We have been attending a local church on Sunday mornings called Karura Community Chapel. It is a non-denominational fellowship with a Kenyan Leadership Team of 3 pastors, 8 lay person staff, and a congregation of Kenyans and ex-patriots. 
Kenya is a Christian nation. The church here is very active in social justice issues. In the midst of the post-election violence in January, the churches were vital in bringing stability to the nation and in providing food and shelter to the thousands of displaced people.
It is a 25 minute walk for us to reach the church site. The main service takes place in a large tent, and a series of shipping containers have been converted to classrooms for the children’s programs. There is a second tent for the teen service and a Swahili servic
e. The main tent seats about 400 people and the platform at front is always decorated with huge bouquets of flowers (at least 4 bouquets with 150 rose blooms each).The service resembles a contemporary Canadian worship service in many respects. There is always a worship leader and band that sings hymns and choruses that we are familiar with. Today’s music included rock, hip-hop, and rap.
There was also a youth drama team. Like our Canadian churches they use the PowerPoint projection system for the worship and teaching time. Technology is good for African churches because it means that they are able to avoid the costs of hymn books.
Karura is a very active church and in its 10 years of operation has planted two other churches. Activities announced today included upcoming men’s breakfast, marriage retreat (which includes salsa dancing), and Mizizi class (“spiritual roots”). Karura and other local churches have a vision of empowering youth by linking sports with social, physical, and sustainable community development activities. The KYSA group will work on capacity building, environmental stewardship, and character development. The kickoff event was a soccer tournament and 550 young people came to play! The website for Karura Community Chapel is www.karuracc.or.ke
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