Two weeks ago I attended a powerful service in Harlem, New York. This Sunday I decided to experience Caribbean Christianity in my local paradise village in Trinidad. Everyone in this country seems full of life and joy, and so I expected this to reflect on their Christian practice.
It did not.
The priest in the local Catholic Church is a tired, old white man from England (the last colonial power here) who did not seem able to mobilize any passion for the gospel he presented. The congregation consisted mainly of well dressed black people, and though they were sitting nicely at the benches, I felt no connection between the priest and the people. No sparks. No smiles. No spirit.
It was a classic service with songs, prayers, readings and a sermon. Today’s text was about Jesus flying off to heaven and included the mission statement, and the priest used this as a chance to complain about a lack of people’s engagement in the church and our Christian mission. Mentioning that;
- During the last year there had been NO newly baptized in the congregation
- The children in his church school DON´T even know what the word sacrament means
- And the annual harvest market must be CANCELLED if no more people are willing to help
The priest realized that his church had lost connection to the society and admitted that the village people would rather gather in front of loud missioners on the street “yelling simple statements in his loudspeakers with a rather shallow theology”. But instead of offering suggestions of what to do, he just tiredly stated the problems leaving everyone in the room feeling quite uncomfortable.
That is what happened in the church without passion.