Living in the township ... and sometimes worshipping there too

Living next to the highway for more than a decade has made me long for the peace and quite of rural Enhlanhleni or some other place, where you just hear the birds and the bees more than once. I am not such a fan of mechanical noises imposing themselves on us from the outside.  I prefer to hear the leaves rustling in the wind and the laughter of the people passing by rather than the thundering trucks and endless trains of vehicles rushing by.

Leaving the gym last week I joked sarcastically with an incoming athlete, whose car windows were wide open and had some blaring sounds blasting from his super woofer sound system: “Thankfully you share your lovely music with all those poor blighters, who otherwise don’t have access to it.”

Going for exercises in the gym or going shopping in Pick&Pay or even at the farmers market, there’s always music flooding you. You somehow got to get used to this constant coverage – or else… It’s not that I don’t like music, but I do know, that my wife sometimes prefers not to listen to my radio – especially if it’s “boeremusiek” or some tunes from David Kramer. Lucky you if you can plug in your earphones and just listen to your own choice (eie keuse!).  I remember with some disgust our visit to the Cape last year, when on several occasions the neighbours would turn up their sound systems after midnight and we Webers would all nearly fall out of bed in shock: What’s happening? Apocalypse now!

Having a choice is really the issue. And also not infringing on my neighbours turf. Living together at close quarters does necessitate a higher level of consideration of “their space”.

“Own choice” has its serious limitations in public worship on a Sunday morning too. Worshipping in Thembisa (Mhlabane Street 3) with the Lutheran Congregation there, a tremendous noise from another Christian group meeting somewhere down the block in a tent was taking over that area and drowning all other sounds or communication – like it or not. Well, you’ve probably guessed it already: I am no fan of that intrusion. Whereas we had a house full of congregants singing and praising God with the traditional liturgy acapella (without accompaniment by an organ or so) and even with hymns from the Lutheran hymnal using indigenous melodies and tunes, the single voice over the loudspeakers from down the street accompanied by deep base drumming and other rhythmic beats was an unasked for contestant claiming predominance even in our own four walls and imposing himself constantly as a uncalled for backdrop to our hymnody. It really did not go well with our melodies of praise and worship. The interference was quite disconcerting when pastor Salomon Maleke was praying or the bible passages were read – never mind, when I was trying to preach the sermon of the day.  It’s like doing house calls and SABC (TV) is already there – as it was and is and shall be. It really is a either-or. You can’t have both. However in this case, there is just no “switch-off-botton”. You’ve got no choice. You’re stuck with the noise.

Muezzin calling faithful Muslims to prayer

It’s bad enough if in Lusaka (Zambia) the church conference is interrupted by the screaming muezzin from the nearby minarette of the mosque, but if we gather to worship in the townships and other Christian groupings impose their style, content and all in such a presumptuous manner that’s far worse. At least that’s my evaluation. The experience in the past months in  Nondweni, Mohlakeng, Ntshongweni and today in Thembisa did not encourage me to see the township as a safe haven of people living together in peace and harmony. On the contrary I got the feeling, that it’s a place where the rules of the jungle predominate and its all about survival of the fittest. If you can’t stand the heat – get out the kitchen sort of thing. I have a sound-system and I can turn it on as loud as I can – bugger the rest!

If you are trying to sleep in Kampala (Uganda) and the wedding party is only really  starting to get alive after midnight, then you might understand, how such loud interference is bothering others not invited or part of the game. The amplified thumping of electric sound systems through some plastic tent-walls is a very real affliction to those, who want to worship in a traditional liturgical way – even if they are inside a very concrete sanctuary.  It’s as bad as rolling around in a hot bed, mosquitoes biting and not being able to block out some frenzied DJ going crazy with outlandish imports, whose inferior quality is magnified infinitely by gigantic amplifiers and other artificial, but very real sound systems.

Is that kind of noise a pleasing sound to the father in heaven because it mentions the precious name of Jesus ever so often? Just because there are enough “Hallelujah’s” interspersed in the otherwise unintelligible babble? Is that the Christian invitation of the gospel to those on the streets or still at home, when they have ignored the chiming church bells earlier on, just because they can’t run away and hide? Closing the ears is no option either – you can still feel the vibe and the noise still gets to you. Is that loving outreach to those left in darkness and shadow of death, because these foreign beats are just too exotic to be disqualified off hand? Isn’t it rather very much like the piles of rubbish lining the township streets, thrown away thoughtlessly and with no consideration for those coming afterwards. In the same way the imported noises from the heavy machines is the bullying assertion of those, who have with no consideration for those, who might rather not be bombarded with such frightful and intimidating vibes. Well, we’ve got no option. You have to live with it – if your house or church is in the townships. I think there’s still a long way to go in trying to live peacefully together, without imposing my ways, tunes and wiles on you. I am thankful that I only hear this once in a while and that my highway is not so bad after all – at least it doesn’t shout any loud demands and doesn’t impose it’s empty promises on me. May God have mercy on those, who don’t have a choice and have to live with that kind of interference all the time.