Yesterday, I started my job as a Sociologist here. I attended Sunday Service at Hope Lutheran Church. They have an interesting motto: "Got Hope?, Come to Hope Lutheran Church".
I'd attended Church Services in Tehran, Isfahan and Nicosia. In Tehran (Assembly of God Church), they were very fussy about membership and I almost always had difficulty entering there as I was not a member (or so they said). Or maybe it was my Islamic appearance? God knows.
Anyway, here, I entered the Church without any problem and sat myself at the first available pew in the back. And after the first service (actually Gloria by Vivaldi performed by Church Choir), people around me welcomed me as a newcomer and were mostly keen to know how did I find it all and whether I enjoyed it (of course I did).
The pastor came over to greet people and he was delighted to know why I was there and about my research plan (role of religion in society and poeple's life). And after being invited to their lounge for refreshment (with delicious cookies and stuff), almost any member of the Church Welcome Group (indicated by badges on their chest) asked me how did I feel. And when they got to know that I was a Muslim from Iran, their reaction wouldn't change. Especially, elderly people were keen to have a talk with me. I enjoyed my first field study much. Let's see if I face the same at other Churches.
I'd attended Church Services in Tehran, Isfahan and Nicosia. In Tehran (Assembly of God Church), they were very fussy about membership and I almost always had difficulty entering there as I was not a member (or so they said). Or maybe it was my Islamic appearance? God knows.
Anyway, here, I entered the Church without any problem and sat myself at the first available pew in the back. And after the first service (actually Gloria by Vivaldi performed by Church Choir), people around me welcomed me as a newcomer and were mostly keen to know how did I find it all and whether I enjoyed it (of course I did).
The pastor came over to greet people and he was delighted to know why I was there and about my research plan (role of religion in society and poeple's life). And after being invited to their lounge for refreshment (with delicious cookies and stuff), almost any member of the Church Welcome Group (indicated by badges on their chest) asked me how did I feel. And when they got to know that I was a Muslim from Iran, their reaction wouldn't change. Especially, elderly people were keen to have a talk with me. I enjoyed my first field study much. Let's see if I face the same at other Churches.
I also got friend with a UT alumnus. Efforts by secular intellectuals to erode the role of religion (and even God) in society and confine it to backyards of people's life is not merely a concern on my side of the world. Religious people everywhere have the same common concern.
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