A New Church Family

Did you know that Daylight Savings Time changes a week earlier in Europe than it does in the United States? I didn’t know that either until I arrived at church an hour early on Sunday morning.

I met current Furman student Jessie Gomez on Sunday morning around what we thought to be 10:45 at a new metro stop. We followed her handwritten directions and eventually found the sign outside the Suffolk University campus that read The Community Church of Madrid. Two other girls had joined us in our search, and as the four of us climbed the steps to the building, a blond haired, blue eyed woman with an enormous smile opened the door, saying “Welcome in! I guess you didn’t know about the time change, but please come in! We’re still setting up. I’m Pastor Cathy.” Pastor Cathy led us into the lobby of this small university building and asked about each of us. Since Jessie has only known me as Hailey, she (naturally) kept calling me that, and I (naturally) responded and consequently introduced myself to everyone the rest of the morning as Hailey. Yeah… identity crisis in the making.

Little by little, others began to trickle in, because we weren’t the only ones to miss the news about our free sleep-in day. Once the “sanctuary” was prepared, we all moved our little party into a classroom/auditorium room and filed in among the school desk/chairs. I learned that Pastor Cathy is a religion professor at several universities in Madrid, and she had invited one of her classes to come hear her speak that morning. To her surprise, her entire class of about 15 college students showed up. Just before the services, couples and singles, young and old, found seats. My guess is that there were around 50 people in attendance. Although a small and eclectic church congregation, the love, encouragement, and familial feelings that emanated from the participants during the service was so fulfilling and so refreshing. Being an international, nondenominational church, the service includes prelude music comparable to some familiar passion songs and incorporates hymns from a Methodist Hymnal (Pastor Cathy is an ordained Methodist minister). What I thought was cool and different was that every Sunday after the sermon, 5 or 10 minutes are opened up for questions and dialogue. People can just raise their hand (like we’re back in 3rd grade) and make a comment or pose a question to the Pastora. The service closed with joining hands, singing “Eagle’s Wings,” and a benediction.

I left the “church” happy and content to have found a place where I can go every Sunday, worship in English, and form relationships with some very interesting people from all over the world. I decided that I wanted to go that night to the Preaching Partners Bible study that is held at Pastor Cathy’s home. Not sure if the 7pm time should be interpreted in the Spanish understanding of how clocks work, meaning show up a little later and get started even later, or if it was America’s concept of arrive on-the-dot. So, at 6:55 PM, I pressed the buzzer to what I hoped was the correct apartment, and a rich high voice came out of the loud speaker, “Come in!” Pastor Cathy was waiting for me at the top of the staircase landing, and she ushered me into her apartment. “Now, it’s Hailey, right?” she asked. “Well, yes…” and I proceeded to tell her about my decision to go by my first name while living in Spain. “Oh, but I like Hailey, because it’s original and different” (no offense to those other Laura’s out there). So, when the other regulars showed up, I was introduced as Hailey. Yes, we can now affirm that I am having somewhat of an identity crisis.

The “regulars” of Pastor Cathy’s Bible study are anything but regular or ordinary. Since I was the first to arrive, I was able to get a little background on each member beforehand. Maria, a Spanish woman probably in her late 60s, arrived after me, and I was told that she comes to practice her English. And although she has never admitted it, she is suspected to be some sort of nun, or at least, an ordained lay person who lives in a convent. Next to arrive was Virginia, dressed in scarlet red from head to toe, which apparently attests to her heritage. Virginia is a Nigerian princess, (yes… I said princess) who seemed to me to be her in late 50s and has nobly high cheek bones, twinkling eyes, and an infectious laugh. Shortly after Virginia’s grand introduction, Edith showed up. Edith is a woman (in her 60s?) from South Africa, whose melodic British-lilted accent softly brushes the ear with a comforting and reassuring touch. These three women, along with Franco—the German man who married a Spaniard but was not present on this particular Sunday—, make up Pastor Cathy’s Sunday night Bible study. And there I sat… my 22 year old self… world traveler indeed… or maybe not so much.

For the next hour, we all sat around the kitchen table, chatting, telling stories, and sharing beliefs and experiences. Pastor Cathy uses this meeting to read through the text for the coming Sunday’s service and then just brainstorm and discuss the issues presented in the texts. Since next weekend is All Saint’s Day, we talked about saints, those people who have had influence in our lives, who have offered spiritual guidance, or whose who we can encounter on a daily basis. Maria seemed to miss the question-boat, because when asked if she had a saint, anyone who had guided her spiritually at one point or another in her lifetime, she started rattling off in Spanish about Moses and King David. After clarifying the question in Spanish, Pastor Cathy still couldn’t convince Maria to steer clear of other Biblical figures and the notable prophets. Oh well, we tried. Unless Maria actually did live in the time before Christ Jesus walked the earth…

I felt so privileged to have stumbled upon such an all-star cast, but I was also uncertain if I would fit in with a group of older women who have known each other for over a decade. However, at the end of the night, as I left Pastor Cathy’s apartment with Virginia and Edith and with invitations from all to come back the next week, I knew that I would do everything I could to return every following Sunday that I am in Madrid. What a blessing to find such a group of Christians from different backgrounds and from all over the world. I am very much looking forward to getting to know each one of them more every week. Additionally, I am so happy to have the opportunity to join a new church family!

Here is the website for The Community Church of Madrid: http://www.communitychurch-madrid.org/index.htm