Planting a Mustard Seed

I have been meaning to write a post for several days now. The whole week before I’ve had plenty of moments that I’ve wanted to reflect upon and share and I really wanted to stick to my promise to myself that I would blog once a week. But there are many things that I’ve been meaning to do for the last week that can’t quiet seem to get done. Last week was particularly challenging logistically between the power not cooperating and not having reliable transportation. Then again this week the power was off for almost two days straight. So blogging got pushed down low on the priority list – OK it got shoved right off the end of the page! For good reason but that’s a story for another post. For now I’ve got a short update on some of what is happening in my ministry.

Last week was my first opportunity to engage in a training session with some of the pastors here in the East Africa Annual Conference. Most of the pastors who are leading congregations here are not ordained. One of the main reasons is education. Some of them have been able to get as far as an associate’s degree but most are lucky to have completed secondary school. And seminary training is limited to only a handful of ministers in the conference. Getting the necessary education for ordination will take years if it is possible for any of these pastors to achieve at all. So, as an interim step, the EAAC decided to provide additional training opportunities for local pastors to teach them about theology, doctrine, Methodism and leadership skills. The past two weeks were the inaugural session of a two year plan for a Bible College for local pastors. For two weeks at a time throughout the year, a small group of pastors and leaders have been invited to participate in the Bible College. The Bible College meets at Humble School, which is a primary school established by the UMC for orphaned and vulnerable children. When the school is not in session for holiday breaks, the Bible College meets using the facilities.

I didn’t find out that I was expected to teach until just over a week before the Bible College started. I was assigned Methodism. We decided that I should teach a series of courses similar to what is expected of those who are seeking ordination in the United States – a series of classes on Methodist history, theology and polity (or in other words church governance and structure). As a candidate for ordination in the US, I was expected to take the same series of courses in my seminary education. The only problem now was that I did not have any materials. The other instructors were using a predesigned curriculum that had been obtained from a local Pentecostal Bible college so I was on my own to design the course. At the same time I had already scheduled travel the week before the Bible College so by the weekend before I had only had time to identify some online resources and obtain a wealth of electronic resources from a former professor at Candler. That meant I was designing my lesson plan the night before or the day of the class I was leading.

Day one of my class, I was standing in front of 27 local church pastors from four countries most of whom spoke English as a second (or third, or fourth) language. I had a Methodist history lesson plan in hand and some trepidation of how well I would be able to communicate, whether what I had to say would be relevant and how they would perceive my teaching style. As I worked through my lecture and they asked questions I began to get a sense for how the week might unfold. I knew I was going to have to design my lesson plans each evening in response to the speed they were learning and what areas needed further background.

Not knowing much about the group before the classes began, I had to guess at what they already knew before coming to the Bible College. Many questions they asked pointed out to me areas that I needed to expand on because I designed my course assuming a certain level of background knowledge which they clearly did not have. I quickly discovered the wide variety of experience and education level in the group. What they had in common though was very little exposure to what it means to be United Methodist. For me, I had learned about the UMC by attending church in my teens and 20s while listening to preachers and leaders who had been trained in Methodist theology and practice. Many in this group were the first generation of United Methodists and they lead congregations of new Methodists. The United Methodist Church is a relatively new presence in Uganda and some of the other East African countries.

Another thing I discovered they had in common was an eagerness to learn and to do well in the course. Truthfullyn history of any kind can be a bit dry at times ,but this group was engaged and listening. My class period was late in the day so it was hot and they were tired from their other lessons earlier in the day but the questions kept coming from them. After the first reading and writing assignment I had asked them to complete, I was amazed to see how anxious they were to get their papers returned to them. They excitedly gathered around the class leader waiting to get their papers back to see what marks they had received. And the anticipation of the final exam created a good deal of stress for all of the students who really wanted to be able to show what they had learned. The value that they placed on education and learning seemed much greater than what I have seen from my peers in the US as I completed my studies. I can imagine it has to do with the scarcity of education.  Opportunities to study somewhere like a Bible College are much harder to come by and much more rare here than for students in the US. This class was only about 25 out of the approximately 500 pastors in the East Africa Annual Conference of the UMC. That means for each person who was able to attend there were 25 pastors who were not able to participate because of the budget limitations for the Bible College.

So for now I've gained more clarity about a need here but I still need to do some more work to get a better understanding of the context and the issues at hand. In the days and weeks ahead, I will be exploring how to work with the people here to help the Conference move forward with the Bible College as one piece of a larger leadership development program. While this may seem like only a small drop in a big bucket it is at least a drop that wasn't there before. I actually see it more like the parable of the mustard seed that Jesus tells about the Kingdom of God in Mark 4:30-32. The mustard seed which is the smallest of all seeds grows into the largest of all the trees in the garden with branches so large birds can perch and nest there. In this tiny seed of knowledge and education, we are giving these leaders a start of something that will grow into much more than we can ourselves imagine.

Christmas in Uganda

I moved to Uganda less than two weeks before Christmas.  While packing and getting ready to move from the US to Uganda I wondered what Christmas would be like.  I knew it wouldn’t have the usual wrappings of the Christmas season that I was used to in the US.  Christmas carols, wreaths, lights, poinsettias, greeting cards and newsletters, parties, gift exchanges, and the Christmas Eve candlelight service were things I knew would be missing from my Christmas in Uganda.   I wondered how I would experience Christmas without the usual cultural symbols and activities that make up an American Christmas.  

Before I left for Uganda I knew I would be giving up one of my favorite parts of Christmas – decorating my own tree.  This would be the first time in over eighteen years since I graduated from college that I did not have my own tree.  Out of all the Christmas decorations the most important to me is my tree and the process of decorating it.  The reason is that most of my ornaments have some special significance to me.  I have ornaments that I made for my mother and father when I was a child.  The brass ornaments etched with my name that my grandmother gave me each year tied to my Christmas present as name tags decorate my tree.  Ornaments made by my grandmother hang alongside ornaments I made with my brother and sisters.  I have ornaments that I bought from places far and near from my travels both on my own and with friends and family.  Friends gave me ornaments as special gifts.  Some ornaments I bought to hang low on the tree that would survive a random swipe from my dog’s tail.  Decorating my tree is a special time of year that I spend reflecting and remembering family and friends and how blessed I’ve been with all the wonderful people in my life.  It is a tangible representation of all the relationships that have shaped me into who I am.  It is a reminder of those present with me and those who are only with me in spirit - all together at once.   For me it means Christmas is here.  But all of those ornaments are packed up in storage.  I knew I would miss this in my move to Uganda. 

The other part of Christmas that resonates with me is the Christmas Eve candlelight singing of Silent Night.  The whole service of worship and the celebration of Holy Communion really communicate to me the meaning of Christmas.  But that moment of looking out over the congregation and seeing all the faces lit by candlelight joined in hushed awe to sing of the birth of the Christ child seems to open a window into the heart of God for me when I can really feel what God’s love means.  For Christians in Uganda, Christmas comes in the daytime, not at night.  So without my tree and without my candlelight service where was Christmas?

On Friday before Christmas I still didn’t know where I was invited to celebrate Christmas but I felt sure that my new colleagues and friends in Uganda would make sure I had somewhere to be.   By Sunday morning it was all worked out that I was to join in worship in Jinja, an hour north of my home, and that I would be picked up and transported to spend the day there.  The trip to Jinja was amazing – traveling through central Uganda past sugar and tea plantations and over lush rolling hills.  We passed by several churches on the way and there was an excitement in the air as people walked along , road on the back of boda bodas or crammed into shared taxis to go to worship in their communities.  Everyone was in their best clothes, both traditional and modern attire, many as if they were attending a formal party or wedding.  I sensed an anticipation of celebration that I’ve never experienced on my way to Christmas Eve services in the United States.

By the time we arrived at the church, the Bible study before the service was just wrapping up.  We were just in time for worship.  I think that they were waiting for us to show up before starting the service – Africa time means that starting times for services, meetings or anything else are merely suggestions depending on who is present.  They knew we were coming and would be helping to lead worship so once we appeared they decided they could begin the worship service. 

The service itself was amazing!  I am still adjusting to an entirely different style of worship since I have always been more comfortable with a traditional order of worship and traditional music.  Here praise music rules the day!  It is not worship without a rousing round of praise music both in English and in their native languages.  I didn’t know the tunes and sometimes I didn’t know the words but I couldn’t help but join in.  ME!  Yes - the one who doesn’t feel comfortable clapping in church after a wonderful anthem or inspirational soloist.  Or the one who feels closest to God in the quiet moments of a reverent prayer, in the singing of the good old Wesley hymns I’ve sung over and over again, in finding the words from the scripture reading echoing in the anthem and when the sermon ties the whole service together in a way that feels very personal to me.  There I was learning new ways to say thank you God (Webale Jesu) and doing it in song without giving it a second thought.  I was enjoying the young adults singing and dancing in church (really - dancing in church??) and laughing at the skit they performed about going to church.  It was FUN!

But there was more to it than just singing and fun.  While I have come to expect the traditional narrative about the birth story of Jesus, this worship was about celebrating that Jesus had come into the world for us.  It was amazing to hear it in the sermon, the praise music, the hymns and through the celebration of communion.  I was humbled to be asked to assist at the table for the Lord’s Supper.  Because of the lack of ordained ministers here it is incredibly rare for congregations to have communion as a part of the service and I couldn’t believe that I was being asked to assist the minister who was there for the day.  As I led the people through the liturgy for communion, I couldn’t help but think what a special time it was for this congregation to celebrate the sacrament of Holy Communion.  While I am always moved when I have the honor to serve Communion to the congregation, on this day I could actually see how God’s grace moved through the sacrament when particularly eager faces looked up at me to receive the small piece of bread to dip into the cup.  Communion was really God with us.  The symbols that represented the body and blood of Christ for each person really made a difference in the lives of these people.

A friend of mine recently commented that moving to a different place opened her up to new experiences and new ways of thinking.  I can say the same for me.  Completely removing myself from all that is familiar by immersion in an new culture has forced me into discovering new ways of doing things and pushed me out of familiar thought patterns.   Let’s face it – human nature is to be lazy at times.  The path of least resistance is very tempting.  We get comfortable in our habits and ways of thinking and we have to be intentional about challenging ourselves to grow and change.  I am lucky that while I am here to serve I also have an opportunity to grow.   So the person who came out of seminary a couple of years ago who was sure that traditional worship was the right fit for her is beginning to rethink how other forms of worship might be the right size for her at times too.  And the same one who thought that blended worship (services with both traditional and contemporary elements) just made a mess of things now can see that when this type of service grows organically out of the right context it might just fit!  When it is honest worship from the heart of the people God is there.

Where was Christmas?  Was it on a shelf in a storage unit with all of my ornaments?  Was it in the candlelight shining on each face on Christmas Eve?  Did it come in the same package as last year or show up as something unexpected?  Was it in the songs of the people praising God?  Was it in the laughter?  Was it in the eyes of those who waited to receive the elements from Communion? God came into the world anew for me in fresh thoughts, new ways of thinking and seeing again that God’s Love and Light came into the world for me and you.   I don’t know where Christmas was for you but for me Christmas was here in Uganda.