Finding a Church

So last week I went online and looked at the two PCUSA churches within walking distance of the Seminary. One of them is Nassau Presbyterian Church and the other is Witherspoon Street Presbyterian Church. I looked at their websites and what I could find about them online. Nassau street has an intense staff with multiple pastors. They have somewhere upwards of 1200 members and ...primarily Caucasian. Witherspoon Street was started as the first all black PCUSA church a couple hundred years ago. 

I don't know why I have an issue with the churches with huge staffs. It could be that they are wealthier, but I don't see why that would be an issue. I think it's because they remind me of mega churches and therefore do not seem like the personal connection that I have always found in my refuge at church. Also the churches with large staffs also tend to be all white, lacking in diversity, except for sometimes age. 

I went to witherspoon and it was very much steeped in the African American heritage which I enjoyed but it seemed to be an African American church that just happened to be PCUSA. So I don't think that is the church for me. I am a fan of the PCUSA traditions. I'm hesitant to try Nassau because that's where all of the other PCUSA students went on Sunday and they described it just as I pictured it. Lots of members, all white, pretty dry. 

I'm on the PCUSA website looking for other churches in the area. I am trying to discern just what it is I have against larger churches. I grew up in a church of a little over 100 members. The members were from all different backgrounds and spanned all ages and socioeconomic classes. It had a massive heart for outreach and social justice. The Church I attended while in College, and that I am under care with is about 70 members. Maybe 40% of our members are from Cameroon. The church I grew up in had one pastor, an associate for a while, but a lot of seminarians. The church I am a member of has one pastor who is amazing and makes stuff happen. 

Next Sunday I will try a new church. Maybe I will go to Nassau so that I can see what it is like for myself or maybe I will check out a different church. According to the PCUSA church locator site there are 45 PCUSA churches within 15 miles of the seminary. 

New years

1/1/11 8:32 Pm

I am not sure where to start when describing today. So naturally I will start at the beginning. Showering this morning was something special. I could not for the life of me figure out how to shower properly. Ultimately I ended up sticking my head in the bucket of water and then shampooing and then sticking my head back in. When I showered tonight I figured it out and showered more easily.

This morning I was not feeling well. My stomach was nauseous and when I went to eat breakfast I couldn't eat because I thought I would get sick. I felt bad because Erica made eggs. Emelia and I went off to church. We were a few minutes late and had to wait outside until we could go in. Dave, Shelby and I were seated on the chancel and Cindy was sitting between the pastors. Everyone was very friendly. I have never had my hand shaken so many times. After church we went to the manse. We were fed lunch. I only had some rice because I still felt nauseous. Next I went back to Emelia's house. Erica wanted to make me lunch but I wasn't feeling up to eating. After a while she came out with a snack and so I had that. I feel bad saying no every time they offer it but either I feel sick or I'm full. I need to take really small portions tomorrow and see how that goes. I have had more soda to drink while in Cameroon thus far than I have in like a year.

At 12:30 we went to the chairman's house. He is Fru Ndi John. By chairman I mean the head and founder of the oppositional party that is trying to remove the president and by house I mean compound. Shelby compared sitting in his house to visiting the senator. While there, a group of Catholics from Detroit came by. We compared notes about our journeys to Bamenda. The chairman fed us and once again I only took small amounts. I sat next to one of the pastors. Cindy, the chairman, and the two pastors got into a Theological discussion which I loved. We were invited by the chairman to attend a traditional dance in a town called Santa. People were in their traditional dress and doing tribal dances. We danced for the king! It was amazing. The music, the dancing, the colors, it was all so good. It was like a native American powwow but African. After that is was back to the chairmans house for drinks and more food. The Ginger ale here is amazing and super gingery. Amazing! Pastor Julius drive Cindy and I back to the church manse. Emelia picked me up there and brought me back to her house. One of her friends wanted her to come down so we walked down. She offered me food and drink. I turned down the food but accepted a soda. After a while she insisted I eat something so I agreed. I ended up having goat stew. When we came back I stood outside with Erica talking. She couldn't believe that before coming to Cameroon I had never seen a palm tree and half only seen pineapples in the supermarket.

Faith saw me brushing my hair tonight and she was amazed. Her eyes were like saucers. After my shower I was sitting on my bed with Erica and she touched my hair. They are fascinated by it. Erica and I talked about Obama and the president of Cameroon. She told me all about how corrupt their president is. She also thought that the USA is a continent. So we did a rough geography lesson. She also told me about yaounde and how beautiful it is. Tomorrow is church and dinner with Grace. If they don't have plans for us for after church, Amelia and Erica are going to take ne to Bafunda.

Day Four

12/31/10 8:50 AM
Day 4? They sort of all blur

Shelby and I just woke up and got ready for the day. I'm in Africa and I'm cold. What is this? I'm on the freaking equator. I slept in a sweatshirt last night and now I have jeans and a sweatshirt on. The rooster is something else. It makes sure you know when to get up. And I swear it's just walking around the house checking on us.

There's an interesting religious dynamic in village life. They are Christians. That is a fact. The Nkikko village is all Presbyterian, a Presbyterian village. But at the same time they acknowledge the ancestors in the winds. Yesterday the kola nuts we smashed to see if the ancestors approved. Three nuts were smashed, one for each member of the trinity. The pieces were rolled out and it turns out that the ancestors approve and will provide us safe travel home. We all ate a piece of the kola nut. It did not taste good...but as Shelby put it this morning "we couldn't not eat it, it was Jesus!"

"he who brings kola nut brings life."