Salut,
So for this update, I have a
variety of thoughts and observations, so I will divide them up with headers. :)
Sacré-Cœur
“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh
day is a Sabbath of the Lord your God” – Exodus 20:8-10a
When people hear the word
Sabbath, they typically think Sundays.
However, Sundays are not all that restful for people who work in the
church. Restorative, yes, but it can
still be very draining. This is why our
designated day of Sabbath is on Monday.
Mondays are usually days that I like to go explore the city or get lost
in the gardens and woods. On Monday the
23rd, I decided to visit Sacré-Cœur. I had been here before on my last visit to
Paris, but it was very quick and with a nonbeliever, so it was difficult to
appreciate the church. This time, I had
time to sit, reflect on the week, and pray.
As soon as I walked in, I noticed multiple signs for donations, to pay for prayer candles, to buy souvenir pressed euros, and there was even a souvenir shop in
the middle of the church. I was a little
irritated by this, but didn’t know why.
I entered through a little gate leading to the center of the church where
a sign specified that this was a prayer designated area and asked for no
photos. I sat down in a pew in the front
and looked up to see a large painting of Jesus on the ceiling. As I am trying to pray, I noticed
that people are constantly entering that area to take pictures, even though
they were specifically asked not to. Not
only was this very distracting, but people were also talking very loudly in the
souvenir shop and around the rest of the church. These people had come as a tourist to view
the church as a historic landmark and had no inclination that Sacré-Cœur was
still a functioning church.
Then I realized why all of this bothered me so much. Summit Church recently gave a message taught
by Josh Keels on Matthew 21:12-17, a passage most famously known for Jesus
getting angry and flipping tables. But
why does he do this? Josh explained that
Jesus was upset with how the Temple was being utilized. People would set up markets in the Temple to
sell goods, such as selling goats for sacrifices. Similarly, Sacré-Cœur was being used for
monetary gain. This is exactly what the churches in touristy areas are doing.
They are setting up a market in a house of praise. After Sacré-Cœur, I decided to stop by Notre
Dame because there were no lines to get in.
I sat in on some of a service going on at that time, and tourists were
taking pictures WITH FLASH. Many of these people were outside the short gate but still in the front of the church taking flashing pictures of the singer and even the congregation. I am not saying taking pictures is bad.
Of course I took pictures, but I recognized the purpose of the church
and ensured that my taking pictures would not interfere with the worship or the
people there. Similar to Sacré-Cœur,
there were souvenir shops set up in the back of Notre Dame. So why am I writing out my frustrations for
you all? Well, I think this is a perfect
picture of how the world views Christianity and religion. I know I shouldn’t be getting upset because
we can’t expect nonbelievers to act like believers, but it seems that the
European culture views religion as a thing of the past that we can now put on
display. They have turned churches into
historical landmarks and tourist attractions. They believe religion is not relevant but archaic.
I had a small glimpse of this last year when I came, but I am starting
to fully understand its weight. The
people here very much lack religion, but when I talk with them, it is apparent how much they are longing for and are in need of a Savior.
Running Club
On Monday, I had the
opportunity to attend my first running club event. I debated whether to join this MeetUp group
because it meets on Mondays (Sabbath) and Saturdays (English conversation and
event night). Nevertheless, I went into
Paris early Monday morning and walked around until I needed to meet the group
at Nation. About thirty-five people
showed up, and one girl found me at the beginning and introduced herself. She was born in Indonesia, but was living in
France to get her psychology PhD. Her research was in cognitive psychology and neuroscience! We immediately bonded over our interest in the
field. About halfway into the run,
another guy overheard me talking about the Grand Canyon and
interjected. He was originally from Virginia but was a fourth year medical student at John Hopkins. He was in Paris to do research on mental
health before returning and hopefully getting a residency in optometry. How perfect that the two people I meet were
interested in psychology/neuroscience and medicine? The girl and I plan on running together
during the Monday runs, and the guy is interested in going to museums in Paris
because he does not know anyone else in the city. After the run, the group had an option of
going to a café, and there I met a girl who was studying French in Paris. She recently went through
a bad breakup and openly stated she was either going to perfect her French for a U.S.
job or get married and live in France. I
told her why I was in Paris and about some of the events that we host at Genesis, and she was very interested in Trivia Night
tonight! She could not access wifi to find Genesis on MeetUp, but said she would look it up when she got home. I also invited her to French conversation group because our classes are
free, unlike most that you find on MeetUp. This morning, it was pouring rain and most of the group members cancelled, but it should be clear for Monday night's run.
Worship
There are a few reasons I
chose to be a missionary in Paris. The
spiritual darkness I experienced on my last visit, my love for the city, and a
chance to see missions apart from medicine all contributed. But a large factor was that Paris’s program description included
music ministry too! I came with the
expectation that the church would be in French, and I would be limited to just
playing keys. However, the service is
entirely in English. We discussed my
experience with worship and how I could serve on the team shortly after I
arrived in the city. They want a new
vision for worship, in which people visibly encounter the Holy Spirit every
Sunday. Well, just after leading one
Sunday and even before sending out a lengthy email with suggestions based on my
experiences, the core team met and decided to give me more of a leadership
role! I met with the main person in
charge last night, and he loved the direction I saw the church moving in and
wants me to help implement changes.
He said the timing has been perfect, ensuring that I am right where I
need to be. Additionally, the church
where I meet for an English speaking Bible study is starting an English
service. They asked me to help with
their worship and build up their team (this church and Trinity are partner
churches). I discussed with the pastor
that while I can help with worship for my last two months, it would be better
for me to work with someone else who is more permanent to take it over. Then randomly after Bible study Thursday, a girl
in my discussion group mentioned how her goal for this year is to learn how to play the
keyboard. Hopefully, we will have the
opportunity to start meeting so I can teach her how to play chords. Because she attends this church, it would be great to see her take a leadership role in worship.
Prayer Requests
-The Q&A is officially
on the calendar for February 17th!
Worship night is going to be put on the calendar soon.
-Continued prayer for the
worship team. Especially, pray for unity
of the group and ideas as we discuss ways to change worship.
-Continued prayer for the
people I am meeting with.
-Prayer for Trinity
International Church. Change in the church is
slow, but we want to see a congregation that is passionately pursuing God!
No comments:
Post a Comment