Members of the Visitation Team having refreshments and conversation with the newly elected presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Papua New Guinea, Rev. Jack Urame.

Sunday, June 12.  It rained last night and was still damp and dreary as we headed for the church located on the grounds of  the headquarters of the ELCPNG.  You may recall the we arrived mid morning on Saturday, the 11th and spent last night in the guest house at the headquarters of the ELCPNG in Lae.  We have one more night in Lae before boarding a speedboat (as the people here refer to them) for the final leg of the trip to Finschhafen.  It started out dreary and damp and our first impressions we got as we entered the church were not positive.  We and the musician were the only ones there.   Worship was scheduled to begin at 8:30 am, and when the time to start arrived, there were still only about a dozen of us in the church including the pastor.  I thought to myself, "this is going to be bad."  We began with some pre-service music and I became aware of a few more people slipping into the pews.  The service began, we sang the opening hymn and heard the lessons read and I slowly became aware that the church was filling up.  The singing got stronger as more voices joined in, and by the time it ended, there was a sizable congregation of people.  Even the leaders of the church operate on "New Guinea Time," meaning things like start times and schedules are much more flexible and tend to conform to things like rainy mornings and cloudy weather.  It was a good reminder that neither God, nor the faithful Christians in this part of the world are obsessive about punctuality.

Our team was asked to step forward and introduce ourselves.  Then, after the service, we were invited to a time of fellowship in their Sunday School building near the church.  As we began to leave, we discovered that the newly elected Presiding Bishop of the ELC-PNG had been at worship and stayed for the fellowship hour.  He was very approachable and visited extensively with me and others in the group.  I thought the most impressive moment of the morning was when I turned around from visiting with one of the worshippers and found the Bishop sitting at a table,  surrounded by the youth from our Central States Synod having an animated and lengthy visit with them (see the picture above).   I had hoped we might be able to stop by his office sometime and possibly shake his hand.  I had no idea we would be able to have the kind of quality time of fellowship with him that developed after worship this morning.  

I marvel at how often this happens, especially on a Companion Synod visitation.   The beginning of the day or event is slow and unimpressive and one thinks that this is going nowhere.  But then, things - unexpected things begin to happen, things that were not planned nor anticipated but are far better than what one might have planned or expected.  And in the end, it is a time filled with blessings.

Oh  yes, and the worship and sermon were good too.   One thing that struck me was that the Pastor and every one of the worship leaders addressed the congregation with this greeting.  "Good Morning Church."  I like it.  He named the congregation for what it is, and did so emphatically.   The people gathered for worship are not just a collection of folks who showed up for worship that morning.  That group of people,  ourselves included are "the church" and we should never forget that.

So, after a day filled with touching moments and unexpected blessings, we prepare to get a little sleep before catching a small boat for a long trip to be with our Cosyns in Christ, the people of the Kotte District of the ELCPNG.  And so I say to you, the followers of Jesus.  "Good night Church."  Gary.