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.
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