Holiness Unto the Lord

Since my host father is a pastor of a Church of the Nazarene congregation, this is where I have been attending church for the last couple of weeks and, presumably, will continue to do so for the rest of the year. The congregation itself is comfortably small - less than 100 - and the singing is of high quality. I have noticed this among most of the churches I have been to (with a couple of notable exceptions) here. I guess music is one thing that Mennonites and Africans have in common.

The building itself is just finished so the cement bricks are still visible and there is no glass in the windows yet. The latter makes the facility much more comfortable as it actually allows for breeze to flow through the sanctuary. The former appeals to my inner-Calvinist. The church is bare except for some cloth hangings at the front and the banner reading "Holiness Unto the Lord." Instead of pews we have hard wooden benches supported by concrete blocks. I appreciate the idea of such seating - the plainness seems to have a certain connection with Jesus's own simple life as a carpenter - but after a three hour service the practical aspect of such seating begins to wear on me.

Perhaps most surprising is that men and women sit on different sides of the church. I didn't know that this was something that was still practiced outside small enclaves. Women seem to participate relatively equally in the church (well, at least as equally as one can expect in Zambian society) so I guess a theory of "separate but equal" is at work.

Services run from about 9:00 up to 12:30ish. First, an hour or more of Sunday School - basically an interactive sermon. Then, an hour or so of music. This consists of congregational singing which is sometimes done out of a book (so at least I can sing along moderately well) and then sometimes for memory (in which case I'm left trying to sound out the syllables). Then is "special music." This consists of individuals who come up to lead a song of their choosing. Sometimes this has been well rehearsed and is very good; at other times this is not the case. Finally, there is the choir which is very good and has a very entertaining director. At the end is the sermon - usually about an hour or so - by which point I'm squirming a little from the plank beneath me. It is challenging to pay attention throughout because probably 90% of it is done in Nyanja or Bemba. With Nyanja at least I can pick up a few words in a minute - with Bemba my comprehension is pretty much zip. Hopefully as the year goes on I will be able to understand a little bit more.