A glimpse of church culture

The Bukit Doa (hill of prayer) church is part of 5 churches built on a hill. They are literally right next to each other. Going up the hill are the Hindu temple; Protestant Church; Buddist Temple; Catholic Church; Moslem mosque.  They worship all through the morning. For example, when I am in the middle of our Bible Study after our worship, the Hindu temple starts up with chanting and the sounding of gongs and metallic wheels that seem to go round and round.

You will see Balinese symbols in the pictures. The parasols at the altar symbolize the respect for the royal presence of Christ. Throughout Asia, the parasol is a sign of respect. The altar area is highly carved with symbols, and there is a rich series of intricate carvings in beautiful Balinese style.

You'll see a picture of the staircase going up to the balcony where the musician plays. Talk about steep and rickety.  The gong begins the service, followed by the carrying of a candle to the altar. At the end of the worship, everyone comes to,the front where the pastor gives them a plumeria flowers and an individual blessing for the week.

There is a Balinese Christian Gamelan musician who plays at certain points of the service. He also plays a flute.  One interesting ritual action occurs. When the time comes for the offering, everyone gets up and brings their offering to the altar.

This congregation is a mix of local people and ex-pats. The minimum wage in Bali is very low; a little over $115.00 per month.  The budget of the church for the entire year is about $12,000.00.  Unfortunately, a portion of that goes to provide housing for the pastor. Once they housed the pastor in a hotel owned by the Balinese church at no cost to the church. I don't fully understand what happened, but they lost the hotel and now the church pays for housing.  The couple who owns to Eco lodge is an incredible couple, with an amazing story, and they are offering the housing at a significantly reduced rate.

The church is under the authority of the Protestant Christian church in Bali, so there are some requirements that are different than in the US, particularly in relation to communion age, which is somewhere between 14-16 years.