Lord, I love the house in which you dwell
and the place where your glory abides.
My foot stands on level ground;
in the full assembly I will bless the Lord.
Psalm 26:8, 12
“You should invite a friend to church!” One of those entreaties that we hear again and again in church life, which many of us so often fail to act upon. (Author looks in mirror here...)
A few weeks ago, Catherine and I received such an invitation, and we accepted. A man named Bishop, who sells fruit and vegetables from an old pickup just outside UCU’s gate, invited us to his church. We worship here on campus, but we decided to accept. So, Saturday morning we walked down a dirt road past a mix of houses and shops to the Maranatha Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) Church. Maranatha is a church plant started by Adventist UCU students. It meets in a structure set away from the road on a narrow lot. The frame is unmilled logs, plus corrugated sheets that comprise the walls and roof.
Arriving early at 9:00 a.m., we were warmly greeted and invited to sit in the front. Church started with Christian Ed, which was a teaching on Deuteronomy from an SDA course guide. An elder’s wife lent us her book so we could follow, and we were encouraged to participate in a lively conversation among believers.
Then came time for worship. Catherine and I were introduced and invited to give a brief account of who we are. The pastor spotted Bishop who had just arrived and told him with a smile: “Bishop, you should come sit with your guests!” So he did. In the Ugandan SDA tradition, worship means singing – lots of singing. The elder’s wife generously loaned us her pocket hymnal. We sang over two dozen hymns and were even invited to pick one. (We chose “Immortal, Invisible.”)
It was the longest service we have ever attended, about four hours. The simple wood pews became rather hard toward the end. Still, we were made to feel truly welcomed, and after the service, many came to greet us. We were given a gift from the church garden of green bananas and plantains. We swapped emails with a couple of UCU students who were there and walked back up the road – now busy with dust-churning motorbikes, taxi-vans, and the occasional truck – with Dickens, a nursing student at UCU.
Saturday, we stepped out of our bubble here on campus, took a long walk, and joined a congregation from an unfamiliar denomination as the only mzungus in the room. We were welcomed into Maranatha’s fellowship from start to finish, and we were helped with materials to explain the teaching and their form of worship. We came as strangers. We left as friends. A congregation in a corrugated metal chapel offered us its heart. Can we go and do likewise?
God bless you!
Richard
