Friday, January 28, 2005
The First Baptist Church of Garfield County, Silt (pop 1,740), Colorado, U.S.A.
We cycled to church. It was the first time we had been able to get the bikes off the back of the RV and cleaned down enough to be able to ride them. They get really dirty on the back of the RV so they are not much use unless you happen across a car wash, which you generally do around here as they have one on every corner.
We set off too late to be on time for the 11:00 am service. But we peddled like mad (it was uphill all the way) and made it for about 5 past 11. I padlocked the bikes up outside the little hut that was the church. I was glad there was no one around to watch me do this as it seemed like a really crazy thing to do in such a community but London habits die hard and I was taking no chances.
We opened the door and stepped in. The service had already started but there were still people milling around at the back so we did not feel like we were being too disruptive. There were 36 people in the church including us. After the first song from the Baptist song book the Pastor asked that everyone say hello to everyone. Which is exactly what happened. In the break between songs we shook hands with 26 of the 36 people in the room. Repeating our story to almost all of them. They were lining up to meet us. It was such a nice surprise to be welcomed so heartily. Even though they immediately knew that we were not potential new members, they all wanted to share their knowledge of and connections to the UK. We heard many stories of distant relatives and pioneers that had come over when the country was born.
The service was very precise. There was no liturgy. There is only worship (in the form of 4 or 5 songs), then the preaching, a very short prayer and a long goodbye. That's your lot. Also to note that the preaching is not a sermon. It really is an extended bible study. Every Baptist church has a baptismal pool (looks rather like a fancy jacuzzi) built right into where there might be an altar table. There are no other adornments, fancy words, banners or accoutrements. It is just enough to worship and hear the word of God.
I have to say something about the music. This consisted of a pianist who was perhaps 70 years old. She did a marvelous job of adding a vibrancy to the proceedings. She was accompanied on the organ by a lady who was at least 20 years her senior. Now this organ; how can it be described? It was a small piano sized machine of perhaps 30 years in age. The stops that were obviously selected (although I never got to see them ) were; cheesy organ sound, full vibrato and reverb at one per second. Everything your ear could tell you that you might expect to hear on some caricatured portrayal of american evangelists. Quite extraordinary. And for one special song, one of the church elders joined the two ladies with a trumpet. Even better. You had to be there. I loved it.
Interestingly, a board on a side wall near the front gave the statistics for church attendances ("bibles on seats") and giving amounts. The previous weeks attendance was 28 bibles and the giving was $2,800. I asked the lady, who by now had attached herself to us as our special helper, if this figure had not lost it's decimal point. She said that her twenty something son (who obviously doesn't attend very regularly) had also asked the same thing last week and was equally impressed when told, as I was, that the figure was correct and representative of the usual amount.
Even I can do the math on this one. Each regular member of the congregation is giving $420 per month. A little research uncovered the following information about renting property in Silt:
Rent paid by renters in 2000 in Silt:
Less than $100: 0
$100 to $149: 0
$150 to $199: 6
$200 to $249: 6
$250 to $299: 2
$300 to $349: 2
$350 to $399: 23
$400 to $449: 12
$450 to $499: 11
$500 to $549: 6
$550 to $599: 11
$600 to $649: 17
$650 to $699: 2
$700 to $749: 6
$750 to $799: 6
$800 to $899: 15
$900 to $999: 4
$1,000 to $1,249: 5
$1,250 to $1,499: 0
$1,500 to $1,999: 0
$2,000 or more: 0
So lets be very average about this; if you live and rent a house in Silt you might easily be giving as much per month to your church as you do to your landlord. We just can't map this on our radar. I can only conclude that rents are cheap (we know that) and that personal giving at the church is extremely high. Our newly acquired friend confirmed this. She agreed that they were very blessed. It did seem that the members of this church were a big family and the only thing that really concerned them was each other. The church was in fact doing so well that they had purchased the plot of land alongside and had started building a bigger hut. God Bless them. The Lord works in marvelous ways.
We cycled to church. It was the first time we had been able to get the bikes off the back of the RV and cleaned down enough to be able to ride them. They get really dirty on the back of the RV so they are not much use unless you happen across a car wash, which you generally do around here as they have one on every corner.
We set off too late to be on time for the 11:00 am service. But we peddled like mad (it was uphill all the way) and made it for about 5 past 11. I padlocked the bikes up outside the little hut that was the church. I was glad there was no one around to watch me do this as it seemed like a really crazy thing to do in such a community but London habits die hard and I was taking no chances.
We opened the door and stepped in. The service had already started but there were still people milling around at the back so we did not feel like we were being too disruptive. There were 36 people in the church including us. After the first song from the Baptist song book the Pastor asked that everyone say hello to everyone. Which is exactly what happened. In the break between songs we shook hands with 26 of the 36 people in the room. Repeating our story to almost all of them. They were lining up to meet us. It was such a nice surprise to be welcomed so heartily. Even though they immediately knew that we were not potential new members, they all wanted to share their knowledge of and connections to the UK. We heard many stories of distant relatives and pioneers that had come over when the country was born.
The service was very precise. There was no liturgy. There is only worship (in the form of 4 or 5 songs), then the preaching, a very short prayer and a long goodbye. That's your lot. Also to note that the preaching is not a sermon. It really is an extended bible study. Every Baptist church has a baptismal pool (looks rather like a fancy jacuzzi) built right into where there might be an altar table. There are no other adornments, fancy words, banners or accoutrements. It is just enough to worship and hear the word of God.
I have to say something about the music. This consisted of a pianist who was perhaps 70 years old. She did a marvelous job of adding a vibrancy to the proceedings. She was accompanied on the organ by a lady who was at least 20 years her senior. Now this organ; how can it be described? It was a small piano sized machine of perhaps 30 years in age. The stops that were obviously selected (although I never got to see them ) were; cheesy organ sound, full vibrato and reverb at one per second. Everything your ear could tell you that you might expect to hear on some caricatured portrayal of american evangelists. Quite extraordinary. And for one special song, one of the church elders joined the two ladies with a trumpet. Even better. You had to be there. I loved it.
Interestingly, a board on a side wall near the front gave the statistics for church attendances ("bibles on seats") and giving amounts. The previous weeks attendance was 28 bibles and the giving was $2,800. I asked the lady, who by now had attached herself to us as our special helper, if this figure had not lost it's decimal point. She said that her twenty something son (who obviously doesn't attend very regularly) had also asked the same thing last week and was equally impressed when told, as I was, that the figure was correct and representative of the usual amount.
Even I can do the math on this one. Each regular member of the congregation is giving $420 per month. A little research uncovered the following information about renting property in Silt:
Rent paid by renters in 2000 in Silt:
Less than $100: 0
$100 to $149: 0
$150 to $199: 6
$200 to $249: 6
$250 to $299: 2
$300 to $349: 2
$350 to $399: 23
$400 to $449: 12
$450 to $499: 11
$500 to $549: 6
$550 to $599: 11
$600 to $649: 17
$650 to $699: 2
$700 to $749: 6
$750 to $799: 6
$800 to $899: 15
$900 to $999: 4
$1,000 to $1,249: 5
$1,250 to $1,499: 0
$1,500 to $1,999: 0
$2,000 or more: 0
So lets be very average about this; if you live and rent a house in Silt you might easily be giving as much per month to your church as you do to your landlord. We just can't map this on our radar. I can only conclude that rents are cheap (we know that) and that personal giving at the church is extremely high. Our newly acquired friend confirmed this. She agreed that they were very blessed. It did seem that the members of this church were a big family and the only thing that really concerned them was each other. The church was in fact doing so well that they had purchased the plot of land alongside and had started building a bigger hut. God Bless them. The Lord works in marvelous ways.
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