絶望した！協会は絶望した！

After a month of settling in and getting into a groove with school, I finally found a church to go to here in Omotesando, Tokyo - Tokyo Union Church - and I think it's a great fit. Not surprisingly, a large part of my liking it stems from the fact that it is very, very similar to SMBC. Granted, SMBC isn't nestled between a Giorgio Armani and a Louis Vuitton, but that's neither here nor there. The worship services are at the exact same times and presented in an almost parallel format (8:30 being a bit more traditional and 11:00 being more contemporary). They even do the Doxology right after the offertory! I was welcomed with open arms from the moment I walked in the door and immediately chatting with four or five people who helped me get an idea about the church and its operations. I'm already in touch with people about joining the sanctuary choir, and I can't wait to get going on that. The sanctuary is much smaller than SMBC's, but it still comfortably accommodated everyone in the place.

One thing that was a bit different was that instead of coming down to the front of the sanctuary at the end of the service, newcomers were asked to stand in their spot and introduce themselves to the congregation with a microphone. It's an English-speaking congregation with people from all different countries, including many from Japan, in attendance. I just did a little spiel about myself, my home church, and I finished with the phrase, "...and I'm glad I found y'all." This led to some very interesting results. When the pastor got up to give the sermon, he started with a (supposed) tangent about how people speak differently in the American southeast, and in particular about some of the wonderful and unique words we used. Referencing my use of the word 'y'all', he talked about how it's weird that in English that there is no standardized pluralization of 'you', and how that can sometimes make reading of the bible difficult in distinguishing when the 'you' being referenced is a single or multitude. The entire sermon that followed was about the interconnectivity and plurality of the church and how while an individual relationship with God is important, equally important is the ideal of fellowship and interconnectivity between people in the church. I don't know if this is what was planned beforehand, but now a whole congregation in Tokyo has gone out from this place with the message of 'it's not just about you, but about y'all.'

We even did a little language lesson, with everyone in the congregation practicing saying 'y'all'. It was great.

More on the events of the weekend in a separate, upcoming post.

絶望した！