Singida Church and Children
Sunday September 30, we attended a church service at the cathedral in Singida. It was an amazing experience, in many ways.
One thing we did not expect was that the service would be centered on, and largely delivered by, the children of the congregation.
Many, many children stood in front of a packed (extremely densely packed!) sanctuary (700 people regularly attend a service) and recited memorized Bible passages, and groups of them sang as well. It was a real treat to see all the smiling young faces praising God and sharing of their faith.
After the 3 hour 30 minute service, the children all seemed to want to meet us. We shook hands and exchanged greetings with countless children, and many adults too.
During the worship service we also had a chance to introduce ourselves and extend greetings from the ELCA, the Minnesota South, and from Mount Olive.
This short post cannot convey all of what we felt but take a look at the photos and you will get a taste. The top photo shows the church building as the early service finished, while we were awaiting our chance to enter. The second shows the young girl who delivered the sermon (very well! In Swahili, but we could tell!). The third shows one group of children meeting some of us.
A great day!
One thing we did not expect was that the service would be centered on, and largely delivered by, the children of the congregation.
Many, many children stood in front of a packed (extremely densely packed!) sanctuary (700 people regularly attend a service) and recited memorized Bible passages, and groups of them sang as well. It was a real treat to see all the smiling young faces praising God and sharing of their faith.
After the 3 hour 30 minute service, the children all seemed to want to meet us. We shook hands and exchanged greetings with countless children, and many adults too.
During the worship service we also had a chance to introduce ourselves and extend greetings from the ELCA, the Minnesota South, and from Mount Olive.
This short post cannot convey all of what we felt but take a look at the photos and you will get a taste. The top photo shows the church building as the early service finished, while we were awaiting our chance to enter. The second shows the young girl who delivered the sermon (very well! In Swahili, but we could tell!). The third shows one group of children meeting some of us.
A great day!
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