chrispub
Originally uploaded by Pip Wilson.
. and when I heard this from Chris (above in the pub after a Greenbelt meeting)...... it made me think and feel 'out of the box' which is my head ......
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One of the things that always struck me during my time in Sierra Leone was how different their style of Worship is to ours or at least mine. I guess that this is not surprising - given the differences in our circumstances. I mean for a start we take for granted the ability to be able to read. And so we get bored of having the same liturgy every week, we want something new and simulating, we want modern songs, we want to be challenged, we want Church on our terms, when it suits us, with sound-bite sermons and fairly traded coffee afterwards and we want it all to be packaged into one hour!
I think that Church in Sierra Leone must be like it was in England a hundred years ago. In Sierra Leone, the word 'fellowship' is a lot easier to understand, people may only see each other when they come to Church and so are happy to spend four or more hours in each others company. This might be the only time that they get to see each other, a chance to leave the fields and to dress in an explosion of fabulous colours and to worship and celebrate together.
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Chris has had a life changing experience which was not mine ...... but his telling of a wee bit ...... touched my soul.
If you cannot read ...... life is very different ..... I work with humans NOW who cannot read. The blob tree and other tools have come out of working with those who cannot or will not struggle to read ............ it is so easy to see all humanity through our own unique experience .....
maybe we need to come down on earth for thirty years or so to understand ...... walk in their sandals - it said!
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