Tea with Melissa: A Lord’s Day in Parot
It’s the Lord’s Day! We are joining Melissa Hanna for worship at the Parot church.
As usual, we are waking up before sunrise to the braying of donkeys, singing of songbirds, baaing of sheep, squawking of crows, and the whacking of axes and breaking of branches to gather firewood to begin a fire for tea. The drums have begun, but it is still a few hours before worship, so have a cup of tea while I get the children ready. The drums are alerting people that it is Sunday and church will begin soon. People start heading to church sometimes an hour before it starts. Many don’t have watches or phones to tell time, but they can ask a neighbor who does. Church roughly starts at 9:30 am and can fluctuate up to an hour later if it rains or it’s colder than usual and people’s morning routines take longer.
Recently the weekly market day changed from Sunday to Thursday, which has been a huge blessing! Market day on Sunday had many briefly stopping in to church just to check it off the week’s to-do list. For others, church was an easy babysitting option for their children while they headed to market. And now, people are less tempted to miss church to head to market to get the best prices or sell at the best prices.
We should get started, though it isn’t a very long walk. But at our church, there is limited seating on logs, tarps laid out on the ground, or chairs (if we bring our own). Also, just so you know, two women will be roaming the aisle with a switch to keep children quiet. This seemed more necessary when there were more children unattended because of market day.
Worship has begun and the drum has stopped. The psalms now ring with the joining of people’s voices to praise our Lord. An order of worship has been established for over a year now and the people are used to it, though more and more small tweaks are being made to better order and adjust worship to increase organization, understanding, and purpose according to God’s word. It looks much like an order of worship that is used in the RP Churches in the U.S. but you might not be able to tell because it is all in Dinka. Prayers, offering, and singing are a little different here, too.
The church leaders, and even the members, are growing in their understanding that we are to worship God according to his requirements, which is for our good and his glory. New ideas will come and go, influences from neighboring churches will press in, the youth will see and hear of new songs, dances, etc. that were once appealing. But the Lord is changing the people's hearts and understanding. He is transforming and reforming them to his ways and not their own. Isn't that the truth for each one of us?
The service is over now, and people will greet each other and fellowship. Sometimes small meetings are conducted, because without everyone having cell phones to text or email, it is the day that everyone is gathered, so necessary and important information can be communicated to many. Then they will head home…or to a neighbor’s home.
It is a necessary day of rest for all of us. It is still the hot, dry season, and even in the extreme heat, there is much work going on during the week—manual labor or building and rebuilding of homes every few years; planting and replanting of crops; and the manual labor of cooking, pumping water, gathering firewood, etc. A day of rest is an answer to prayers as we learn that we are told in God’s Word to rest. Increasingly, there are options available to listen to the Word on the Lord’s Day. More and more people have a literate person in their home who can read the Bible; more and more people have a mobile radio on which they can listen to the local Christian radio station; more and more have taken advantage of SD cards that are passed around or copied with sermons, recorded psalms, etc.
As the Sabbath rest is understood more and more, the people embrace it, want it, and rejoice in the practice. Thank you, Lord, for giving us this day to worship and glorify you and to rest from our other labors!