Translated worship

Wearing headphones in church has always seemed disrespectful until we attended our first church service in Sweden Sunday.

A kind woman who first greeted us with “valkommen” and then “oh, engelska” led us to the back two rows of the church where headphones were placed over the pews. We were told someone would translate the message from Swedish to English through these devices.

The church wasn’t large, so it didn’t seem like all the internationals were segregated to the back of the congregation as one might think. We were the first who sat in these rows, but by the time the service started, almost every headphone was in use. A man from Australia who moved to the country with his Swedish wife said sometimes there aren’t enough to go around.

The music wasn’t translated from Swedish. By the end, though, we recognized the music of one popular worship song. In this moment, I didn’t feel as out of place as I sang the words in my native tongue.

There is something beautiful about listening to a new language worship and find faith in something bigger than our individual selves. Witnessing this made me feel closer to a people I still have much to learn about.

It was difficult at times focusing on the message when I couldn’t stop myself from trying to understand the Swedish while also fully understanding through the translation. I hope I get better at this as time goes by.

While it was a good experience to take a step toward finding an area church, there were a few key things we didn't agree with in the message. The Australian said there are other churches in town that offer a translation. We’re going to check these out and see what works for us. The best solution, of course, is to continue to work on our Swedish so we may not miss anything that’s lost in translation. Until then, it’s nice and a very Swedish thing to make foreigners and everyone feel included, which, in my opinion, is also something a true follower of God would do.