Angola Mission Immersion 10 ~ Angola 6 – Angolan Church Music and Choirs

Born though song…
Growing in my faith at, and coming out of, East Heights United Methodist Church in Wichita, Kansas I have a deep level appreciation for all varieties of spiritual and religious music as well as for the choirs, bands, and individuals that celebrate their faith through music. Music seems to provide and international connection that knows no boundaries. In the life of organized religion, music has served as a platform to draw us closer to LOVE and closer to one another… after all Jesus’ response to his last big meal with close friends to go out to the Mount of Olives and sing a hymn. It has been my experience that American, Chinese, Korean, Costa Rican, and the spiritual songs of the people of Mexico all bring a certain unique flavor to the global portrait that communicates attentiveness to faith formation through song. While the Churches of China, Korea, Costa Rica, and Mexico prepared me for the uniqueness of international ecclesial music, the churches of East Angola, Africa have definitely added another layer to my understanding of the depth at which music draws us closer to the notion of cosmic love.
During our time in Angola we have experienced two Sunday morning worship gatherings, a choir practice, a course of study ceremony, and we have had a unique opportunity to record five songs shared by the choir from the Central United Methodist Church of Malanje, Angola… each experience unique in nature and each working to give us a deeper understanding of the role of music in the East Angolan Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. As I type this, my ears are filled with singing that is resonating from the streets of Malanje near our house and I am reminded of our journey yesterday to Kimbamba that was underscored by the singing of a central church women’s choir as we were in transit both ways, on the church grounds prior to worship, and within worship itself. Early on, Alcides told us that ‘the Church in Angola was born through singin’ … after being here for a week I’m pretty sure that observation is accurate. During our time here in East Angola we have been blessed by solo musical offerings, trios, youth choirs, men’s choirs, women’s choirs and large mixed choirs… all of which have tapped into the energy of God’s spirit in this place. With respect to worship, musical offerings are woven throughout from beginning to end. A portion of the songs are familiar to us, but a majority are unique to the Angolan people and are shared in Portuguese or Kimbundu, one of the national languages. More so at the central church in Malanje, than in Kimbamba, various groups within the life of the congregation took a moment during worship to share a musical offering… during these musical moments the congregation typically responds by contributing a financial offering. There seems to be a tad bit more singing and musical celebration contained within the course of worship in Angola, but the passion that drives this element of worship is no different than can be found in other churches across the globe on any given worship day. I can say, however, that because it is new and different, the congregational and choral offerings we have experienced during our time here have been transformational in nature and have touched us deeply. Personally, I was both caught off guard and inspired by the songs and amount of singing that celebrates what it means to be a United Methodist… something we don’t regularly do at home, but probably should. I hope that we get to hear a wide variety of these sorts of songs at General Conference in April.