Yesterday, April 25, I had the opportunity to travel to the northside of Cairo to Shubra. (April 25 is Sinai Liberation Day, and though an Egyptian holiday, Zeke's school did not let out due to its proximity to the upcoming Easter holidays--so, the rest of the family could not make this trip).
Our predecessors have always had a strong presence of support and involvement with this congregation as it is the closest of the national Church of God congregations. We, however, had not yet been to Shubra during our time in Egypt--not because of lack of desire, but because they were in a process of receiving a new young pastor and his family, and we did not want our presence to lead to any confusion. We have known and interacted with the candidate, but this was just prudent.
Pastor Michael, formerly trained and working as a Pharmacist, was mentored by Pastor Latif in Alexandria (also a Pharmacist by trade). Pastor Michael worked through his ordination process with the national Church of God after receiving his calling to pastoral ministry, and served alongside of Pastor Latif. Once his ordination process was complete, the opportunity to serve the Church of God in Shubra arose. He spent 6 months traveling back and forth to Shubra with Pastor Latif as an observer to his initial service; and then spent 6 months in Shubra with his family under an unsupervised trial. At the conclusion of this latter 6 month period, both Pastor Michael's family and the Shubra congregation had the opportunity to make a decision on whether or not to make the role official.
Pastor Michael is a gifted musician, speaks English well, and is passionate about his faith. He was of course confirmed to be the next Pastor at Shubra. He called to invite me to come speak at Shubra now that the process was finished, but due to scheduling conflicts on each end, we have had to delay that until May 12; and, Pastor Michael invited me to attend the "Installation" service, of which he said an official invitation from the national Church of God would be coming (and it did by way of a phone call 3 days ago) ;)
An "Installation" service has always struck me as a funny name--it's like the pastor was some sort of appliance. Though largely ceremonial, they do serve a purpose in affirming the Pastor and the congregation of the calling, but also an opportunity to remind the pastor and the congregation of the responsibilities that come with that calling. In the US, installation services are usually attended by pastors of the same denomination who are near enough to attend, and sometimes pastors from other churches in the community will be invited; in smaller communities, I have also known community officials, like the mayor, to be invited as well. During the service, there are usually scripture readings, prayers, words of encouragement and challenge, a charge to the pastor, a charge to the congregation, maybe a brief sermon, and a commissioning prayer--and, of course, there's usually a reception following so that everyone can consecrate the event with food!
So, that's what I was expecting when I went to the "Installation" service for Pastor Michael at Shubra.
I had low expectations!
The church was decorated with white flowers, and ribbons, and other decorations as if for a wedding--which is actually an appropriate metaphor. Any congregation member who was helping to serve in some capacity were wearing black pants and white shirts, and they were quite busy in a variety of different tasks.
I was directed to the courtyard for refreshments, and then redirected to where the pastors were gathering. There were a ton of pastors--easily more than a dozen in the small room, and most whom I did not recognize. There were several wearing robes, and others with collars. By the time we got into the service, I came to find that the representation of various evangelical churches was quite diverse with at least 30 different pastors who had travelled from all across the country to participate.
The service began with a song before the procession of pastors--as we marched in together, the music was celebratory. I was just invited to attend, and so I started to sit in the front row with a couple of pastors who were beside me in line, but then I was ushered to the stage where a seat was waiting with my name in English. Though I felt a bit uncomfortable to be given such a prestigious seat, it gave me a great view of the full sanctuary.
Then came time for the introduction and procession of Pastor Michael and his family. The brief video clip in the movie below does not give credit to the volume, the excitement, and the spirit of the room -- I've seen parades and ceremonies for national champions with less fanfare. During the video, there are also pictures of Pastor Ishak, Pastor Latif, and Pastor Amir who all serve on the national Executive Committee.
Next came the service, full of praise songs, and pastoral greetings / meditations, and prayers. Representatives from the national Evangelical Council of Churches came in gave their greetings and remarks, and then had to leave -- pastors from throughout the room were called to the stage one by one -- 2 or 3 pastors, and then 2 or 3 songs. Pastors from the stage, pastors from the front rows, pastors who appeared out of nowhere from backstage rooms, and pastors who arrived late and were sitting among the congregation. The whole time, two different camera teams were roaming the congregation and stage videoing the event, while a half dozen photographers were also documenting every presentation and person participating.
After about an hour and half, we had the charge to the Pastor, answered affirmatively by Pastor Michael. Cushions were brought from the back so that he and his wife could kneel on the stage; their son, about 2 years old, sat cutely in front of them, amazingly still for this part of the service as the pastors on stage gathered around in a commissioning prayer. At the conclusion of this prayer, the festive music and shouts of the congregation renewed--all the pastors hugging and greeting Pastor Michael as the band played and congregation cheered. In the middle of the celebration, a pastoral robe was brought out and placed on Michael, leading to more cheers, and then a new Bible presented to him.
At this point, nearly two hours into the service, I'm thinking we're wrapping up -- no, not quite.
After a song, more pastors were called to the stage to share. The more pastors who spoke, the more nervous I got because I was not asked to do anything, yet I was getting the strong suspicion that I would also be called to give remarks. Now, I've been trained to always be prepared to speak for any occasion, but when you have to rely on an interpreter, your preparation is a bit different; again, I was only asked to show up, none of the national Church leaders had said anything prior to the service, and I didn't even have a program. I borrowed one of the programs from a pastor sitting behind me and began quickly scanning the list of what appeared to be names and an order of service--there, near the end, was the Arabic transliteration of my name.
Sure enough, as the service continued, I was introduced, and another pastor sitting in the congregation was also introduced to come interpret for me -- though we had not met we both approached the microphones together as he whispered to me, "is this the first time you've used an interpreter?" Fortunately, it was not and I was able to issue a challenge to the congregation simply and easily translated--the hardest part being the name "Charles Spurgeon" who apparently was unknown to the translator.
By the time the service ended, it was well over three hours. It concluded with a few brief, appreciative remarks from Pastor Michael before he led one last congregational song. Then, Pastor Michael and his family led the procession of pastors out of the sanctuary--and if I thought it was loud and festive going in, it was 10x so on the way out!
While the congregation shared a lunch in the courtyard, the pastors were taken to a specially prepared hall for their own private meal. I sat with Church of God and Assembly of God pastors for the meal before leaving to speak to a few young leaders that I had seen in attendance. It was quite a day.
Pray for Pastor Michael and his family as they build on this enthusiastic start to their ministry in Shubra...
and, continue to Pray for Egypt.
 |
| Commissioning Prayer |
Our predecessors have always had a strong presence of support and involvement with this congregation as it is the closest of the national Church of God congregations. We, however, had not yet been to Shubra during our time in Egypt--not because of lack of desire, but because they were in a process of receiving a new young pastor and his family, and we did not want our presence to lead to any confusion. We have known and interacted with the candidate, but this was just prudent.
Pastor Michael, formerly trained and working as a Pharmacist, was mentored by Pastor Latif in Alexandria (also a Pharmacist by trade). Pastor Michael worked through his ordination process with the national Church of God after receiving his calling to pastoral ministry, and served alongside of Pastor Latif. Once his ordination process was complete, the opportunity to serve the Church of God in Shubra arose. He spent 6 months traveling back and forth to Shubra with Pastor Latif as an observer to his initial service; and then spent 6 months in Shubra with his family under an unsupervised trial. At the conclusion of this latter 6 month period, both Pastor Michael's family and the Shubra congregation had the opportunity to make a decision on whether or not to make the role official.
Pastor Michael is a gifted musician, speaks English well, and is passionate about his faith. He was of course confirmed to be the next Pastor at Shubra. He called to invite me to come speak at Shubra now that the process was finished, but due to scheduling conflicts on each end, we have had to delay that until May 12; and, Pastor Michael invited me to attend the "Installation" service, of which he said an official invitation from the national Church of God would be coming (and it did by way of a phone call 3 days ago) ;)
An "Installation" service has always struck me as a funny name--it's like the pastor was some sort of appliance. Though largely ceremonial, they do serve a purpose in affirming the Pastor and the congregation of the calling, but also an opportunity to remind the pastor and the congregation of the responsibilities that come with that calling. In the US, installation services are usually attended by pastors of the same denomination who are near enough to attend, and sometimes pastors from other churches in the community will be invited; in smaller communities, I have also known community officials, like the mayor, to be invited as well. During the service, there are usually scripture readings, prayers, words of encouragement and challenge, a charge to the pastor, a charge to the congregation, maybe a brief sermon, and a commissioning prayer--and, of course, there's usually a reception following so that everyone can consecrate the event with food!
So, that's what I was expecting when I went to the "Installation" service for Pastor Michael at Shubra.
I had low expectations!
The church was decorated with white flowers, and ribbons, and other decorations as if for a wedding--which is actually an appropriate metaphor. Any congregation member who was helping to serve in some capacity were wearing black pants and white shirts, and they were quite busy in a variety of different tasks.
I was directed to the courtyard for refreshments, and then redirected to where the pastors were gathering. There were a ton of pastors--easily more than a dozen in the small room, and most whom I did not recognize. There were several wearing robes, and others with collars. By the time we got into the service, I came to find that the representation of various evangelical churches was quite diverse with at least 30 different pastors who had travelled from all across the country to participate.
The service began with a song before the procession of pastors--as we marched in together, the music was celebratory. I was just invited to attend, and so I started to sit in the front row with a couple of pastors who were beside me in line, but then I was ushered to the stage where a seat was waiting with my name in English. Though I felt a bit uncomfortable to be given such a prestigious seat, it gave me a great view of the full sanctuary.
Then came time for the introduction and procession of Pastor Michael and his family. The brief video clip in the movie below does not give credit to the volume, the excitement, and the spirit of the room -- I've seen parades and ceremonies for national champions with less fanfare. During the video, there are also pictures of Pastor Ishak, Pastor Latif, and Pastor Amir who all serve on the national Executive Committee.
Next came the service, full of praise songs, and pastoral greetings / meditations, and prayers. Representatives from the national Evangelical Council of Churches came in gave their greetings and remarks, and then had to leave -- pastors from throughout the room were called to the stage one by one -- 2 or 3 pastors, and then 2 or 3 songs. Pastors from the stage, pastors from the front rows, pastors who appeared out of nowhere from backstage rooms, and pastors who arrived late and were sitting among the congregation. The whole time, two different camera teams were roaming the congregation and stage videoing the event, while a half dozen photographers were also documenting every presentation and person participating.
After about an hour and half, we had the charge to the Pastor, answered affirmatively by Pastor Michael. Cushions were brought from the back so that he and his wife could kneel on the stage; their son, about 2 years old, sat cutely in front of them, amazingly still for this part of the service as the pastors on stage gathered around in a commissioning prayer. At the conclusion of this prayer, the festive music and shouts of the congregation renewed--all the pastors hugging and greeting Pastor Michael as the band played and congregation cheered. In the middle of the celebration, a pastoral robe was brought out and placed on Michael, leading to more cheers, and then a new Bible presented to him.
At this point, nearly two hours into the service, I'm thinking we're wrapping up -- no, not quite.
After a song, more pastors were called to the stage to share. The more pastors who spoke, the more nervous I got because I was not asked to do anything, yet I was getting the strong suspicion that I would also be called to give remarks. Now, I've been trained to always be prepared to speak for any occasion, but when you have to rely on an interpreter, your preparation is a bit different; again, I was only asked to show up, none of the national Church leaders had said anything prior to the service, and I didn't even have a program. I borrowed one of the programs from a pastor sitting behind me and began quickly scanning the list of what appeared to be names and an order of service--there, near the end, was the Arabic transliteration of my name.
Sure enough, as the service continued, I was introduced, and another pastor sitting in the congregation was also introduced to come interpret for me -- though we had not met we both approached the microphones together as he whispered to me, "is this the first time you've used an interpreter?" Fortunately, it was not and I was able to issue a challenge to the congregation simply and easily translated--the hardest part being the name "Charles Spurgeon" who apparently was unknown to the translator.
By the time the service ended, it was well over three hours. It concluded with a few brief, appreciative remarks from Pastor Michael before he led one last congregational song. Then, Pastor Michael and his family led the procession of pastors out of the sanctuary--and if I thought it was loud and festive going in, it was 10x so on the way out!
While the congregation shared a lunch in the courtyard, the pastors were taken to a specially prepared hall for their own private meal. I sat with Church of God and Assembly of God pastors for the meal before leaving to speak to a few young leaders that I had seen in attendance. It was quite a day.
Pray for Pastor Michael and his family as they build on this enthusiastic start to their ministry in Shubra...
and, continue to Pray for Egypt.
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