Yes, believe it or not, I went to Church on Sunday. My professor at U of M warned me that I might have to go to church, and she was right (especially as my roommate is the wife of a minister). It was a positive experience.
Things I liked about this Church included it had both Ghanaian and ex-pats, so it did not feel segregated in any way. Also, my roommate chose this Church over the one that is completely ex-pat as it is far less conservative and has a better band. The band had two electric guitars, 1 western drum set, a saxophone, and then the main singer had a phenomenal range. Mel, you'd have been impressed. Then there were about 6 young women and one young man who all sang as well, not as beautifully but definitely still enjoyable.
The Methodists are interesting as they rotate ministers and have one pastor. I think it's all very democratic. There were multiple small readings from the bible and one longer sermon. It was a longer service for me but short for Ghana, as it was only 1.5 hours long instead of 3-4. I started checking the time after the first 30 minutes as that's when the band stopped playing and the sermon's started.
As for content, I was hoping the minister would speak of ethics or philosophy. To question what is right and wrong, and then how to best rationalize the best answers. This was not so, as the sermon was mostly about faith and the need to sacrifice to demonstrate one's faith. The content, as promised by my roommate, was not too controversial. The only line I had a problem with was when the pastor said no one should be ashamed of their faith, "especially we Christians ." I was sensitive to the fact it puts other religions in a slightly pejorative stance. But to be fair, as far as controversy goes, this statement was quite mild. Especially when I compare it to political associations in the US; at home, the party line must all conform! So I suppose I should not fault the pastor.
I may go to Church again; we shall see.
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