Worship Haitian Style

This post written by My Dear....enjoy!

I went to a Haitian church today.  It began at 9 a.m. and was over a little after 11 a.m.  There was a lot to take in.  Before the service started a young lady (older teen) gave out awards to the church members for things like attendance and bringing your Bible.  I saw teens helping to lead in the service.  This was followed by a hymn or two. You have to enjoy those hymns.  There is such good theology in them.  Next I saw the children’s choir (ages 7-12) sing a special. The children are involved in the service.  Then there was a congregational reading. The entire church read God’s word together. There was another song and the visitors were welcomed. Visitors were asked to stand so we could be seen, no hiding in this church. The children’s choir sang another special.  Another young man, I’m guessing an older teen, gave the announcements. (More teen involvement.)  The offering followed with the adult choir singing a special. The offering plates were cloth bags with handles, so you put your hand in the bag and gave your gift.  It was done in secret.  There was a prayer before the sermon.  The prayer was probably the longest corporate prayer I had ever heard, I was not prepared for that.  I wish I could have understood his prayer.  I did hear him say repeatedly “merci” which is the French word for thank you. The Haitian church congregation sang loud and passionate.   The sermon was near the end.  It was 45 minutes of Biblical, solid preaching.  How do I know?  It was followed by a 2 minute summary of the sermon in English.  Last, a song of thanksgiving was sung. I am not sure what the song was about, but from the melody and the excitement in their voices, I assume it was a song of thanksgiving.   Creole lessons start tomorrow.  I hope to understand and comprehend more next week.