Easter with the Methodist Church in Belize

An unimaginative but accurate title...

I guess preparations really started last Saturday afternoon, which I spent making palm crosses for the Ebenezer circuit service. I realised fairly early on that I knew very little about the anatomy of palm tree, and I still know quite little, but happily spent a good while stripping layers and layers off a 3m long 'bit' of palm and folding them into crosses, to the dulcit tones of two younger members of the congregation 'do do do'ing Easter (and occasionally Christmas) hymns at a high pitch. I saw my first cockroach in Belize, which in a weird way is worthy of note. [On the topic of wildlife, we have a resident iguana who basks by our front door, runs away from people but not cars, and who I hope no-one decides and manages to cook! We have some trees and plants graced by hummingbirds, too]. Following this, and after brushing significant amounts of dirt off my skirt, I went to Wesley for a choir rehearsal.

On Palm Sunday we arrived at church a bit early to make ready for a procession around the streets, joined by the police and their band, who were to worship with us. About a minute into the procession I had to backtrack a few rows in the procession to retrive a flipflop, and hope no-one important had noticed...
At about 8:15 we started singing 'Children of Jerusalem', and what could easily have been fifteen minutes later we stopped repeating it and entered the church! I was quite warm in my robes when the service finished around 10AM. We then had choir rehearsals, and a impromptu choir photoshoot!

In holy week there is a service every day at 7pm, and I made every one except the Monday one, playing the organ on Wednesday (making my way through the five hymns and three out of the 'Gloria', 'Alleluia', 'Hear Our Prayer', threefold Amen, and Doxology, since I'm still not quite sure where in the service to play them all and where I thought I should, somebody got on and did someone else!). On Thursday I took some time to bake some hot cross buns, English style (I was given a Belizean 'hot cross bun' but it didn't have a cross, so I'm a little confused). I also read at the 7pm service!

On Friday I went to the 8am and an ecumenical service at 7pm. Again, the Methodist church is very traditional (or rather, 'high', tending towards Anglo-Catholic in this case); at the 8am we concluded with the 'Stripping of the Altar', when all regalia, flags, flowers, cushions etc are removed from the sanctuary area. Also, everyone it seemed except me was wearing purple and/or black. Ooh, and Maggie cooked some DELICIOUS fish for a late lunch. Saturday was service-less, so I had a good clean, baked a cake that wasn't quite disastrous, caught up with some stuff and listened excitedly to the boat race.

Today I went to the sunrise service at 5:30AM, and only just stayed awake, before having some quick breakfast at the house of a church member (whose father my parents knew as a Methodist minister in Jamaica...small world) before the 8am at Wesley, which was a fantastic service, and just over two hours long.


Ebenezer Methodist Church.


Making palm crosses.


Hot Cross Buns!


The choir at Wesley.


The choir ar Wesley on Easter Sunday.