Sunday at St. James

It rained for much of the night. At times it was a downpour. What a special time to pull the covers up and sleep. As we awoke in to the new day the rain had stopped and it was only a light misting as we walked to church.

We went to St. James Church, a Church of North India congregation, of the high church tradition. It was good to be with them as we worshipped and as we heard of their ministries. The Word was spoken clearly and we had the opportunity to receive communion together.

A very special event at the end of the service was when the children of the church came back into the Sanctuary. As the adults had done they too approached the altar and knelt down. Rather than receiving communion as the adults each child was blessed as the pastors laid hands on their heads and spoke a word. It was very touching.

At the end of the service I took time to meet the gentleman who was seated beside me. It turned out that he too was a visitor. For him he was back to his home congregation after a number of years. He now lived in Delhi. We shared several things about his life in the church.

As we continued to talk I came to know that he had taught school in Dehra Dun. He also coached the basketball team of his school. They would often go up the hill to play against the basketball team of Woodstock School – the school I attended for the first six years of my schooling.

Following this conversation I found myself reflecting on just how small and connected our world is – how is it that I could find a common connection with a person on the other side of the globe who I had just come in and sat down beside in a Sunday morning church service?