My first worship service in Kabul
I don’t know if there are others, but this assembly gathered in a place called Corteze. It is a house with a largish front room serving as the nave(?) with two wings. The day I went it was packed. No vacant
seat next to any body.
After the opening prayer, it was introductions immediately of first timers. In a sea of white, there were some brown faces – predominantly
Pakistani – and a group of Africans.
Then followed a stream of announcements by various people lining up. One of them was very sad: about a retired German doctor who died in a bicycle accident (in Afghanistan. I am not sure it was Kabul). Just
that morning I had read the story of Father Frederick Schwartz, a German missionary to whom we in South India owe a huge debt of gratitude ; the impact was deep.
A beautiful young girl then led in the chorus singing, beginning with – won’t you guess it? “I will enter His gates with thanksgiving in my heart|” followed by a profoundly moving ” I know not how God’s
wondrous grace to me hath been made known” and some others.
I’d prayed before hand that I shouldn’t be trying to impress anybody by my singing ( as I am wont to do in such situations) but that didn’t stop the (elderly) lady next to me leaning over and saying, “God has
blessed you with a wonderful voice”(ahem,ahem)
There was a special number by one lady from Dushambe . Apparently she is a well known singer north of Afghanistan and she belted out a song in Farsi or Tajik (she’d learnt the song in Iran) that sent the congregation into raptures, so much so there was a request for a second song from her (fulfilled).
The message was from a young pilot. Speaking on the subject of Esau’s sale of birthright for a bowl of porridge, he drew a contrast between Esau’s unthinking “immediate gratification” and Jacob’s quest for
“lasting values” howsoever imperfectly understood at that time and grabbingly sought.
Later he moved to the tricky subject of pre-election (Jacob, I’ve loved and Esau…) and finished strongly with the verse ” I
will have mercy on whom I will have mercy and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion”. Later on I thought he could have linked it to the second song “I know not…” But very simple, casual and
effective (he had taken a course in personal evangelism).
The children meanwhile had been sent up for Friday School (it takes some getting used to, doesn’t it?) And there was communion.
Oh, yes there was a video clip of last year’s June 12 Prayer day in Switzerland. Very touching. This was as a curtain raiser for this year’s world prayer day: 15 May.
Just said “Hello” to the Africans and left soon after.
29 April 2005 Judah
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