Worship

Yesterday just so happened to be the last Sunday of my stay in Germany. It also happened to be the day that a relatively nearby Methodist church held a special worship service. I arrived at five and took my seat in the somewhat small sanctuary. Strangely, the sanctuary was on the second floor. I took a bulletin, a hymnal, and a seat.
 
The service was gorgeous. The choir really knew what it was doing, and the female soloist in particular had such a fantastic voice. They sang pieces by Schubert, Mendelssohn, Schütz, and Bach. At one point, they all went upstairs to the back balcony and sang from there. Hearing the music coming from behind me just made it that much stronger, like it was coming from the building itself. Better yet, this sanctuary knew not to applaud after the singing finished. Applause should come from the people the music is intended for, and it was intended for God.

The entire church got to sing a few hymns as well, which were of course in German. It was pretty exciting to worship in another language. It was also incredibly difficult. I had never heard most of the songs before, and I had to sing several words that I'd never encountered before as well. Nevertheless, I made it through and could enjoy doing it. All in all, I'd say God knew what he was doing when he had me stumble across that service.