No Solemn Service

I accepted an invitation from my friend Bayo the same weekend as the shrine visit to attend a service at what he told me was one of the largest and most spectacular churches ever built. The Living Faith Church was responsible for building the "Faith Tabernacle" a monstrous 50,000-seater church, an amazing architectural and engineering feat in Ogun state, just outside of Lagos.

Driving there in our car we were passed by innumerable buses labelled Caananland, all heading to this Sunday event. The organisation required just to conduct a service must be hard work with seemingly hundreds of people on parking, traffic, food, seating and other such duties. It is hard for me to describe the internal structure, but there was a central stage area with three sections of worshippers facing. Behind one side was a massive area for the thousand? - strong choir.

My best analogy for the service was that of a football match. Whilst the place wasn't fully packed it the crowd was probably several thousand times larger than and church I've been to before. If churches are looking for model of a way to get bums on seats this must be it. As the pastor whipped up the frenzy, worshippers danced, sang, waved white handkerchiefs in the air and stomped their feet. I was only waiting for a few in the crowd to throw flares, start a riot and we truly would have been at an action-packed football game.

The religious content was a bit lost on me, not only because I could barely understand what he was saying from my viewing point on the upper tier. I think it was mostly because I couldn’t stop marvelling at the monstrosity, and wishing I'd brought my camera.