Ethiopian Church

In the Phoenix area, we are blessed to be able to visit an Ethiopian church service.  Pastor Surafel leads an enthusiastic, joy-filled worship service that meets at Central United Methodist Church at 1875 N. Central Avenue in downtown Phoenix.

The service was quite wonderful:  the music had people swaying and clapping to the rhythmic Ethiopian beats; the people were very warm and completely welcoming.  The kids even got to witness a baby dedication service.  Although the kids did get a little wiggly towards the end of an over 2 hour service--- completely in Amharic-- they did seem to relish being around some other Ethiopians and being able to hear their own language again.

Pastor Surafel also heads up a program called Hope for the Hopeless.  This is a wonderful opportunity to minister to orphans in Ethiopia; I encourage you to visit the site:

http://www.hope4hopeless.org/home

Part of what made the morning memorable for the kids was being able to wear their traditional Ethiopian garb.  They really enjoyed wearing the clothes which were a gift from The Thomas Center in Addis Ababa.