Churched-up

Its so hard to try to keep this blog updated, my first few days here are so packed! So, I may have to take it in pieces and not get to everything at once. I think this post will just be about Sunday.

I worked my very first shift on Sunday morning in the kitchen. On Sundays, all community members work three hours because our residents (and us!) like to eat :). But that makes the kitchen team short, so members of other teams will work kitchen shifts. Which is what I did, breakfast shift. The day before, everyone told me that it was unfortunate that my first shift would be Sunday morning kitchen, but I really didn't mind it at all. I liked getting to see everyone come in for breakfast, but what I didn't like was how hot it was to work behind the food serving bar (heated underneath and overhead by lamps). I worked mostly with Samuel, a Brazilian who has been here several months.

Samuel had previously invited me to go to church with him, and he was going to two different services that day. I was really excited to see churches in London, so I decided to go to both as well. Maria Alice (another Brazilian who arrived the day after I did) and Leandro (who has been here two weeks) came with us. We left ten minutes after my shift ended (good thing I can change fast) and walked about 20 minutes away to Holy Trinity Brompton, or as everyone else calls it, HTB.

I absolutely LOVED the service there - it wasn't really large, about 200-250 people at the service I attended (I think there are 5 services though), and it was in a beautiful building (top picture). What I loved most was the heart of the place - the service was brimming with enthusiasm, reverence, and an atmosphere of comfortability that I can only explain as the feeling one gets when one is visiting a large family that all get along together. I was impressed with the service, which balanced traditional liturgy and historical legacy with contemporary music and fresh approaches to modern-day life. Their announcements placed a huge emphasis on prayer meetings throughout the week with focuses on their church community as well as their outreach to London. And the message that Sunday was on John 15:1-17, and was really excellent (you can download it here). All in all, I left so refreshed by that body!!

After lunch and a rest, the four of us hit the tube (after a confusing bout with Alice and I trying to use our Oyster cards correctly) and journeyed up the Picadilly Line to Tottenham Court Road and the Dominion Theater where we attended the evening service for Hillsong London. VERY different from HTB in style and method - the service was very heavy on media and audio/visual worship. The congregation was almost all 20s and 30s. But I do have to say that they had just as much passion and enthusiasm for Christ and His church there, and the guest speaker who gave the message was also very excellent. It was really a great place to crash a service, but I felt that I would prefer HTB as a local body to plug into. However, I still plan to go visit lots of other churches with other community members so that I can experience the diversity of ways that Christians in London worship together.

At the end of the day, I was so refreshed. The small taste I got of travelling around the city and seeing new people and places was like getting a sample at Costco of a really good dessert that you pull off the shelf with the anticipation of getting home to eat it after dinner. The best part of the day was deepening my relationships with my fellow community members who traveled around with me. I already feel like the people here are my brothers and sisters in heart and that this is my home.