Since our arrival in Mumias, I have been surprised by the attitude of religious tolerance that all Kenyans seem to uphold; even against my own inclinations towards religious tolerance, I have been waiting for some kind of indication of religious conflict of any kind. However, my expectations have been shot down.
Anytime we visit a support group or someone’s house, we begin and end with a prayer led by one of the hosts. This wasn’t a surprise to me, as growing up we often said prayers during large family dinners or when guests would come over. To me, both in Kenya and the United States, it seems like a (mostly) universally accepted way of giving thanks for both parties’ ability to be together in the same room sharing a meal or an experience. However, what was surprising to me was finding out that often we are among a mix of religious beliefs. The Ambassadors of Hope (WOPLAH’s directors) are a mix of Muslims and various Christian denominations. Each time we have met with them a different person has volunteered to pray on behalf of the group. I love that, even though each individual is aware to some degree of the differences between their respective beliefs, they accept the prayer without hesitation or judgement. I don’t know whether they assume they all believe in the same God, or whether this is a moot point and any prayer to any God serves the same purpose: giving thanks and appreciation for the ability to gather, work towards common goals or eat good food.
We have gone to church three different Sundays now – two Anglican churches and a Pentecostal church. Each service and physical church building has been unique in their own ways. One building had stained glass windows, two had pews to sit in, some had more elaborate altars. This past Sunday, the Pentecostal service, took place in a commonplace looking building with very few windows (and terrible circulation I might add). The atmosphere upon walking in was much different than both Anglican churches which both had an aura of peacefulness and refuge from the chaos of daily life. This church had a certain energy to it; it was packed full, men sat in rows on the left side and women sat in rows on the right side. The moment we entered, ushers walked up to us and quickly directed us to our seats. We didn’t seem to cause as much commotion as normal; a few people turned their heads to look at us but it seemed as though the greater majority were engrossed in the sermon which was loudly projected from the single speaker in the back left corner. The pastor didn’t seem to understand that using a microphone entails not needing to yell for people to hear you. The service consisted of a long and drawn out sermon, interrupted by people who would stand to interject a comment or question which the pastor would in turn respond to. There was also a lot of standing and singing with arms raised, a few women prostrated on the ground keeping their heads down throughout the entire song. One woman in the row ahead of us all of a sudden fainted and the people around her had to carefully break her fall and move chairs out of the way; somehow she managed to land on her her arm, preventing her head from hitting the floor. She lied there until the singing ended. No one acted concerned, and she eventually stood back up and continued on as if nothing had happened.
The strange thing about this experience was that no one explained to us what was happening at any given moment. Even though the entire 3 hours was almost completely communicated in Swahili and there were several instances that, to me, seemed to require an explanation, we were simply expected to sit patiently through the service.
The more interesting thing about attending church in Mumias is the free-will with which Edwin and the others who have hosted us move between churches and denominations. My initial reactions to the tolerant attitude toward prayer seemed to be reaffirmed through our visits to various churches. Differences in faith seem to be trivial, while the acts of gathering and praying appear to be what is truly important among religious individuals in Mumias.
Stay tuned for my upcoming blog about my experience attending a Muslim women's prayer group and my observations regarding religion and global health in Mumias!
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