A few years ago, when I commuted from Arlington to the Pentagon metrorail stop to catch the yellow line each morning, part of the metro bus route went through Columbia Pike. On occasion, when I wasn't reading the newspaper or a book, I watched the people on the street.
I am a people watcher.
I see other commuters like myself rushing to the various public transportation stops, racing through the streets to catch rides, or sitting in coffee houses or the Arlington Diner reading their morning papers before their dash to work. We DC commuters are a varied lot.
- Professional, blue collar, government, military, private-sector, non-profit workers. Northerner, Southerner, Easterner, West Coast. Black, White, Asian, Hispanic. Young, Old. Male, Female. American, International, Immigrant. Infrequently I see children waiting for their school busses.
One day I observed elderly women walking on the sidewalk. A handful of women covered in white linen or cotton vestments from head to toe were heading toward the same direction. They didn't register on my radar at first glance. Then, as time rolled on, I started to notice that they would approach the same church edifice at the same time each day. I didn't think they were muslim women because they were not wearing any black garb, but I was curious about who they were and what was their faith.
Later, I found out that they were Ethiopian Orthodox believers.
Yesterday I read in the Washington Post about the Ethiopian Orthodox church. I identified the pictures of women wearing the same attire as the other ladies walking on the street.
The article reports that an archbishop of the church had recently died. Mourners were remembering Archbishop Abuna Yesehaq Mandefro who planted several churches on the east coast, here in DC and in New York City.
Did you know that the Ethiopian Orthodox church is one of the oldest existing churches? The Wikipedia post declares that this church parted away from the Egyptian Coptic Church. It also cites that 36 million people worldwide claim membership making this the largest Oriental Orthodox church.
The Post article states that numerous Rastafarians, including Bob Marley, converted to Orthodox Christianity and the archbishop was a disciple of the famed Haile Selassie.
I caught these women waiting at the foot of the church steps on the Pike. I wondered about what or who are they waiting for. Were they waiting for a service to start? Were they waiting for the church to open? Whatever the reason, they now have a place to worship God because people like Archbishop Abuna Yesehaq Mandefro dared to launch churches like this one.
Today's Scripture: Acts 8:26-29 (New King James Version)
Christ Is Preached to an Ethiopian
26Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, "Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." This is desert. 27So he arose and went. And behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasury, and had come to Jerusalem to worship, 28was returning. And sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the prophet. 29 Then the Spirit said to Philip, "Go near and overtake this chariot."
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