Bridget's Bunia Blog 30

An unsent-letter

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ ~

I am very interested to learn more about a cultural phenomenon that I have observed in Bunia during the past year.

I would like very much to know why many of the Revivalist congregations choose to meet at night. More so, I would like to know why the services have to have maximum amplification. If I understand it correctly, only a few members of the congregations gather for such meetings, therefore it doesn't seem necessary to amplify the preaching and the praying and the singing. And if the raison d'être of the amplification is to reach out to the non-Christians and the pagans of the town, surely it would be more appropriate to do so during daytime? I know that, I for one, would be more disposed to listen when I was compos mentis. I thought that God ordained the night hours for sleep so that, rested and refreshed, we could arise and live and work to his praise and glory during the day.

Even the political campaigns don't begin until daybreak when people are awake and functioning. And the Muslim call to prayer – though at 5 am - is short and sweet and not menacing.

I fail to understand how you can justify thus harassing the population: children and students who need a good night's rest in order to study well at school, exhausted mothers, and weary sick people who also need undisturbed nights.

I think the writer of Proverbs 27:14 - "You might as well curse your friends as wake them up early in the morning with a loud greeting" - expresses my point well. And it seems to me that, as Christians, we have a duty to consider our testimony among the unbelievers and to be kind to them.

However, I do see the value of assembling the Christians during the night hours of late when heavy rains are causing people to stay indoors during the daytime hours. Wise move!