Some Religious Experiences

Catholic Feasting
On Friday, I went with my friend Danielle to her church's International Food Festival. For the event, the courtyard of her Catholic Church was lined with stalls featuring different kinds of food from all over the world. There were stalls from Italy, China, Angola, England, Ireland, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Mozambique, Holland, Portugal, Uganda, France, Poland, Germany, Czech Republic, and the U.S. It was exciting and unique, since I always think of food from the U.S. as boring, but people there were really excited about it. At the same time, I saw the South African milktart as really different, but it was one of the last things to sell out because most everyone at the festival found it ordinary. Similarly, an international food festival in the U.S. would probably have more South American and European countries, while this festival had more African countries and no South American countries. I spent my evening rubbing shoulders with lots of South African Catholics and having a wonderful time. (Shh, don't tell them a Protestant slipped in!)

Methodists and a Challenge
This morning I had a very special worship at the Methodist church I have been attending here, as well. The church usually has four services, but this morning all four services were combined in one large service. We also heard from a guest minister, Rev. Dr. Peter Storey. Dr. Storey is a Methodist minister, but is best known for his fight against Apartheid and his great passion for social justice and change. The service was incredibly inspiring. There were hymns in English, Afrikaans, Sotho, Zulu, and Xhosa, varying between a capella, traditional-style with organ, and contemporary. The congregation was incredibly diverse, including children, young adults, the middle-aged crowd, and some elderly folks, with a mix of whites, blacks, Asians, and "coloureds" (it's an accepted term here, I'm not being politically incorrect!) all sitting side-by-side. I was awestruck by how far South African society has come, as evidenced by the congregation.

Dr. Storey's sermon was incredible and passionate. He preached on the Wesleyan tradition of salvation by grace with a push for compassion and social justice work. He called for the middle-class Protestants to stop being complacent and start working to end inequality and poverty in southern Africa. I was impressed by his ability to tie together Scripture, church history, and zeal for social change. He reminded us of the incredible revival John Wesley caused in England during the Industrial Revolution, which featured conditions of inequality similar to those caused by globalization and post-colonial conditions today.

The sermon made me uncomfortable. I always feel guilty about existing in my comfortable, American, middle-class surroundings when there are people in the world who are starving and living in terrible conditions. My everyday life is so insulated from the pain of others. In the U.S. I can stay in my comfortable house, my safe subdivision, my friendly neighborhood, my privileged campus, without seeing people in need. I can avoid thinking about the millions of people in desperate poverty all around the world, who have no homes or food. I know that I can't give up all that I have, stop my education, and run off to help people. I can't stop the global trends and institutions that are allowing this desolation to exist. Yet I can't remain in my comfortable life and pretend the situation doesn't exist either. As the Epistle to James suggests, how can I pray for people and say "God Bless" without seeing to their needs? I don't have an answer. I just have passion, hope, and faith.