Hillsong Sunday Morning Service – July 6th

The 9:30 AM service would be a challenge for us to attend, but we were determined to make it. Most people (back home) attend the later services, so our plan was to come during a quieter time. Hillsong Church (City side) is a train ride up three stops to Central with a slight walk to Chalmers street to catch the courtesy bus to the church. Why we don’t stop thinking that things are going to be the same here as back home is beyond me. It was a packed bus! Probably a five minute ride from the train station, we arrived at their city church location. There was nothing but smiles, welcomes, and assistance as we tried to soak in everything. It was quite overwhelming. Morgan went into the 3 to 5 year old class called The Ark. She ignored us as we waved good bye and bulldozed her way to the Barbie dolls waiting on the one of the tables. Mason’s class, The Fun House (and appropriately named), was upstairs and fully stocked with video games, music, and a friendly staff. I left Scott to visit the Ladies Room. One thing for sure that is still the same in Oz as in probably the rest of the world, there is always a queue (line) for the women’s bathroom. When I walked out from the restroom, I could not move very far. The population in the entry way had tripled in size. With nowhere to move, I was wedged in between a column and the wall by additional women leaving the ladies room. I found out later they have to corral people for each service since they start the next one so quickly after the first. We were all waiting for the next service to start. That was the longest six minutes. All of a sudden I felt weak, trapped, started to sweat, and anxiety set in as my brain began to realize claustrophobia was setting in fast. I was probably seconds away from passing out when the crowd rushed forward. I saw Scott’s face in the sea of people while my body collapsed on a nearby chair to rest. It scared me to death. The feelings left as quickly as they came, and we were off to find our seats. And again, packed! The Aussies call this type of church a “happy, clappy” one and they were right. They had an amazing music service, and could not wait to hear an Aussie pastor… only to find out they had a guest speaker, Dino from Healing Place Church, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He was hilarious, and the sermon was great. They are having a special conference this week, inviting everyone to come back to attend. Their first speaker for tonight is Joyce Meyers. (This is an inside joke between Scott and my mom – Scott’s not a big fan of Joyce Meyers, and my mom is. He likes to tease my mom about Joyce.) So this is for you, Mom – Scott turned to me and said, “That’s it, we are never coming back!” He was kidding, Mom! ;-) After the service you are supposed to leave a different way so the next crowd can come into the sanctuary, but we had to pick up the kids. We had to physically remove Morgan from The Ark classroom. She LOVED it there. Mason somehow had won a stuffed animal, and we kept laughing on the way home because he kept pulling out food from his pockets that he received from the Fun House class. The first sentence out of Morgan’s mouth was “Jesus is my number one!” We thought that was pretty cool. And you know, we were right – the second service WAS much bigger than the first. We were so amazed to see all of the people cramming in the small entry way as they waited for their turn to worship. It was another crowded bus ride, and we were back at the train station and quickly home. We spent a little bit of time walking around the neighborhood, still trying to learn our way about. It was a great experience and plan to go back to Hillsong when we are in Sydney during the weekends. (We plan to make some side trips out of the city for the next couple of weekends.)