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Since 1995 the larger English-speaking international Christian communities have had joint Christmas and Easter services as an expression of their commn faith, and this year planning started many months ago for a combined Christmas service for December 20th. The planning process was fraught with government-created obstacles this year, and at the last minute, the venue had to be changed when permission was refused for a government-controlled theatre. The ceremony happened today, though, and now that it's over, the government can relax and breathe easily again, assured that once again the international Christians have not fomented any revolution or conspiracy but only displayed their faith in God with us. |
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48 hours before the service was to begin, and after all the publicity had been sent out for the original venue, the government decreed that we could not use it. Basically the government is paranoid, afraid of any group they can't control, and maybe especially of foreigners. We switched to this large new hall used mostly for extravagant weddings for Cambodian families that like to flaunt their wealth.
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The service started with Christmas hymns and carols, allowing a slight delay while latecomers were redirected from the original venue to this new complex. It's so new that no one knows where it is.
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Members of the four large churches that sponsored the combined service offered prayers and read selections from the scriptures. Peter Warren, a new co-pastor of the International Christian Fellowship, preached.
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A necessary task after the service is counting the offering to make sure we have enough money to pay all the bills.
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One of the important parts of the service is the fellowship time afterwards. This year, partly because of a miscommunication, the refreshements were the best ever and people were able to enjoy the good food and fine weather while mingling with old and new friends.
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This hall is a new construction on Koh Pick Island where the government forcibly evicted the residents in order to provide land for developers, who will most certainly remember their friends. It is hard to find a morally neutral venue in Cambodia. One of the major hotels with a large enough room is allegedly controlled by drug lords. Another venue is connected with a gambling casino.
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