A Most Unusual Sermon

You all know that wherever we travel, Tim and I try and find a local church to attend, and Savusavu is no exception.  This time it’s an AOG (Assembly of God) Church just down the hill from bulavista.   Ana, who cleans and tidies bulavista is a parishioner, along with her whole family, and tells us that things get underway at 11 a.m.

Things are apparently well underway when we show up our first Sunday, and there is no slinking into a back row unnoticed.  The pastor stops his remarks mid-sentence, welcomes us warmly, and insists we take the seats of honor right in the front row (no sneaking out early!).  Then we have to introduce ourselves, and the pastor invites us to ‘testify’.  Well okay now, this is a new one.  Paul and Debbie politely decline the invitation (chickens!!) and then it’s our turn.   Neither Tim nor I are shy or uncomfortable speaking in front of a group and being regular churchgoers, don’t have any difficulty ‘testifying’.  Paul and Debbie, didn’t slither under our wooden bench in cringing embarassment so it couldn’t have been too bad. 

A hymn or two later and we’re into the sermon.  The pastor moves easily between English and Fijian and in one of those seques, Tim and I look at each other – did we really just hear what we think we heard??  Did the pastor just call Mary ‘easy’?  We can’t even look at Paul and Debbie – we can feel the bench shaking with their suppressed giggles.  The pastor went on to praise the Fijians for all the ways they’d modernized in the last 100 or so years including the renouncing of cannibalism (wonder if that was a Lent sort of thing).  Well okay – that certainly is progress in anyone’s book!

After the service we have to meet everyone and take photos.  (Why do I think Paul is musing:  'Jesus Saves . . . at the Royal Bank of Scotland?)

We’re all invited to the AOG New Year’s Eve party.  It's a six-hour celebration,  the first five or so are devoted to cooking (??); I think we’ll be taking a bye on this particular festivity!  A few discreet questions and we clarified the pastor’s characterization of Mary.  Her ‘easy’ nature had nothing to do with her moral state; he was describing her willingness to accept God’s plan for her.  Whew – glad we straightened that out!  PS - did you notice the skirt??

Ana and her three beautiful children and her 'adopted' Dad.

Ana, two of her children, and her husband, the associate pastor, a gentle giant of a man.

A most memorable Sunday church experience. . .