"Hallelujah - Praise the Lord, Praise the Lord - Amen!"

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After attending an African church service this morning, I have decided that it definitely deserves some space on this blog. After spending time with Rev. Wayoe this past week, Shanti, Rabina, and I thought it would be a nice gesture to attend a church service with her. Christianity is very important to most Ghanaians and the majority go to church and expect everyone else to as well. So this morning we headed off to the Newtown Presbyterian Church in Accra with Rev. Wayoe. Unfortunately, we weren't going to her home church as she was attending a sending off service for another minister. We were warned in advance that the service would be much longer than we are used to in Canada - we were in service for a full 3 and a half hours (9-12:30) and then afterwards found out that the service actually started at 8am! (Still not quite sure why we only arrived at 9am with Rev. Wayoe...) I think part of the length had to do with the fact that the sermon was given both in Twi (one of the languages here) and English (for our benefit). At first I was almost disappointed with the service as it was pretty much like any other somber church service I have experienced back home. Fortunately, I was not disappointed as about half way through I witnessed the African influence on Church life. There was dancing and singing with so much exuberance and life. The service did not disappoint in that respect! Much to our surprise, all the visitors had to get up in front of the church and were asked to introduce ourselves, where we were from and if we were planning on joining the presbyterian church. Needless to say it was a little daunting to be the first one to introduce myself to a crowd of probably over 300. But I felt very welcome as "one of the teachers from Canada". Furthermore, I almost felt like a celebrity with the Rev Wayoe and other members who kept taking our picture during the service. I wonder if they get many foreigners to their services... After the service we were even given a lunch that started out with a malt beverage (non alcoholic of course since we were still in church and it was only 1pm) that proceded to foam over as I tried to drink it. The drink is definitely not one of my favourites and it was definitely hard to keep a straight face as church ladies instructed me to "chug it" to prevent it from spilling over. I think more of the drink ended up on myself and the floor as we all laughed our way though the beverage.

On the whole, it was great to experience a church service in such a different culture and how another Christian group worships in such a different way. The singing and dancing that are added make the four hours feel a lot shorter. It will be interesting to see what church life will be like in Agogo and how much we will be expected to attend as I am hoping to travel on weekends as well. I am sure there will be many more church experiences to come!

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