Beloved Creator, mirror of our true selves, we reach out to You. “I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14) yet struggle to see ourselves as You see us—perfect in our imperfection, unique in every atom.
Help us shed the cloak of self-doubt, which reflects a distorted image woven by Body Dysmorphic Disorder. Stir within us the faith to embrace each line, each curve with acceptance and humility. Lord, heal our sight; let us behold love when we gaze inward and outward alike. May Your word be the beacon that guides us towards self-acceptance and hope. Amen.
I was invited to a new year celebration at a church. I had nothing better to do so I went.
Everyone in the church was White with Slavic background. Service started with some performances and some words from the pastor. They spoke in Russian with strong accents and some words wrong.
Then everyone got on their knees and prayed to god out yelling praises in different languages. It was very chaotic.
Then another performance.
And another round of yelling prayers.
One guy asks the two pastors to pray for him. So they put their hands on his shoulder and start yelling stuff. One of the pastors is speaking in tongues like WOLOLOLO and his face is all red.
Then there is an after party. A youth pastor gives a speech about how they went to Africa and expelled demons from Africans. I think to myself that these Africans rape virgins to cure aids and its easy to trick them into pretending.
Then there is a round of prayer. The guy on my left is praying in hebrew, ADONAI ELOHIM ASHER ASHAM or whatever. Others are yelling in tongues WOLOLOLOLO. Very chaotic.
Later I'm introducing myself to some guy and I say the word bullshit. He recoils.
Someone asks me my thoughts and I try to explain how wasteful the efforts in Africa are but the guys head is in the clouds and he's not even hearing me.
I inquire from another person regarding how the organization is structured and if its run by one guy or a group or what. And the person I'm speaking with seems to think I'm implying their church is a for profit organization and gets defensive. I state that a church can't be for profit by definition and leave with no clarification.
People are asked for their new year resolutions, and most of them reply saying that they want to get closer to god or read the bible more.
Some thoughts,
The prayer was very chaotic and I did not like it at all. A lot of yelling. I did not like that they spoke in tongues. I did not like that one of the main guys was praying in Hebrew. I did not like that they go to Africa.
Matter of fact, if I was looking for a holy place I'd be better aligned visiting a mosque than this type of church.
Also when they are making those WOLOLOLO noises trying to speak in tongues. They are just pretending. It is obvious and stupid. They're trying to channel god into speaking though what they're gonna get is some jin.
