First Sunday Service (1/17)

Due to the relative inaccessibility of internet, we’ve been unable thus far to regularly recount for you all our adventures here in Venezuela. BUT in an unprecedented Venezuela Team blog endeavor, we’re going to try to help you experience our first church service here at the Iglesia Evangélica Menonita Shalom… from five different points of view!!

Lauren: I can’t say that I’ve ever been to a church service quite like the one we had the first Sunday here in Venezuela. The service was complete with three organized dance groups, a mob of people swarming up front with their cell phones to take photos and videos, an engagement celebration, and people being slain in the spirit.

Jon: When Anthony and I entered the dusky, rectangular shaped sanctuary, we were seated in the place of honor in the front row of chairs along with a visiting pastor and his family from another part of Charallave. This was a little intimidating since I was supposed to stand up and introduce the team at some point in the service, and frankly, I felt a little presumptuous sitting there with this spiritual leader. I’m no pastor, nor do I know how to sound as florid in my church language as they do. I got the feeling they expect bigger things from us than we expect from ourselves.

Irene: The first Sunday here in this church, Vicki and Lauren slept over in the little apartment above the church where I’m living. For that reason we went down to the service at the exact hour that it started, and the pastor directed us to some seats in the first row in order to see everything and to be able to witness the first Sunday of the year (the first fruits service). We were separated from the guys, but I enjoyed it just the same.

Victoria: I remember being nearly dead to the world with dehydration and tiredness when the first worship service was going on, yet I was able to watch them with curious fascination and admiration through the curtains of my sleepiness.

Anthony: I’m not sure I’ve ever been to a service as varied and diverse as this one was. My emotions were all over the board from excited and ecstatic, to nervous and apprehensive, to bored and confused (lack of Spanish skills helped contribute to all three).

Irene: The service was rather varied. Owing to how open the service was spiritually, it reminded me of my church’s retreats together with other Spanish churches. Although I felt very at home with the music and enjoyed the dancers, as well as the pastor’s words, and the whole environment of the congregation surrendering to God, my mind was also on what my other team members thought about these things.

Jon: I was encouraged and put at ease, however, by the long worship time before the sermon. I had heard most of the songs the day before during their practice session, so I knew the tunes and was quickly able to put words to the notes thanks to powerpoint. Last year in Guatemala, we didn’t have hymnals or powerpoint to give us words which made identifying sung words nearly impossible even when they were singing Spanish and not Q’eqchi. Being able to participate in the songs that day just helped me so much to connect with the church body and enter into the service in general. So when they unexpectedly started singing “Eres Todopoderoso” which all of us know, it was as welcome a greeting as I could have asked for.


Jon: Unlike most Mennonite Churches that I’ve been in whether in the States, Belize, or Guatemala, the songs were accompanied by a dance team. They have three of them. One of the teams is just for little kids, one for the youth, which is a little more like modern dance, and one that’s just women and is more ballet like. All three teams synchronize their movements to the meaning of the words. It’s not scandalous; it’s worshipful. And it’s as integral to their church service as the music or preaching. As much as I enjoyed it, we were REALLY close to the dancers and with kids pressing in around us to see the dancers, it got hot and crowded up there. I suppose that’s the price of privileged seating.

Vicki: What most enthralled me was the twirling movements of the women dancing up in the front to praise Him against the background of the music, princesses of the Most High using their whole bodies to glorify Him, shining in their vestments with crowns on their heads. I would like to see a ministry like this flourish in every church door I step into.

Irene: Within the dancers, there were little children who gave a tone of innocence and provoked a smile from all who watched them. We were presented to the congregation and received a great welcome that filled my heart, and afterwards the brothers and sisters of the church came to greet us warmly.

Lauren: Despite it being so unusual I really enjoyed it. I loved seeing the passion and energy they had for God. My favorite parts were the worship and dancing. You didn’t need a dictionary to translate the joy and love for Christ on the faces of the dancers as they danced. It was beautiful to watch. It was also great seeing so many youth involved in the service.



Vicki: The service reminded me of the Jewish time of firstfruits. They worked hard to prepare for the service, putting up what looked like a tabernacle-shelter around the podium with palm branches from a palmera tree of green and orange, beautiful curtains, and other adornos (decorations). The congregation would lift and pray over objects such as jars of oil or water, bread (with one loaf shaped like a fish), the Venezuelan flag (red, blue, and yellow in color), and other items that represented the resources that the Lord has provided the country with. A person of each age group came up to the front to represent all people of their age group in the country, and everyone came up and gave a freewill money offering.



Irene: There are sisters in this church that really surrender themselves to God by cooking food to sell and collecting the money which is given to the church and moreover, they prepare the food given to the preacher’s family. This surprised me a lot.

Vicki: I did not realize, when all the dancers came up to the front and the pastor and his wife prayed over them, what was happening when a good number of them fell over. It is something I have seen on TV, but not in real life much, and so it was surreal and almost passed from my mind.

Anthony: At one point, all the women dancers went up to be prayed over by the pastor. He began praying over them in tongues and several of the dancers fell over, slain in the spirit, and began convulsing on the ground. My first thought was, “Oh no, what did we get ourselves into. I hope they don’t ask us up there and expect the same response.” I’ve never been entirely comfortable with the act of being slain in the spirit or tongues. Not so much because they scare me, but because both experiences can be easily faked and used counterproductively against the church. I was, then, of course, very relieved/excited when the youth went up for the same prayer time, but only a small percentage of them experienced the same thing. In other words, it’s not necessarily an expectation that the church has for its members. If it happens, great, and if not, no problem.




Anthony: What I probably enjoyed the most about the morning was the “Engagement.” A trio began singing a song about when Christ would come back to meet his bride. During the chorus, Chino and Gladys came walking from the back of the church to a rousing applause and stood in front of the congregation. A lady presented them with flowers and then Chino proposed and presented Gladys with the ring in front of us all. It felt more like a reception then an engagement announcement as different people talked about the couple and what they meant to them. It was a fun way to make the announcement, and very interactive for the congregation. That is definitely one thing I appreciate about the church, the laid back relaxed atmosphere.



Jon: After the pastor’s wife, who is also a pastor in the church, gave a moving sermon consecrating herself, the church, and all we have to God before the pastor, finally came my moment to introduce us. I was nervous, but I didn’t stutter, and they actually laughed at my impromptu joke about Irene’s name being Menendeth like she would say it in Spain rather than Menendez like they say it here. Overall, it went just fine. I needn’t have worried. Whether I would have spoken well or not, I’m sure the response to my introduction would have been the same: a rousing, heartfelt, “Welcome.”

Irene: Due to this agitated day and my living in the church’s little house, my “house” was invaded and for this reason, we girls went to buy something to eat with my older sister Yenni, Vicki and Lauren, and their sister, Noemi.

Irene: The whole of the service and the first encounter with the congregation enchanted me in spite of being disoriented and attentive to all that we could learn from the culture and the people.

Vicki: I wondered at all the faces around us, wondering whose face we would know in time, for the moment in disbelief that we were actually going to be here for more than a month. It was a beautiful first “culto” (service) with the congregation Menonita Shalom.

Lauren: This church is definitely alive, thriving and on fire for God. I’m excited to get to know these people more and to become part of this church!