Holy Week at Abbeydale

CALGARY, Alta.—Abbeydale Christian Fellowship, where one can only guess what kind of interesting and wonderful surprises are in store. The Palm Sunday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday worship services were each unique and a blessing in their own way, culminating in a distinctly international experience.

The leaders of the four congregations which meet to worship in ACF’s building (each in their own time block): Deliverance Arenet Church (an Ethiopian group), Amor en Accion (Spanish EMC), New Life Church (a local outreach church) and Abbeydale Christian Fellowship (EMC) collaborated to prepare and lead their collective congregants in the Holy Week worship services. Cultural variances in styles of worship and the differing demographics of worshippers served to unite the gathered believers in worship.

Good Friday became a time of extended fellowship, when, following the afternoon service, the culturally diverse potluck offered dishes such as Congolese mikate, Mexican fried empanadas, Ukrainian varenyky, Ethiopian dishes and a variety of other interesting and appealing options. The meal itself was likely not at all a resemblance of the food Jesus ate with his disciples at his last supper. It was, however, just like during that first Holy Week, also a group of his followers gathered around the tables in honour of the sacrificial Lamb.

Dawn Dirk from New Life Church gives the children’s feature on Easter Sunday. (Photo supplied)

It was also encouraging to witness small children from a myriad of ethnicities worshipping, eating and playing together. Could this be a picture of how culturally diverse our leadership teams of the future church will look like? Surely it is just a little taste of how, together, people of all nations will worship the risen Lamb together in eternity.