A few weeks ago I saw a sign for a Catholic Church here in Tsurumi, and I was so excited to be able to go to Mass in Japanese. So every time I rode the bus and passed by the sign I tried to read it to figure out where the church is located. Finally it dawned on me to google it- much easier. So I found the directions and today I went to mass.
On the way there today, walking through a little neighborhood, I found a tiny Shinto shrine. It is funny how there are shrines everywhere! I have seen them in the middle of cities next to department stores, office buildings, and residential areas like this one. I have been told that perhaps the shrines were bigger at one time, and when the area was built up around them people avoided moving the shrines so as to respect the feelings of the gods. So... there are shrines everywhere. This one was extra cute though, as it is set in the middle of a pond.
I found the Catholic Church very easily. It is very close to my dormitory- only about a ten minute walk away. Once I arrived I wandered around a little and found a very pretty ornamental pond in the courtyard that had a little chapel hiding behind it. Next I went to the main building and walked through the quiet, dark building wondering where the sanctuary was. In the lobby I found an Indian lady and her little daughter waiting for her husband and son to arrive. So I talked to her until the rest of her family came and then we walked upstairs for mass together. They were very kind and showed me where everything was and after mass introduced me to the priest. It was really neat to hear mass in Japanese, and I understood everything the priest said pretty well (of course that's not the hardest task since Catholic masses all follow the same format!). It was the smallest mass I have ever attended though, with only about 15 adults and 5 little kids. The recessional song had the same tune as one we sing in English, so that was pretty awesome. I was able to follow along and sing to it from the Japanese hymn book.
No comments:
Post a Comment