A Tanzanian auction
One of my favorite memories from my first trip to Tanzania in 2002...
I have a clay pot that I brought back from my August 2002 visit to our partner congregation in Tungamalenga, Tanzania. It's brick colored, like the dirt in that part of Africa. It's a little lopsided, slightly cracked, and stained with charcoal from being set near a fire many times. It may not look like much of a souvenir, but it is a powerful reminder to me of the grace and compassion our Tanzanian brothers and sisters in Christ show one another.
In Tanzanian churches, at the end of worship the congregation leaves the sanctuary singing and dancing, to form a circle outside. "Our Christianity is not just for inside the church building, and this signifies bringing our faith out to the villages," said our hosts. The singing, dancing and drumming continues until the pastor gives the benediction. Then the fun begins.
Members who are so poor that they have no cash to place in the church's offering basket instead bring gifts. That Sunday, there was a bag of vegetables, a small basket of eggs, and a clay cooking pot. These items were put up for auction, and those members who do have cash income bid for them in a joyous, competitive, highly inflated price war. The money paid for these gifts goes into the church treasury.
With the help of our interpreter Pastor Benjamin, and with Pastor Alfred bidding against me in order to push the bids ever higher, I purchased the clay pot for two thousand shillings (about two dollars US -- a most extravagant sum by Tanzanian standards). Pastor Benjamin said, "This is how we encourage one another. Every gift is valued, no matter how small. When we bid these high prices, the people who brought the gift know they are valued in the congregation."
This Sunday, following the 11 AM worship services, we will have a Tanzanian style auction to raise funds to bring three guests to Minnesota next fall. In the spirit of "extravagant prices for humble gifts," you might bid a couple hundred dollars for a dozen eggs or for a bundle of firewood.
Every gift is valued. Another wonderful lesson from our Tanzanian partners.
I have a clay pot that I brought back from my August 2002 visit to our partner congregation in Tungamalenga, Tanzania. It's brick colored, like the dirt in that part of Africa. It's a little lopsided, slightly cracked, and stained with charcoal from being set near a fire many times. It may not look like much of a souvenir, but it is a powerful reminder to me of the grace and compassion our Tanzanian brothers and sisters in Christ show one another.
In Tanzanian churches, at the end of worship the congregation leaves the sanctuary singing and dancing, to form a circle outside. "Our Christianity is not just for inside the church building, and this signifies bringing our faith out to the villages," said our hosts. The singing, dancing and drumming continues until the pastor gives the benediction. Then the fun begins.
Members who are so poor that they have no cash to place in the church's offering basket instead bring gifts. That Sunday, there was a bag of vegetables, a small basket of eggs, and a clay cooking pot. These items were put up for auction, and those members who do have cash income bid for them in a joyous, competitive, highly inflated price war. The money paid for these gifts goes into the church treasury.
With the help of our interpreter Pastor Benjamin, and with Pastor Alfred bidding against me in order to push the bids ever higher, I purchased the clay pot for two thousand shillings (about two dollars US -- a most extravagant sum by Tanzanian standards). Pastor Benjamin said, "This is how we encourage one another. Every gift is valued, no matter how small. When we bid these high prices, the people who brought the gift know they are valued in the congregation."
This Sunday, following the 11 AM worship services, we will have a Tanzanian style auction to raise funds to bring three guests to Minnesota next fall. In the spirit of "extravagant prices for humble gifts," you might bid a couple hundred dollars for a dozen eggs or for a bundle of firewood.
Every gift is valued. Another wonderful lesson from our Tanzanian partners.
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