock & Difficult Questions

The days are moving on and soon we will be home home. There seems to be a common thought coming through from friends there and here - Prepar...