Thursday Opening Worship II

Some pictures of the worship service.  The table is spread with communion for the hundreds of people in the congregation and table cloths are spread over it.  Communion cups and trays do not have covers here, instead a white cloth covers the whole table.

A picture of our ladies in traditional wear as the whole congregation rises to sing and dance.

Rev. Ian Booth (South Africa) leads.  Allistar Arens, to his right will become General Secretary -Elect when elections are held next week. Rev. Thulani on his left is the Synod Secretary in South Africa.

Rev. Majaha, the Director of the Leadership Academy for the UCCSA.  Sorry about the really bad picture!!

Rev. Dr. Prince Dibeela, General Secretary and Rev. Basil Manning, President stand to welcome UCCSA partners.  Later Basil gave his usual inspiring sermon! Always motivating the church to aspire to new levels of God's service in bringing justice!

 This is a fun part for me.  As Prince speaks, Basil welcomes my friend Ayana McCalman, missionary from the Guyana Congregational Church through Church World Service.  She represents the organizations (UCCSA and CWS) well.

Basil is one of my favorite people in Southern Africa- and he

gives me a big hug too.  I was so proud to represent Global Ministries and the United Church of Christ and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) partnership as well as the United States of America!  It was an overwhelming honor and VERY humbling to be introduced representing GM and the USA.  (What a BIG responsibility to be the face of GM and the USA to these people- may God make me a good representative!)  People cheered for both Ayana and I and our missionary partnerships- it brought tears to my eyes.

Duly welcomed and formally honored and included in the UCCSA family!

The choir did an amazingly beautiful presentation of the Hallelujah Chorus.  I was very interested to see the instrument in the director's hand.  It is a mini-key board operated by blowing in a tube.  She used it to give them four notes to start the acapella version of the Hallelujah Chorus.  I had never seen anything like it- the instrument or the Hallelujah Chorus done without instrumentation with an entire 80? person choir.

What a beautiful and uplifting worship service!