Church

This morning I got up early (again) to go to church. I received a text at breakfast from a Bucknell friend here saying he wouldn't be able to go with me. So I was extremely nervous to go alone. I prayed a lot as I made the twenty minute walk down past the train station to have the courage to walk in. It turned to be a pretty good morning.

The usher who handed me a bulletin was friendly and even tried to welcome me in English. There were about a couple hundred people in the church, and a diversity of age and ethnicity. The service started with one of the many prolonged periods of prayer that we would have that morning. Many people prayed similar things "thank you Lord, for saving us, Lord, for washing away our sins, Lord, for forgiving us Lord, for raising us, Lord..." so I was able to get used to the new vocabulary. I had trouble joining in worship at first, I think because I was so nervous about being new AND not being able to speak my language. This didn't last long, fortunately, because after the first song, many words of thanks to God flooded my mind. This sometimes happens in English. I'm glad it happened in French, and at a time where I was feeling very vulnerable.

This reassuring feeling of comfort didn't last long, however, as we were told to form groups and pray! (I didn't actually understand the worship leader when he directed us to do this, but it's easy to figure things out when two hundred people are all doing the same thing.) I kinda just stood there awkwardly...it didn't last long.

Many of the songs we sang I have sung before in English, so that was cool, and the musicians were talented. Usually a band with a saxophonist knows what they're doing. And the sermon was great...based in Psalm 84...about loving the church, where God's presence is, and finding our strength in God.

At the end of the service, the pastor asked if there was anyone new this morning. I raised my hand slightly, not knowing what was to come. Then he passed a microphone around...to everyone who was new, and had them stand and introduce themselves to the church! I actually had a good accent as I said, "Bonjour, je m'appelle John. Je viens des Etats-Unis, je reste à Tours pour quatre mois."

So, church was great today. It gave me another opportunity to practice French. It gave me a lot to think about concerning my relationship with God, the reasons I go to church, and also - very compellingly - what it is like for newcomers to a church, especially if they are foreigners. And above all I got to worship "the master of the univers" with two hundred "brothers" and "sisters." This is what we all need.