Zachary Backes - Cultural Immersion

6/24/12

I haven't been inside a church in years, not since I was about 15. And after having to wake up at 9:00am on a Sunday I remembered one of the reasons why. But this time I was actually pretty excited to go. Mayowa had told me some stories about The Redeemed Christian Church of God, which is one of the largest churches in the world. The Go Ye Chapel we went to is just one small faction of a much larger community of people.

I met Ted outside the small house that served as the chapel around 9:50am dressed in the nicest clothes I owned. The weather was pretty dreary thanks to all the storming, even started the morning off right by having a rather large limb from the tree i parked under fall on top about a mili-second after I turned off the ignition. One of the parishioners noticed what had happened and called over to make sure everyone was alright. that was my first clue that something was up here, they cared about a total stranger...I mean...who does that?

When me and Ted walked into the small annex entry way I was immediately greeted by a jovial older gentleman. He saw me and smiled and stuck out his which I gladly accepted, He welcomed us and waved his hands towards some seats in front of him which we hastily moved to occupy. The little room we were in seemed to be an area for seating overflow, there was a projector that blanketed the wall with the image from the next room over, which we could see partly into from the doorway in front of us.

The first thing that really struck me about this place was the intimacy of the setting. I'm used to massive congregations of over a hundred people, at least 10 people to a pew and as many as 20 all crammed together but never really touching. We would always put the young children in room with glass panel so they wouldn't disturb the mass. However, this small room was packed with kids running about, and mothers running after the kids. A young woman came by with a program for the service, little did I know that this schedule is rarely looked at or held to and that mass really just ends when it ends.

The second thing that I noticed was the music, people were singing since before we entered and had not stopped since. The songs were almost nostalgic for me coming from a Catholic background, and before long I found myself singing along as I used to do at my old church. Singing was always my favorite part of mass. I noticed that most of the members had instruments and were clapping along with the songs and hymns. After about 15min of singing we listened to the opening prayer and the scripture readings. When I looked at the program I saw the next item was just labeled "Praise and Worship" and it was supposed to be 20min long. I wasn't quite sure what that entailed. But as the Pastor approached the pulpit I felt the air in the house change from that of celebration to one of reverence. He spoke for a time about the types of Garments we wear and what type of garment god has given us, one of service and one of faith. Almost all of the people spoke with a heavy Nigerian accent but that didn't stop any of them from being highly articulate and expressive.

At one point he asked if there were any first time visitors and Ted and myself raised our hands. We were ushered up to the front of the room along with another family of five, and a young man who had recently come to this country. All 8 of us stood at the front of the congregation in the main room and introduced themselves. I couldn't figure out why so many people laughed and clapped when I said my name was Zach, that is until I noticed that the Pastor's name on the program was Dr. Zacch Olorunnipa.

After that some regular members of the congregation gave up their seats in the main room so we might be able to see the whole service. I was pretty amazed at how open everyone was to the presence of newcomers. Towards the end of the service the Pastor brought up a young woman who had a newborn in her arms a small boy clinging to her skirt. She had just had the child as it was their tradition to welcome the new life into the community of God. We got to see as the child was blessed and prayed over, it was pretty amazing. I had been to baptism before but they were always so formal and rigid with tradition that it never felt much more than a ritual. This was more like a celebration of welcoming, everyone had their hands stretched out to the new family to pray for them.

We found out that the Father was still living and working in Nigeria and that the woman had needed to rely on the community in order to have the child. She mentioned how her new neighbors, the new family that stood up with us, had been there to take her to the hospital and stayed with her the entire time. She also wanted to thank the doctor who had delivered the child and was continuing to monitor the child's condition completely free of charge. when they brought him up I recognized him as the kindly gentleman who first greeted me as we walked in.

Over all this experience has increased my faith in the faithful. While there was still some pressure to convert and claim Jesus as my lord and savior everyone was very accepting of Ted and I. We even got gift bags with crackers and popcorn just for being guests. It was eye opening to see the similarities and differences with the church I had grown up in and the one I had just experienced. They said that we were welcome back anytime, and honestly I think I will try attend another service before the summer is over. I know the whole point of this project was to go outside our comfort zone, but thats pretty hard when the people in that zone are so welcoming to you.

Four hours after we had arrived at the small little house off North Monroe me and Ted are sitting at a Waffle House and all we can talk about is the experience. It lead to a great talk about our own personal beliefs and experience with religion. and I haven't been able to get the experience out of my head for the last couple days. A huge thanks to Mayowa for the tip, and Ted for being my culture buddy.