In town the other day, A. asked whether I would come to church with her on Friday. I agreed, wanting a new experience. I guess the Friday evening service might have tipped me off that it was not a mainstream denomination, but I only found out this afternoon that they were Jehovah’s Witnesses!
Pentecostals, Mormons, Seventh-Day Adventists and Jehovah’s Witnesses make up a much higher proportion of populations in sub-Saharan Africa than they do in the United States or any developed country, even though all of them began as American movements. They are among the newest breeds of Christianity, and also among those that proselytize the most, operating extensively in the developing world; fully 11% of Rwanda’s population is Adventist, and the 26% that is Protestant likely includes a lot of these newer denominations.
The role of missionaries in the recent history of the developing world is complex and multifaceted. For a very cynical view, find a theater running “The Book of Mormon”; for a much more sympathetic one, see the film “The Mission.” The problem that I have is that proselytization requires the conviction that one worldview is enough better than all the others that it should be spread at their expense. In other respects, however, missionaries have historically shown much more respect for their “target” populations than have others, namely businessmen, settlers or governments, recognizing early on that human beings are innately equal—which, of course, is why they have to be saved.
The situation is a little bit different in recent years, as most missionaries today are likely proselytizing not to followers of small-scale local belief systems, but to Christians or Muslims. The inherent problem of telling someone your believes are better is still there, but I feel at least a little better about it knowing that it is probably not itself eradicating something else.
Rwanda’s precolonial religion was subsumed by Christianity long ago. The religiously interesting part of Rwanda’s colonial history is that it was colonized first by Germany and then, after the latter’s colonies were repossessed following World War I, by Belgium. As a result, probably unlike many African countries, it has substantial populations of both Protestants (26%, from the Germans) and Catholics (57%, from the Belgians).
Anyway. The service. I cannot comment on the theology very much, as I did not understand much of what was happening. They all talk so fast, and they even seem to read really fast—I had to race to follow the words on the page, forget about understanding them! Singing I could do. Mostly. I am not used to giving most of my attention to the tune and only looking at the words a couple of times per line or so; this was like singing from the verses that won’t fit between the staves, except for the whole song.
It was a different environment than what I am used to. The building was not constructed much like a church, though it functioned fine as one; it was a large room, with several doors but a low ceiling and a slightly raised stage at the front. There was a podium in the middle. It seated fourteen rows of four, six and four folding chairs in each row. Eyeballing it, they appeared to be about 85–90% full, with some people standing in the back, so there were probably in the range of 175 members in attendance.
I was the only white guy. Everyone noticed me, but I was surprised how uncomfortable I didn’t feel.
The structure of the service was also much different from what I am used to. Take all of this with a grain of salt, because I didn’t actually know what anyone was saying, but in between straining to understand I at least tried to figure out what was happening.
A lot of the service seemed to revolve around reading passages from the Bible and then responding to them. There was a newsletter that everyone had that listed readings and lessons for the day; when the pastor prompted, he would choose a congregant whose hand was raised to read the passage, anywhere from one verse to a whole page. The pastor would then ask a question, and people would raise their hands to answer. A lot of people raised their hands. There were three hymns; that was the most familiar part of the whole service.
Everyone had their own materials: a Bible, a hymnal, some kind of book of lessons that we turned to at some point, the lectionary-ish newsletter thing.
Another unusual feature of the service was a series of little skits that were performed by two congregants at the front of the room. I think the lectionary laid out some topics to be discussed, and the actors planned or improvised to illustrate them; people thought they were really funny, though of course it was all lost on me.
One thing that appeared to be missing was a sermon. I did not notice any extended period of speech by the pastor (as I have been calling him, though I do not know whether there is a better way), the service rather being divided into three-ish parts that each had a different theme.
Afterward, there was a brief, informal social time as people got their things together. I didn’t know anyone, but I guess I stood out so lots of people came and said hello to me. The children, especially, all wanted to shake my hand and then walk away. Some of adults I had met before; most I hadn’t. All of them said how much they appreciated my coming to join them. The next question was, 90% of the time, (a) “What is your name?”, (b) “Where are you from?” or (c) “Will you come back next time?” A few times the conversation got further than that, but still small-talk.
Interesting experience. It is kind of funny that my first real experience with Jehovah’s Witnesses, an American sect, is on the other side of the world. A couple of times, someone took a booklet out his bag and held it out to me, but it was only to see whether I could read the Kinyarwanda title. I don’t want to convert, but I am interested in new things and the people are so nice. I hope I can keep coming and feel unpressured, as I did today. I would be very proud of myself if, by the end of my time here, I can understand what is going on in one of those services.
I tripped and fell on the way there. I caught myself pretty well, but it is relevant because I think my phone fell out of my pocket then, which I didn’t notice until later. Perhaps it will still be there tomorrow; otherwise, I guess I will have to buy a new one. Ah well.
New Vocabulary Words for the Day
- Abahámyâ ba Yehova: Jehovah’s Witnesses
- idiîni: religion (from Ar. din, via Swahili)
Vowels with an acute accent (e.g. á) have a phonetic high tone. Vowels with a circumflex (e.g. â) have a phonetic falling tone. Vowels with no accent have a low tone. Vowels that are doubled are long.
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