Sunday Service

Since the Rotary is a Christian based organization, there was a church service this morning. I must say that it was the most attention-grabbing, eye-opening church service that I have ever attended. The reason for that is not because today is All Hallows Eve, but that the Pastor was Canon White, who is the Vicar of Baghdad. Yes, Baghdad as in Iraq, the troubled country. So troubled is this country, in fact, that this Vicar travels day and night surrounded by thirty-five guards. However, despite the depressing situations, his congregation has over 4,000 members. This is so large that he has services on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. He was so incredibly motivational. He told us that ninety three members of his congregation were murdered last year, yet his church is one of the happiest places in the world. In addition to serving the church purpose, he and his team give medical, dental, and pharmaceutical care along with blankets and packages of food each week. The cost of maintaining his church has gone from 600 dollars a year to over 150,000 dollars a month, yet he has always made the quota. Unfortunately, when a man from the audience asked him whether or not he believed peace could ever return to Iraq, he confessed his great doubts and lack of hope to that.

Three other motivational speakers from this morning included Anne Blight and Craig Hammond from the Starfish Project, helping people to overcome their stutters. They showed a video of Craig's first day with them and how debilitating his stutter really was. Three years later, Craig stood before us and gave a perfectly eloquent speach, taking in deep, sharp breaths before each phrase to prevent the stammer. The progression was truly amazing.
The other woman was Lady Catherine Meyer who spoke to us about how Fate had affected her life. Her two sons were abducted from her by her ex-husband, and she was unable to see them for ten years. They are now reunited, but she has created a charity PACT for the awareness of parental abductions.

I was sad to leave. I think that one of the things (besides the people, of course) that made this weekend wonderful was that alongside the lovely English architecture, all of the trees were beautiful colors and gave the atmosphere a refreshing autumn feel.

Happy Halloween, by the way!