What is church?

Everyone knows that a church is not a building, but rather the people in it and the God whom they worship. This fact is very evident to us here in Morocco. There are very few church buildings in Morocco and they are mostly made up of foreigners.

We have two church settings. One is with Ron and some other foreigners (about 15) from Meknes where he lives. They meet in homes or come up to Ifrane and meet outside as you see in the two outside pictures. How refreshing it is to worship among the cedar trees or on the grass near sheep, a stream and a few cows! No building is needed or even wanted. This is a very casual setting with lay leaders, teenage musicians, choruses and lots of kids. We meet with them every month or two.

The second setting is right here in our building. Believe it or not, the university allows (but doesn't pay for) a campus pastor. One of the original goals of AUI was to facilitate communication between Jews, Christians and Muslims. So far there have been no Jewish gatherings (although Morocco did used to have a sizable Jewish population), there is a large mosque in the middle of campus for the Muslims, and one apartment in our building is used as a church for the Christians (inside picture). Our pastor is a wonderful woman from Kentucky with a Baptist background but who leads a very liturgical service. The church is made up of foreign professors, exchange students from the States and a few folks from the nearby orphanages making a total of about 20. We range from Southern Baptist to Catholic to Armenian Orthodox making discussions and services quite interesting! This setting is much more formal although relaxed enough to share concerns and praises every week. Afterwards we have a potluck which the students eagerly attend! There is no Sunday school but there is a children's time during the sermon and communion.

We enjoy both places and are thankful for others with whom we can worship!