Two years ago, just before Easter, I joined First Baptist Church of Mt. Pleasant, SC. I had been visiting off and on, but after a pretty big scare with a friend, I committed to get back to church where I belonged. I really enjoyed the fellowship I had with my new church family, and just like leaving my friends and biological family, I had a hard time saying goodbye to them.
When I arrived in Dublin, I was pleasantly surprised to find a nice church just minutes from my apartment. It was a small congregation, but a friendly one. I attended almost every Sunday while I was in Ireland. I really enjoyed making friends there and having that time each week. It was especially nice, when on my last Sunday with them, the pastor made the announcement that I'd be leaving and they all said goodbye and gave best wishes.
Coming to Italy has been a little different for me. I didn't seek out a church because I assumed, and was too lazy to research it, that it would be difficult for me to find an English speaking church. I've watched my pastor from home on a few internet sermons, but I haven't made the effort to get out there and find a church. With Easter quickly approaching, I was beginning to feel even more disconnected from my Christian family. My friend Katy and I attempted to go to a Palm Sunday evening service last week, but we arrived at the church only to find they weren't holding evening services. It was a disappointment for sure. Even though it was in Italian, it would have been nice to attend.
As I was walking home the other day, I passed my neighbor, and elderly woman from NY. I don't know why it didn't occur to me before, but she has lived here 40+ years and she's American, she must know where an English church would be. Sure enough, not one hour after I asked her, she brought me the name of an Episcopal church very near the Duomo. I checked the website that night and found that they were holding an "English for Fun" meeting on Tuesday night (that would be the next night). I was so excited! I told Katy, and on Tuesday, we headed over to the church.
It was a bit of a let down in the sense that there was no Christian fellowship, no prayer, nothing at all resembling a church meeting, BUT it was a great time. There were four Italian women, one Irish woman (you know I loved her) and two British men, one my age. The meeting was/is held to help non-native speakers learn English. It wasn't a lesson, but games to encourage speaking. We were given crepes with Nutella and wine, which I found hilarious. The meeting was in the church after all. I'm just not used to that being a Southern Baptist! The strangest part of the evening was at the end when the leader said, "we like to encourage you to give a little something to help support the church, so if you'll put 10 euro in the basket, we'd appreciate it." I wouldn't have minded giving an offering, but again, I would have appreciated a prayer or blessing or something to quench my thirst for Christian fellowship! It was also strange that they were "encouraging" us to give, but then specified exactly what to give. Oh well, it was an interesting evening and it got me out of the house for a few hours so I'm happy I went. I'll certainly try one of the Sunday sermons over at All Saints Anglican Episcopal Church, and oddly enough, Katy found another English church for us to try! I'm also excited because I've found a Scottish Presbyterian Church to attend in Budapest for Easter...I'm just determined to get to church soon, and be in the company of other Christians.
No comments:
Post a Comment