World Communion Sunday

World Communion Sunday is designed to symbolically remind us that we are connected to the Body of Christ all around the world. On a few occasions, worship is planned that makes that symbol tangible. That was the case yesterday for me, the congregation I served in the States and part of the congregation I am serving currently in Malawi. It was a powerful reminder to all of us that we are connected. Electronics made it possible but the Spirit made it reality. God planned it all.

About four months ago the pastor serving the Mt. Pisgah congregation in Pittsburgh, the congregation I served for 8 years before coming to Malawi, contacted me about the possibility of doing a Skype connection with the congregation during worship on Oct. 2, World Communion Sunday. I was thrilled with the idea and reserved the time on my calendar, to be certain I was at home for the connection. She wanted this to be a surprise for the congregation, so we agreed that we would not say anything about it to anyone. She also asked if it would be possible to have a member or two of Limbe, my present congregation here in Malawi to join me, to make a full connection – church to church. When I asked the session clerks about this, they were thrilled and negotiated who would have the honor of representing Limbe. The deputy clerk, Robert Mponela won, since he knows more about computers and is more comfortable with the technology (or at least that was his reasoning for taking the post). Last week the pastor from Mt. Pisgah Skyped me to let me know that she would not be in worship on Oct. 2 because her daughter had given her a special birthday gift of a trip to Spain, but her husband, also a minister, would be filling in for her. We finalized the arrangements, still keeping this a surprise on that end. On Saturday, the parish chair of Limbe informed me that one of the zones of the church (geographic areas) would be coming to the manse on Sunday afternoon for a visit. Each zone takes a turn during the year visiting the manse and the pastor to give spiritual encouragement through a short worship service, and material support with food items, staples to assist with the household budget. I explained about the Skype conversation that was scheduled for 4 p.m. our time and he assured me the group would be at the manse early in the afternoon. They arrived at 3:30.

At that point, God made his planning clear. I explained what would be happening in just a short time and asked if they would like to be a part of it, making it a representation of the congregation. This hadn’t seemed a possibility when we were doing the planning because of the logistics of getting people from Limbe to my house (about 7 miles) and the fact that most people do not have cars. But God had arranged all of that. The group had come for a different purpose but in perfect time for the Skype conversation. They were a bit hesitant, mostly because they didn’t know what Skype was or how it worked, but finally decided to trust me and try it. It couldn’t hurt. I asked them if they would be willing to sing a Malawian chorus for the group in Pittsburgh, something I know Mt. Pisgah would love and that Limbe could do with ease. They willingly agreed, so we did a quick rehearsal and were set when the time came.

Exactly at 4 p.m. (10 a.m. in Pittsburgh) the call came. The visiting pastor had only told the congregation that there was a special greeting coming for World Communion Sunday. I think they thought it was his wife from Spain. When I answered and my face appeared on the big screen the church uses for the worship service, someone in the congregation let out a whoop that everyone on both sides of the ocean heard. I gave greetings and let them know how excited I was to see them, then introduced them to the session clerk and to the congregation gathered here. The group had moved together so they could all be seen by the webcam and they waved and called to their brothers and sisters in Christ in Pittsburgh. After I made a few remarks and took a few questions, we sang our song for them. They clapped and cheered and then responded by singing the doxology of us. The folks here joined in and together we praised God, although 10,000 miles apart. It was a powerful, spontaneous moment. The pastor at Mt. Pisgah offered prayer and we reluctantly said goodbye to one another, both sides waving. As we disconnected, the organist there began the introduction to the first hymn – In Christ There is No East or West. How true! We had just experienced it.

The folks here were in awe of the opportunity God had given them to celebration the Body of Christ around the world. The parish chair, who had come apologizing for being late, left delighted that “he had been to America in the matter of moments.” He said he couldn’t wait to tell his wife. That was the feeling of whole group. God’s plan and timing was so different from ours, but as always, it was even better. We can only praise him for that, for connecting us in Spirit, by electronics. Ours is an awesome God, in whom there is no east or west… but one great fellowship of love throughout the whole wide earth.