They call the house here at Oudezijds 100 "The Community," and that's really the best way to get your head around it. What you shouldn't get the idea of is some sort of weird, spartan compound of True Believers secreting themselves away from the world. But when you need a word that encompasses several large biological families, numerous students, a handful of volunteers and an ever-fluxuating group of dozens of folks who arrive, stay for a few weeks, and move on, all moving in and out of a number of ancient, ramshackle buildings... well, "Community" is probably as close a word as you'll find.
How do you manage such a large group of individuals with such diverse purposes and needs? Surely someone, somewhere, must be thoroughly overwhelmed. And perhaps they are. But mostly the needs of the community are answered by having a basic rhythm to life that is constant. Although I am still getting the hang of this rhythm, I think that giving you some idea of it is probably key to understanding daily life here.
Mornings officially start with breakfast at 7:30, although most people are up well before then (I judge this solely by the rush of footsteps that starts around 6:30 in my building). Those who want breakfast assemble in the kitchen, or koeken. The table is set with bread and cheese, the staples of Dutch life, and a wide assortment of condiments. We all hold hands, one of the brothers or sisters says a brief prayer, and then we get down to business. When everyone has had their fill, a basket of fruit is passed around. After that is finished, we all rise, someone says the doxology, and then there's washing up.
Something you quickly realize about meals for a dozen or more people - there's always plenty of washing up. But usually several volunteers will tackle it, and so it seldom takes more than ten minutes. Nonetheless, it's a key part of every meal!
After breakfast there's a lull of sorts, until 8:45. At this time the bell rings for morning prayers, and those who wish may assemble in the chapel, or kapel. The chapel is really just a room in the basement, however it has been paved with stones and it has a fountain flowing into a basin, and candles are lit. It's actually a very peaceful place, and a great way to start your morning.
Chapel is short, usually lasting about a half hour. There is some liturgy (all in Dutch), some songs are sung (in many languages), and a passage of scripture is read. There is also some time for contemplating and prayer. Although the whole things is usually conducted in Dutch, chapel has a rhythm all its own and so one can usually follow what's going on.
After chapel, we exit through a door onto the street and then reenter the house by the front door. Time for morning tea! From this time until 11:00, anyone who wants is welcome to drop by for tea or coffee. For a few minutes we all gather in the common room and talk and greet early visitors. By nine, though, most people have scattered to their appointed tasks.
Depending on their status, members of the community may have many or few responsibilities during the week, but everyone is expected to contribute somewhat. There is a schedule roster, and you can expect that at some point you will find yourself sweeping, mopping, scrubbing, cooking, washing, or doing any of the other dozens of tasks necessary to keep the house orderly and functioning. As a year-long volunteer, I get to participate in many of these activities. And in fact, I really don't mind. It's not hard work, and it's different every day.
Lunch is at 12:30, but is otherwise quite similar to breakfast. We usually have some leftovers from dinner in addition to fare such as brood and kaas. Also, the meal ends with the reading of the week's scripture verse. Washing up follows. Then, onto afternoon duties.
The day's work typically winds down around four. The next noteworthy event after this is dinner, which starts at six. Dinner is a much grander meal than the previous two. Someone is assigned to cook, and preparation for the meal usually takes about three hours. In a house this large, with representatives from all over the world, you can guarantee that you will usually be having something interesting. Dinner virtually always includes dessert. On most nights, this will simply be fla, or pudding, but there have been known to be other delights on offer.
Washing up after dinner can sometimes be a rather epic affair, but it gets done. 'Many hands', etc. Afterwards the bell is rung for evening prayers at 7:30. Then it's once more time for tea in the common room. This time, though, people who don't have anywhere special to be will stick around and socialize for a while.
Not too long, though. Most people are in bed by 10:30 or so. Because the morning comes early, and then we do it all over again!
Weekends, of course, are a little different.
3 comments:
I go to a Dutch Reformed church. I wonder how similar our liturgy is to the one you guys have.
Is Dutch pudding similar to the American variety, or is it more like Britain's so-called "pudding"? :-)
Really?! Well I would imagine it is quite similar. Although it's probably in English...
I speak of pudding in American terms to give you an idea of what the food is like. They wouldn't call it that here.
Yeah, it's all English. ;-) In fact, we're pretty far removed from our Dutch heritage. Not very many people in the church are of Dutch descent, or necessarily even know our church has that heritage. But it comes up every now and then.
Our liturgy changes sometimes, but the general flow goes something like this:
Pastor reads a psalm, and then we sing a hymn based on the psalm.
Pastor reads a passage that deals with God's law. We quietly pray for forgiveness of sins we've committed. The pastor reads a passage that deals with God's forgiveness of sins.
Prayer of intercession. Giving of tithes/offerings. Singing of the Doxology.
Pastor reads the passage for the day, and then preaches a sermon based on it. We sing a hymn that has something to do with the sermon.
The benediction. And then lastly, singing of the Gloria Patri (Glory Be To The Father).
There's usually a few hymns and prayers thrown in through out the service too. In the evening the order is a little different, and we usually say the Aposlte's Creed, or one of the other creeds. On holidays we're sometimes more liturgical, and have words the congregation is supposed to say (the classic liturgical call and response sort of thing). But for the most part we're not that liturgical, so our services are pretty simple.
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