Worship Weblog
Tuesday, May 31, 2005
Worship in Korea: A Church With 7 Services
CICW student staff member Katie Ritsema visited her native Korea last week, for the first time since her adoption brought her to the United States. She writes of her worship this past Sunday:
Church today was unbelievable. Worship Institute….I wish every single one of you were there this morning. I went to an Assemblies of God church which is the biggest church in Korea. On an average Sunday they have about 200,000 people attending. 7 services starting at 9 a.m and going through until the night. Each service averages anywhere from 20-25,000 people. I didn’t believe it until we got there and there literally was a sea of people. Traffic patrol was attempting to direct people into church. The sanctuary was huge and completely packed. I sat in the “foreigners” section so I could listen to the service in English. I sat back for parts of it and just enjoyed hearing the liturgy in another language. It really strikes me how diverse God really is. He isn’t just the God of the United States and he doesn’t just speak and understand English. He heard their praises the same way he hears ours. Wow…what a good reminder.
The choir was huge and there was a full orchestra as well. Norma….you would have loved the organ. It was amazing. The choir sang the Hallelujah chorus in Korean and I almost cried. I get goosebumps whenever I hear it but to hear it in Korean was incredible. They opened up the service with the doxology in Korean as well as the Creed and the Lord’s Prayer. So unique to hear it all in Korean and really absorb the part of the creed that
states we believe in one holy catholic church.
The purpose of Katie’s trip was to learn about her birth parents. Her e-mail report of what she found out is reprinted here with her permission:
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