A tale of two churches

Today, I went to two churches, and it was quite the experience. It was wonderful, really, as I felt like I got a taste of two worlds. In the morning, I went with sisters of the Spiritan House to the Catholic Church. It was all in Swahili, but the ceremony was much the same as that seen in the U.S. Instead of a collection basket going around, you walked towards the altar to drop your money in the collection box. Altar wine was only used for the sisters and the priest. Otherwise, everything else was much the same. The choir was phenomenal, as you could just feel their power. With each song, they swayed back and forth in beat, and then you would hear this high sounding trill from one of the singers. It was powerful just being there. Everyone was in his Sunday best and the church was just packed.

And in the evening, I went with Mwalimu Charles to his church, and for the first time in my life, I heard a real preacher speak. It made me think of my old social studies books and their talk about the fiery preachers. He would say something, and then the crowd would respond, “Amina.” And then he’d say something else, and the crowd would respond, “Amina.” And then he’d say something else, and the crowd would respond, “Amina.” And then every once in a while, you would hear a “Hallelujah” emerge from the crowd. And as all of this was going on, you could hear the scraping of mortar on the new cement blocks. We sat in the frame of the church, as the builders continued to build the walls around us.

So, all in all, that is my tale of two churches. As for what I did for the rest of the weekend, I went into town, got some pictures printed, and then hung out with Tish, another MIT PSC fellow. And then the next day, we did a bit of souvenir shopping. It definitely wasn’t my cup of tea, as you have to bargain the price down, but I had a good time nonetheless.