Prayer Service: I set out this evening to attend the prayer service at St. Andrew's United Church of Cairo (interdenominational) held at 7:00 PM at 38, 26th of July Street. Every large city in Egypt has a street named this because it's the day the Free Officers (eventually led by Nasser) sent the monarchy into exile. The church is 100 years old. Evening Prayer is a candle-lit contemplative service, with unaccompanied singing and quiet meditative worship, in the midst of the noise and bustle of downtown Cairo. Sorry to say I missed the service because it took so long to find it, even though it's close to the High Court building (al-Is'aaf al-Alya).
Egyptians try to be so helpful, even though they're often just wrong. The shops and street stands around this downtown area were open selling almost everything. People were crowding the streets. It makes sense; the temperature has dropped to the lower 80°s as opposed to in the 90°s during the day. Morning worship is on Friday at 10:00 AM. As Egypt is a predominantly Islamic country, Friday is the first day of the weekend. Therefore, since offices and schools are closed, the Friday worship service is the largest service, according to the interim pastor, Dr. Mark Nygard, Director of Graduate Studies at the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Cairo. His assistant is Gloria. The Friday service features piano, organ and special music. Fellowship follows the service with coffee and tea served in the Guild Hall. Often, an Adult Forum or study is presented on Fridays. Hopefully, I'll have better luck (and better pictures) then finding the church on time and participating in activities–and it'll be daylight!
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