Rocking Church Service, Chopsticks Champion

15/2/2013

At Perth Christian Life Centre for their Sunday morning service.

Statistically 61.1% of Australians call themselves Christians, but in reality Church attendance numbers have been in steady decline over the years. So it was a surprise to visit one example of Church that is bucking that trend.

Perth Christian Life Centre (or CLC) can be found in a residential area of Canning Vale (a suburb on the outskirts of south Perth). With its purpose built building, you’d be forgiven for mistaking it for a top concert venue with its blacked-out 1,000 seater auditorium, ample stage, well-rigged sound system and an impressive light show complete with a huge screen backdrop.

The enthusiastic band led by a rock band-styled lead singer pumped out contemporary Christian music emphatically followed by a congregation of all ages.

This was the Church my in-laws attended with Lezil’s mom, Lizz, heading up the arts and dance program there. Curiously enough, I was told that over half of all CLC attendees were not Australians per se but immigrants who had come and made Perth their home. A good proportion of people were of Asian descent along with a large contingency from Africa, especially South Africa.

With my in-laws at Mom Hendricks' booth for dance school sign-ups.

A rocking band on the Church's stage.

A snappy messaged was delivered by senior Pastor Storer who would have got the feminist vote with his head-on sermon on the story of two sisters – Mary and Martha (Luke 10:38-4). According to Storer, the very fact that Mary decided to sit and join the men during their meal, and have it approved by Jesus, was a clear sign that no longer was Jesus allowing gender discrimination but that women could have authority just as much as men. A hot topic indeed which has divided many a theologian. The service was over in little more than an hour and a half.

Because of the scorching day outside, the Church had free refreshments laid out for people to take away which I thought was a nice touch. We were introduced to some of the Church’s team and friends – all of whom made us feel most welcome. Although many of the people there had worn shorts to Church, I still have an old-school mentality of covering up a bit before going to service. So by now, I was itching to get my trousers off into some much lighter summer gear.

A quick change back at Lezil’s parent’s home and then Dad Hendricks kindly drove us into town for a celebration of a different kind – Chinese New Year! Northbridge, a central area of the city, is a trendy hotspot of bars, restaurants, cute coffee shops and a run of vintage stores. It’s also home to, what would qualify, as Perth’s China Town.

The main piazza and surrounding streets had been blocked off to traffic, creating the focal point for the festivities. A few thousand people were soaking in the afternoon’s sun, with temperatures topping 38C.

Celebrating Chinese New Year in Perth's Northbridge area.

The main piazza at Northbridge, adapted for Chinese New Year.

The majority of street stalls all had some kind of Chinese theme to them from teas and lanterns to candy and dumplings. There was even one which had a chopstick-picking competition. I remember when I first arrived in China, I struggled to complete a meal without looking like Edward Scissorshands attempting to eat a bowl of noodles.

Fast forward three years later and I now come close to Mr Miyagi’s feat of catching flies with one skilful swoop. I summoned that Karate Kid spirit as I stepped up to the table putting myself forward as a candidate for the next round of competition.

The rules were simple enough. There were 30 jellybeans in a central bowl with one Chinese takeaway box on either side. Two people with a pair of chopsticks each went head-to-head to see who could pick out the most jellybeans until the bowl was empty.

Up against me was a Chinese Malaysian dude called Kenny. As expected, stereotypes kicked in and the majority of onlookers already had it as a foregone conclusion – me the loser. We were given our starting orders before our referee shouted “go!”. Those annoying little jelly beans kept slipping off the ends of my chopsticks. Kenny had got off to a good start with two in his takeaway box, me with nada. I realised for something as delicate as a slippery piece of candy, I had to lessen the pressure at which I was clamping the chopsticks with.

Striving to win in a jelly bean picking competition using only chopsticks!

Winning the honorary takeaway box trophy with Kenny, my fellow competitor, beside me.

Then I suddenly got into my groove and those jelly beans were dropping into my box quicker than winning coins coming out of a slot machine. I sped right past my Malaysian friend which seemed to put him off and in no time, the central bowl was empty. Our referee counted our final numbers. 25 to me, 5 to Kenny. I was the chopsticks champion! There was an honorary trophy handed out. Kenny did ask me how I managed to work the two little sticks with apparent ease.

I came clean and told him that we have been living in China for a few years now. He gave me a friendly slap on the back acknowledging the fact that I have obviously had some good training. Following from all that excitement, we managed to catch some performances which included a boisterous lion dance, Beijing Opera singing, a tai chi demonstration and a graceful upbeat dragon dance.

The lingering outdoor cooking smells was making us decidedly hungry which led us to a small strip aptly named (for us) ‘Old Shanghai’. It was a recreation of the type of hawker stalls you’d find in somewhere like Singapore or Malaysia. And as it was Chinese New Year, we went for Indian food. (We’ve eaten our fair share of Chinese cuisine to last us a lifetime!)

Thankfully, the prices also reflected the nature of the street-food-concept. For around $11 your plate was piled high with rice and a choice of three meat or vegetable choices. I had the Lamb Rogan and Lezil went for the Butter Chicken – both of which were cooked to perfection with all those incredible spices (not too overpowering) coming through in the flavour.

There were additional parades with a local Chinese women’s dance group dressing up in various ethnic clothing reflecting the diversity of China as a nation.

Eating some incredible Indian food at 'Old Shanghai' food strip.

With a mock Chinese Emperor giving out red packets of goodies for the kids.

A mock Chinese emperor was handing out Hong Bao (red packets) for the kids which had token money and some sweets in them. There was an evening concert scheduled with a live link to Nanjing for families to greet each other, but we were tired out after spending the whole afternoon in the sun enjoying the festivities.

My last Chinese New Year experience in China was in blisteringly cold temperatures of -30C way up in Inner Mongolia. Last year, we celebrated with friends in Penang (Malaysia).

And now this year in Perth Australia. I think I will continue to stick with the trend of bringing in the new lunar year in a hot country as opposed to cold China! (Also, having to experience four days of non-stop fireworks, day and night, drove me CRAZY!)