Graham one of our Church Members has sent his impressions of Palm Sunday in Nairobi which are printed below. You may also like to look at his posts from his previous visit which can be found by following these links.
Grahams First Post
Graham second post
Grahams 3rd post
Grahams Final Post
Palm Sunday was a rather grand affair at Lavington; the Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church in Kenya was there for the entire morning [he took three services in a row] together with his predecessor and the resplendent Conference Secretary and an array of Supers and other fully robed clergy – I lost count at about 45 of them! They were a very jolly bunch and the 1130 service started a bit late as the assembled Bishops, clergy and the entire congregation processed behind a donkey around the church perimeter before turning full circle and entering the sanctuary [but not the donkey]. It took a while. The church was liberally decorated with palm fronds and we also each received one small frond.
The Superintendent welcomed his honoured guests and handed over to the new Bishop of Nairobi [his predecessor had finished his two 4-year terms and had retired] who then introduced himself and then introduce the Presiding Bishop who then introduced every one of his clergy assembled! This took some time. Each of the clergy turned to the congregation and there was general waving and joy to those with spouses in the congregation who were asked to stand up so we could see the many clergy-spouses there. It was interesting that several clergy who spoke had begun by saying that they ‘were saved in Christ’ or words to that effect [including Bishops] – an approach not often seen in the UK and rather refreshing. Al the hymns were modern-ish and could be found in our Singing the Faith and – sung by a huge noisy congregation – was very uplifting. You felt you were part of a large and very special event.
As often at Lavington, the choir led much of the service with much impassioned and lengthy extemporary prayers by the Choir Leader and lots of clapping during the service when anything celebratory was mentioned. As you could imagine, this all took time and it was followed by Communion where we filed to six located stations were Bishop and senior clergy were distributing the elements. I formed the impression that LUC is the largest congregation in Nairobi and probably in Kenya and it had a reputation for being an outgoing church and a generous C-church, supporting many issues in the country and beyond. They have a couple of mission in prospect at present, one in the local area and the other to Malawi! I am quite sure that, although not seen on Sundays, there must be a well-oiled business machinery running such large organisation and developing on so many fronts at the same time. The service ended at 1415!
My neighbour in church told me that the church sanctuary fund at about 31 million KSHs [around £225,000] was to enable LUC to build a new sanctuary across the entire plot, complete with an underground car park. The funds were built mainly on congregation pledges – I guess they pledged to give regularly or lump sums within a given period]. The funding barometer outside the church is growing as we speak! Every week the congregation is told how much is now in the Sanctuary Fund, how much in the current account and how much was taken in the last week, analysed by source –it is all put up on the screen and the Minister [or Super if he is there] describes progress, not only in monetary terms but also in people terms – how many were at Junior Church that day [about 250-2300 most weeks] and what the ladies were doing, the men’s groups and the many young people activities. From an early age, they want and expect young people to grow in the Church and take part in activities.
I hope you like the pictures of the ceremonies and the sanctuary. Remember, the overflow is such that always some have to sit outside underneath the sheets, projecting people from the hot sun.
