St Luke's Church Eccleshill - Articles from "The Link"

After a while in Egypt

Chris and Angela Chorlton are our CMS link mission partners in Beni Suef. They wrote this letter a while ago, but staffing difficulties meant we didn’t receive it until recently.

There is an Arabic saying, meaning literally, "Grapes are eaten one by one" (Akel al ainab haba haba) ie "One step at a time!" Our first year has been a time of watching, learning, building relationships, and generally trying to discern more about God's plans for us here. We have much to be thankful for, and many things we are still puzzling about!

We are thankful for:

A warm welcome in St.Mark's Language School (for Chris) and in the Girls home (for Angela).
Invitations to speak at youth meetings and bible studies;
Relationships being formed with a number of Orthodox Priests, and the Orthodox, Protestant and Muslim communities;
language helpers for us;
An excellent nursery for Anna;
the chance of a bit of Tourism;
Good health;
The patter of tiny feet. We are very thankful for a future addition to the family - Angela is due to give birth at the end of September!

We are still puzzling about:

Our exact place in the life of the church here. Worship is very different to home! The service IS the mass and the mass IS the service. We aren't entitled to receive the bread and wine so we feel 'outsiders'. There are masses every day and lots of churches to choose from, so it is very difficult to 'get to know' a congregation and their needs. The 'after service cup of tea' socialising thing, just does not happen here - it tends to be done in other ways at other times … we're still trying to figure out where and when.
How to find Jesus among the saints. We expected to find a lot of ritual but not much real belief. Yes, the ritual is here in abundance, but to assume that ritual was a substitute for genuine spirituality was a huge mistake. Each week hundreds of people of all ages attend the Bishop's Bible study at 7pm on a Friday night. Could an English Bishop pull in such numbers? Yet some bits seem so odd - like a long debate on the correct amount of times to chant "Kyrie Eleison".
Why we are so VERY interesting to stare at. Beni Suef has a high population but a village mentality. People love to meet us, and to show they know us by calling out or introducing their friends to us. The longer we are here the harder it is to deal with the constant attention. W'e're tempted to shout: "I live here, you saw me yesterday!!!"

Thanks for all your love and support, and please keep on praying for us!

Chris & Angela Chorlton

	*St Luke's Church, Eccleshill - The Link* magazine** The Link is published monthly at 40p (Senior Citizens 35p), and we deliver free within the parish and post copies (at the reader's expense) to those who request it. Please contact us if you would like a free copy for a trial period. September 2005, Page 4.
Home Page. Index of articles: by subject, by date. In this issue: September 2005 Harvest & Song, The Gateway, Chorltons, Urban Village, Question. Other articles on Chris & Angela. Prayer Letters	After a while in Egypt Chris and Angela Chorlton are our CMS link mission partners in Beni Suef. They wrote this letter a while ago, but staffing difficulties meant we didn’t receive it until recently. There is an Arabic saying, meaning literally, "Grapes are eaten one by one" (Akel al ainab haba haba) ie "One step at a time!" Our first year has been a time of watching, learning, building relationships, and generally trying to discern more about God's plans for us here. We have much to be thankful for, and many things we are still puzzling about! We are thankful for: A warm welcome in St.Mark's Language School (for Chris) and in the Girls home (for Angela). Invitations to speak at youth meetings and bible studies; Relationships being formed with a number of Orthodox Priests, and the Orthodox, Protestant and Muslim communities; language helpers for us; An excellent nursery for Anna; the chance of a bit of Tourism; Good health; The patter of tiny feet. We are very thankful for a future addition to the family - Angela is due to give birth at the end of September! We are still puzzling about: Our exact place in the life of the church here. Worship is very different to home! The service IS the mass and the mass IS the service. We aren't entitled to receive the bread and wine so we feel 'outsiders'. There are masses every day and lots of churches to choose from, so it is very difficult to 'get to know' a congregation and their needs. The 'after service cup of tea' socialising thing, just does not happen here - it tends to be done in other ways at other times … we're still trying to figure out where and when. How to find Jesus among the saints. We expected to find a lot of ritual but not much real belief. Yes, the ritual is here in abundance, but to assume that ritual was a substitute for genuine spirituality was a huge mistake. Each week hundreds of people of all ages attend the Bishop's Bible study at 7pm on a Friday night. Could an English Bishop pull in such numbers? Yet some bits seem so odd - like a long debate on the correct amount of times to chant "Kyrie Eleison". Why we are so VERY interesting to stare at. Beni Suef has a high population but a village mentality. People love to meet us, and to show they know us by calling out or introducing their friends to us. The longer we are here the harder it is to deal with the constant attention. W'e're tempted to shout: "I live here, you saw me yesterday!!!" Thanks for all your love and support, and please keep on praying for us! Chris & Angela Chorlton
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