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| 1842: Cristiana Evangélica, La Gomera, Canary Islands |
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Mystery Worshipper:
Chris Teean.
The church:
Cristiana Evangélica, La Gomera, Canary Islands.
Denomination:
Independent Evangelical.
The building:
The church meets on an outside terrace by the three storey clubhouse
at El Balcon de Santa Ana, one of the properties of the Holiday
Property Bond, a timeshare management organisation. Constructed
some eight years ago, the building houses a reception area,
restaurant, bar, and leisure facilities, and looks out over
swimming pools to the Atlantic Ocean.
The church:
Services are held on the first and third Sunday of the month
and feature visiting preachers, the aim being to give holidaymakers
an opportunity to worship in English. It was only by pure chance
that I saw a notice earlier in the day that read: "Church
Service. Come and sing your favourite hymns. Everyone welcome."
The neighbourhood:
El Balcon de Santa Ana is built on a high cliff overlooking
the Atlantic Ocean near Playa de Santiago on the island of La
Gomera in the Canary Islands. It is a paradise of villas, apartments,
pools and leisure facilities fronted by extensive botanical
gardens.
The cast:
Barbara Clayton, a retired nurse and missionary.
The date & time:
Sunday, 4 October 2009, 6.00pm.
What was the name of the service?
Church Service.
How full was the building?
We were outside and there were 11 of us in the congregation.
Did anyone welcome you personally?
Yes. When I approached the group, Barbara welcomed me with:
"Come and join us if you want to praise our Lord Jesus
Christ."
Was your pew comfortable?
It was a comfortable rattan bar chair.
How would you describe the pre-service
atmosphere?
Quiet, friendly chat.
What were the exact opening words of the
service?
"We’ll begin with a reading of Psalm 100."
What books did the congregation
use during the service?
Complete Mission Praise and The New Testament with
Psalms.
What musical instruments
were played?
A keyboard, played effortlessly by Barbara.
Did anything distract you?
The sun was shining in my eyes.
Was the worship stiff-upper-lip, happy clappy, or
what?
Although we didn’t actually clap and dance, the worship was
definitely veering in that direction. Barbara bubbled over
with her effusive prayers of praise and thanks to the Lord Jesus
Christ. We recited the Lord's Prayer, after which Barbara
asked us where we were from and told us a little about herself.
At one point I am sure she mentioned she was nine years old
in 1933, which, by my calculation, makes her 85! She read us
passages from St Mark’s gospel and the first epistle of St John.
She played the keyboard with effortless precision and sang in
a clear, sweet soprano voice. Apart from "Amazing Grace"
I wasn’t familiar with the other four hymns, but they were easy
to pick up.
Exactly how long was the sermon?
8 minutes.
On a scale of 1-10, how good was the preacher?
9 – Barbara spoke clearly without any notes. It seemed
to come straight from her heart.
In a nutshell, what was the sermon
about?
She related to her earlier reading from Mark about the blind
Bartimaeus, whose sight Jesus restored because Bartimaeus had
so much faith in him. After that Bartimaeus became a follower
of Jesus, who is our Saviour and the Light. Barbara loved
blind Bartimaeus because of his faith and trust in Jesus.
Which part of the service was like being in
heaven?
Just listening to Barbara preach and pray so fervently.
She absolutely radiated her love for Jesus.
And which part was like being in... er... the other place?
We could have done without the loud pop music that emanated
from the restaurant above us. Luckily our service was drawing
to a close.
What happened when you hung around after the service looking lost?
We all conversed about our own backgrounds and helped Barbara
to pack up her keyboard and books into various bags. Then we
carried her bags back to her car.
How would you describe the after-service
coffee?
I had a most congenial glass of wine back on the balcony of my apartment.
How would you feel about making this church your regular (where 10 = ecstatic, 0 = terminal)?
9 – I am looking forward to repeating this experience when I next come here on holiday.
Did the service make you feel glad to be a
Christian?
Undoubtedly. This was a new experience for me to encounter someone with such an overflowing and infectious love of Jesus Christ.
What one thing will you remember about all this in seven days' time?
That amazing bubbling 85-year-old lady whizzing off in her little
red car, probably singing her heart out proclaiming her love
for Jesus. |
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| The Mystery Pilgrim |
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| One of our most seasoned reporters makes the Camino pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. Read here. |
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