Eventful Sabbath
After a delicious breakfast of Hagel on bread, I ventured into my first Sabbath in Holland. First was church. I didn't know what to expect going into it, but it ended up being very similar to my very own EURC.
First of all, I don't know what denomination it was. It was Reformed, and that's all I could figure out. The order of worship was identical to my home church, so there was some familiarity despite the fact that the entire service was in Dutch. One interesting thing: the elders, which consisted of six men, sat in the front of the church, off to the side on folding chairs, during the entire service. Thought that was interesting. There was also a strange break in the service, when, for about 20 seconds, nobody did anything. I thought it was time for the offering because everyone was popping a mint in their mouth, but there was no offering. I seriously think that they have a designated slot in their order of worship for popping in a Whillemina or a King peppermint. More churches should do that.
Then, immediately after church, six of us students began a "progressive dinner" in our neighborhood. First we went to one house for coffee and stroopwaffels, then a second for Pea Soup and bread, a third for Curry Chicken, Rice, etc., a fourth for yoghurt and granola, and a fifth for beer and cake. We spent about an hour at each house, and it was fun getting to know different families. Three of the families were very young couples, two of them with kids. I got off to an awesome start at the first house by asking the man what he did for a living. He hesitated, then responded that he doesn't work. He stays home with his two kids. Strike one. Well, I figured he was a black sheep, so an hour later I asked the same question of the man at the next house. I figured that since he didn't have any children, he had a job - but I was wrong. He started to stutter a few words before his wife jumped in and said that she worked three jobs. Yep. THREE. So, maybe he pulled a Mark Memmelaar, right? No, he doesn't go to school, either. Awesome. I want to be that guy - he should be commended. But it was interesting to see that three out of the five households had women bringing home the bacon. I started up a conversation with one of the wives about it, and she responded with something along the lines of, "Well, it seems to be a popular new things these days, and more and more people are doing it, so why not? It works." European philosophy and worldview in a nutshell, no joke. It's a little bit like my motto - If it feels good, do it.
Night church isn't very popular among the churches out here it seems, which is not all that surprising in a way. Not many churches take "night church" very seriously anymore. It is becoming more and more "optional." But tonight, since out host family was not going to be attending night church, we allowed another young man from the church to escort us to a "worship service" for younger people. Now I have never been to the infamous "Flood" in San Diego, but I would imagine that is very similar to this "service." It was basically a concert in a local gymnasium, packed with 5000 young Dutchies. The show of sounds, lights, and video were stunning, and they even had a professional five-camera live broadcast of the event on the "projector." The crew for the show must been around 50 people. It started with some thugged out Dutch, white rappers, backed up by two hoed-out female dancers on stage. It was ridiculous, but quite entertaining. A few praise and worship songs were next, followed by a skit, a message, an "offering" (some kids walking through the crowd with buckets - no, not KFC), and more singing. In all, it lasted over 2 hours. So, I think I'll go to an actual church next week.
But, in all, the day way a good one. One nice thing about Sundays in Zwolle is that all of the stores are closed. The only businesses open are gas stations, which I really appreciate. It's funny, because sometimes I think that if all businesses shut down in Escondido on Sundays, people wouldn't be able to make it. We just wouldn't be able to function. Well, Zwolle (a city of over 100,000) is living proof that it works. To top it off, the work week doesn't officially start until about 11:00 a.m. tomorrow. That is when most shops open again. It make Sunday nights a little less rushed, I guess.
Well, "classes" start tomorrow morning, so I'll be off to bed. Cheeri-o.
First of all, I don't know what denomination it was. It was Reformed, and that's all I could figure out. The order of worship was identical to my home church, so there was some familiarity despite the fact that the entire service was in Dutch. One interesting thing: the elders, which consisted of six men, sat in the front of the church, off to the side on folding chairs, during the entire service. Thought that was interesting. There was also a strange break in the service, when, for about 20 seconds, nobody did anything. I thought it was time for the offering because everyone was popping a mint in their mouth, but there was no offering. I seriously think that they have a designated slot in their order of worship for popping in a Whillemina or a King peppermint. More churches should do that.
Then, immediately after church, six of us students began a "progressive dinner" in our neighborhood. First we went to one house for coffee and stroopwaffels, then a second for Pea Soup and bread, a third for Curry Chicken, Rice, etc., a fourth for yoghurt and granola, and a fifth for beer and cake. We spent about an hour at each house, and it was fun getting to know different families. Three of the families were very young couples, two of them with kids. I got off to an awesome start at the first house by asking the man what he did for a living. He hesitated, then responded that he doesn't work. He stays home with his two kids. Strike one. Well, I figured he was a black sheep, so an hour later I asked the same question of the man at the next house. I figured that since he didn't have any children, he had a job - but I was wrong. He started to stutter a few words before his wife jumped in and said that she worked three jobs. Yep. THREE. So, maybe he pulled a Mark Memmelaar, right? No, he doesn't go to school, either. Awesome. I want to be that guy - he should be commended. But it was interesting to see that three out of the five households had women bringing home the bacon. I started up a conversation with one of the wives about it, and she responded with something along the lines of, "Well, it seems to be a popular new things these days, and more and more people are doing it, so why not? It works." European philosophy and worldview in a nutshell, no joke. It's a little bit like my motto - If it feels good, do it.
Night church isn't very popular among the churches out here it seems, which is not all that surprising in a way. Not many churches take "night church" very seriously anymore. It is becoming more and more "optional." But tonight, since out host family was not going to be attending night church, we allowed another young man from the church to escort us to a "worship service" for younger people. Now I have never been to the infamous "Flood" in San Diego, but I would imagine that is very similar to this "service." It was basically a concert in a local gymnasium, packed with 5000 young Dutchies. The show of sounds, lights, and video were stunning, and they even had a professional five-camera live broadcast of the event on the "projector." The crew for the show must been around 50 people. It started with some thugged out Dutch, white rappers, backed up by two hoed-out female dancers on stage. It was ridiculous, but quite entertaining. A few praise and worship songs were next, followed by a skit, a message, an "offering" (some kids walking through the crowd with buckets - no, not KFC), and more singing. In all, it lasted over 2 hours. So, I think I'll go to an actual church next week.
But, in all, the day way a good one. One nice thing about Sundays in Zwolle is that all of the stores are closed. The only businesses open are gas stations, which I really appreciate. It's funny, because sometimes I think that if all businesses shut down in Escondido on Sundays, people wouldn't be able to make it. We just wouldn't be able to function. Well, Zwolle (a city of over 100,000) is living proof that it works. To top it off, the work week doesn't officially start until about 11:00 a.m. tomorrow. That is when most shops open again. It make Sunday nights a little less rushed, I guess.
Well, "classes" start tomorrow morning, so I'll be off to bed. Cheeri-o.
posted by Aaron at 3:59 PM
6 Comments:
Do they have fights over what peppermint is better, Whillemina or King? I would, I would be in a gang, the Whillemina gang; we would go around and kick the Kings' butts. We would say things like, "Whill you try a Whillemina?" and "We Whilleminas will wreck whoever wants a whippin'."
All male elders, yes. I found out yet another interesting aspect of Dutch culture yesterday while talking to a woman from the church. I asked if they allow women elders, deacons, or pastors, and she said, "No, not right now, but I could see it happening in the next few years." The culture here seems to quickly align itself with every new trend and fad. The funny thing is that they are actually very aware of it. It doesn't make them skeptical or cautious whatsoever. Anyways, one of the reasons the woman gave for thinking women would soon be allowed in church office was because they have a lot of trouble finding elders in the first place. For a church quite bigger than ours, I was appalled at this information. She informed me that nearly every man who is nominated for elder or deacon declines the nomination on grounds that he is too busy. That's kind of scary. I'm sure Bill will agree that it is quite time-consuming, but it is pretty sad when the church takes a back seat to everything else in life. Interesting argument for women in office though - men are too busy. I should recommend the three stay-at-home Dads I met yesterday.
W-W-W-Well, you see . . . I h-h-h-had a job one time. I j-j-j-just didn't like it. (So now I sit home in my pajamas at least until after the Showcase Showdown.)
-Mark M
I love The View. Ask Johnny about his relationship with Star.
Star is definately hot, but Barbara Walters is the BOMB!! This post was excellent Aaron, it made me think of several things:
The Flood is freaking retarded and along the same lines as what you described. So rest assured your prognosis of this new "cool" thing is correct, complete and utter BS. Of course as The URC Heretic, I must admit theyre doing a fine job especially with skits and white, Dutch rappers...Jesus is definately a homie of mine, heres little rhyme:
At headquarters I recieve my mission,
blow up the Ruler of the Air like nuclear fission.
Body parts start to fall off, only to replenish
what my God starts He'll finish,
so I defeat and diminish the possessed MCs,
I told ya, soldiers never rest at ease.
You pressed on your gas and waste your fuel son,
should have remembered the weak shall inherit the kingdom....of heaven.(Dirt--Evilution:Unholy Ghosts)
WHAT...No stores open on Sunday, how the heck do you get your lunch at Souplantation? Whoever came up with this idea was just plain crazy.
Sweet guys dont work, I like my women like I like my coffee, black and strong.
Did Stephen Sluyter steal Eric's identity?
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