Albanians and Punctuality
Allow me to make a list of places/situations that determine the Albanians' punctuality.
ON TIME when they go
1. To work (in a serious business/company)
2. To a funeral
3. To a football (soccer) match
4. To a show (TV, opera, theatre, cinema)
LATE when they go
1. To a wedding / birthday party
2. To church or any church meetings
3. For "coffee")
4. to a picnic
I could add 5. blogging and I can only point the finger at myself...
How does one make sense of this? Of course, what concerns me the most is the striking lack of punctuality in churchgoing. What is it that makes Albanians be on time for some things, but late for others? Is there something in the pattern of thinking that I do not see?
What would make an Albanian Adventist come to church on time? Can being late be directly interpreted as lack of spirituality? What can be done?
The rhetorical sentence "Would you be late to see the President or the Prime Minister of Albania? (implying "How could you be on time for the President or the Prime Minister of Albania and NOT for the King of the Universe?") has been already over-rehearsed and utterly exhausted.
I welcome your input.
Comments
and then begin the real church meeting afterward. Don't advertise the change and don't tell them when real church begins. The few that are there on time will be rewarded with the social time together and when the others get there they will come in at the tail end of a good time of fellowship which they missed. They may be encouraged to come earlier next time to join in the fun. But if not, at least they will be there in time for the important stuff. Who says every church service in every country has to begin in the same way? Fellowship before instead of after church. Be creative. Why not? Parents soon learn that each of their children is different and needs a different kind of motivation. God's children are all different, too. We need to be flexible enough to use what works without bringing everyone down. It's so much nicer for the pastor, too. He can welcome people with a genuine smile instead of a silent frown of rebuke which brings a feeling of shame to the latecomer. We want people to have a good feeling at church, not a feeling of condemnation. They might avoid church altogether if they feel judged. Albanians are not the only culture with a more relaxed view of time. Who made the German view of time the world standard, anyway? The culture that Jesus lived in was more like Albanian than German or English. Think about the parable of the ten virgins. How late was the wedding procession? They all fell asleep!
If you look carefully through the New Testament, you will see my point. I think the Albanian view of time isn't wrong. It's just relaxed! Brenda