Untouchable thing

"Mister? I'll go to church tonight. Would you like to come with me?" "Yes, please. But it's in the evening?" "Yes"
In Christian country Samoa, people go to church every Sunday morning. So I had asked the owner of the bungalow to take me there. But when I was told was in the afternoon and she said the service would be in the evening.

And now I sit on the folding chair in a small hall with local people. Where I was taken by the owner was not a big church but small hall for local's meeting. The sign board in front told 'Living Stone Evangelism Monastery'
When we got to the church, the owner suggested me to sit in the front as a guest while she herself stayed in the back.

Although I've waited a solemn service, something is off. Music instruments and boom mics are set up and band members are standing by. Suddenly gospel music are played and people get start dancing. Then I take part in the wave of dance. Yeah, it's fun but different from what I've expected. Is this service?

After series of music and dance, a man in a formal wear starts speech. Is he a priest or a chief of  the community? The speech is paused and attendants who has danced with fun suddenly start sobbing. All the band members and a madam front of me in summer dress are now sobbing too.
I don't know what's happened. Does anything coming down from the heaven? The attendants being dumbfounded is just me, an only foreigner, and a small kid on next seat.

When the female vocal restarts, the attendants who were sobbing just before are now listening the music in calm. For me, I don't catch up the emotional roller coaster. I'm left in the chaos.
The speech is restarted. "Today We got a guest from Japan ..." Maybe those kind of introduction is spoken in local language and I got a people's eyes on me. "Ah,Hi ... folks" The final song is played and the service is closed.

The woman in front seat looks back and asks me in hyper. "Are you Christian?" "No" "So what's your religion?" "Buddhist" "Ha? You are Buddhist" "I just wanted to know it"
The Gospel Night was interesting experience to me. But in honest, I didn't know the meaning. And moreover, I felt a sort of regret to join it with just curiosity. Religion can be untouchable thing for the people outside.

Christmas is coming. It's also Christmas sale season. Kids are looking forward to a present from Santa Claus. However the story Santa brings tons of presents with reindeer sleigh must not be described in the meaning of Christmas. The commercialized Christmas, like commercialized Olympic Games, looks like taking the dirt of the mundane world into a holy rite.
Yeah, the religious thing must be untouchable for the people outside. However as long as society is run by all the adherent, other religion's adherent and irreligious people, the religion must find out a meeting point to the society. Although it's not so easy sometime ...