Township Mass

So one of the professors from ND, who is also a priest, spends a good chunk of time (maybe 4-5 months) in Cape Town each year and teaches a class at the business school at Cape Town.  He also occasionally says mass in the Gugulethu township (same one we visited earlier this week but a different area) and invited us to join him.  I don't think any of us really knew what to expect...

BUT it was so so cool.  We arrived a bit early and were asked to sit in the front row (which made me a bit uncomfortable - lots of curious glances especially considering we were the only white people in mass with the exception of two women visiting from Holland).  There were so many adorable kids running around and saying hello to all their friends (and lots, we noticed, were at mass without parents - hoping that is not due to lack of parents but not optimistic that that is the case).  Before mass started random women would just start belting out beautiful songs and everyone would jump in (and when I say jump in, I don't just mean singing - dancing, clapping, smacking their bibles, etc.) - really cool to watch.

The entire mass (with a few exceptions, including the gospel) was conducted in xhosa, a tonal language of SA that uses lots of clicks, which made it interesting to listen to.  I was able to follow along pretty well from all the Sundays spent at church although I realized its MUCH harder to remember what to say and when to say it when no one else is repeating it with you!  When it was time for collection, two boys stood at the front of the alter with big wooden baskets and those wishing to contribute had to walk forward and place their money in the basket.  I was shocked that almost everyone in the church came forward - these people who already have so little, willing to give up something for the benefit of the community - it was really humbling to see.  Throughout mass at specific times women would jump in and start singing (not sure if they were singing random songs or if they were predetermined) and these 3 young boys would jump up and start playing three big wooden xylophones.  Fantastic.

The entire mass was so joyful and uplifting that  I wish I had a video because words just don't do the whole scene justice (unfortunately cameras are not allowed during mass).  Regardless, it was an awesome experience and we're definitely planning on going back again before we leave.