Of course, it's only after I said yes that I found out we had to leave the house at 7am. And of course, God chose today to keep the sun from coming out, so that the entire day was not only cold, it was wet with rain too.
The Iglesia ni Cristo members in my town assemble in the gym of a pubic school in Canterbury. All of them are Filipinos, apart from one Spanish old man. Today happened to be the church's Thanksgiving to end the daily prayer the members had to attend at church everyday at 730pm for the past month. Hentji says they were made to pray everyday in preparation for the sect's 95th anniversary, which falls tomorrow. I imagine the celebration to be tantamount to the Catholics' election of a new Pope. In the Philippines, the date has been declared a non-working holiday. No such luck here, but people aren't going to work or school anyway. As one member asked rhetorically, "If judgment day comes tomorrow, could I say I was at work?"
As much as I'm tempted to, I don't want to elaborate on what I saw today and the differences of their ways with my church's. I like to think I keep an open mind, and I respect other people's religions so long as they don't start bashing mine. But I hope I'm not violating some ethical code when I share two observations that startled me the most. The first would be how well-dressed one has to be to attend their Sunday service. I thought the dress code for women is a long-sleeved, high necked blouse and a long skirt. For men, whatever as long as they are wearing pants. But in that church, an unwitting passerby might take the assembly for a really early cocktail party.
The second observation is I've seen churches where there's too much singing; some churches have too much dancing. Catholic churches have too much "please stand" and "please sit" intervals. This church has too much crying. The Iglesia ni Cristo "mass" commences with five songs of praise. Halfway through the first stanza of the first song, four member of the choir were already howling. Soon, all the choir members were crying. A short time later, the male deacons started crying too, and in the "audience", all around me handkerchiefs came flying out of pockets and quivering voices tried to stay in tune amid sniffles and loud blowing of noses. The deacons took their turns with the mic, and it never failed; each one would cry in the middle of an impassioned speech or prayer, and then everyone would cry again. I really can't understand it. I mean, praying made me cry sometimes. Going to church made me cry at the part when I'm on my knees and I'm talking to God. But the members of this church sing the same songs every mass, yet the same lyrics make them bawl every time? The deacons appeared to have memorized their speeches and prayers too. Yet they burst to tears after uttering them sentence by sentence? Either I'm stupid and destined for hell or there really is something I need to get here.
After mass and eyes were dried off, they had a group picture taking. I decided to step out since I'm not a member. Outside the gym, it was effing freezing. I couldn't wait to get back inside where it was nice and warm. But I kept my resolve even though it was so cold that my teeth were chattering, my insides were shaking, and it hurt to move my joints. I refuse to believe God was sending me a message.
There was cook out after that. People brought food, portable stoves, pans, thermos for coffee, etc. Right there outside the gym, the men cooked scrambled eggs, a potful of chowder, asado, fried chicken, fried rice, and some people brought bread, Nutella and cassava. This happens every Sunday but I was told there was more food today because it's Thanksgiving.
It felt awful and exciting to be an outsider. Hentji made sure I was introduced to everyone, and I found I did pique everyone's intrigue. I doubt, though, that they're going to take a shot at conversion.
It's an awful thought not having a similar community to help me feel like home. They offer everything from company to advice, from assistance in seeking a job to protection from discrimination. But I know those are wrong reasons for wanting to belong. I'm quite happy with my faith and my relationship with my God.
Tonight, I was invited to a housewarming party of one of the church members. More food and more chance to meet potential friends. Their acceptance of me is really heart warming. The downside of it all, however, is I'm obliged now to attend their celebration tomorrow out of everyone's insistence. Are they being nice or is this the beginning of conversion efforts, after all?
