Phoebe's Sermon in Renk Cathedral, Sunday, July 8th

Phoebe R. sent the following report from Sudan on Sunday, July 8th:

I preached at Renk Cathedral this morning before a congregation of about 200 Dinka members. The service was in Dinka except for my sermon which was translated by a priest. Three priests were on the altar and the dean of the Cathedral is a woman. Men and women self-segregate in public places, with men seated on the left and women seated on the right. Very few children were present in the service. They have their own program in an adjoining building. The priests meet in the sacristy prior to the service to plan things and write out the program by hand. There are no printed bulletins for the congregation, obviously. Lots of singing and praying takes place. Prayers started at 8:30 am and we came into the church shortly before 9 am. The service lasted until 10:30 without communion. They celebrate communion every other Sunday. My sermon was 15 minutes including the translation so about 8 minutes in length. The church in Sudan does not consistently use the lectionary but the gospel reading for this morning was very appropriate. It was Jesus commissioning the 70 two by two. Since I am here with Deborah, I used the example of the two of us being from very different backgrounds but coming together in Jesus Christ to serve the church. I think the sermon was well received. Several people have said I was white since I have been here. I wanted to emphasize the fact that I am black and when I said I'm black like you in the sermon everyone clapped in the congregation. I think they liked that! Everything continues to go well. The time is going very quickly but the people are so hospitable and make sure that we have everything we need within their constraints. This trip has been such a blessing for me thus far.
Peace, Phoebe