Barcelona Day

Last Sunday we took the train to Barcelona for a day of worship and touring. We started and ended our day at two very different churches, and put in about 15 miles of walking in between!

For our first Sunday in Spain, we wanted to attend a church service, and had been told to find an international church to attend. We found one in central Barcelona, and looked forward to attending worship with a blend of cultures, interested to see how God is uniquely worshipped in other areas of the world. As we stepped up to the front door, we were greeted by an enthusiastic blond american girl and ushered into the front door where kids were checked in via CCB to the left, the Welcome Center was to the right, and the coffee was served before the front door. It felt like we were walking into little USA, and the feeling continued. The band was lively, singing english contemporary songs with spanish translations below on the large, center screen. All cultures of people surrounded us, but as the kids came up to sing the song ours had sung a couple of years ago, I realized there was nothing different. The sermon was true, the people were very friendly, and we even had an invite to a weekly small group, but I came away a little disappointed that it was just the same as what we had experienced back home. There was nothing wrong with it, it had all of the elements that every church strives for, it was just the same when I was looking for different.

We pulled out our phones to find the next destination: the Gothic quarter, a beautiful area of Barcelona with old, Romanesque architecture showing elaborate stonework and ironwork, narrow streets and little shops. We enjoyed pointing out the impressive buildings, watching the many people passing by, and walking the stone paths. There were lights hung from balconies and a large Christmas tree to remind us of the holidays. 

We stopped to enjoy a spanish specialty- Empanadas, a treat also famous in South America, then made our trek north to see the Arc de Triomf, which was built for the 1888 World’s Fair in Barcelona. This was the kids’ favorite place, since it also had a walkway filled with street entertainers, and so many, many dogs!

We had planned to walk up to Park Güell, a beautiful space designed by renowned architect Antoni Gaudí. However, our aching legs were not used to the miles and miles we had already logged the past week, and 15 miles was about our limit that day. Instead we found a cute little sidewalk cafe to enjoy some mediocre pizza and paella- neither homemade or the real thing, but a nice rest (we didn’t judge food here based on this experience, since Barcelona is known for it’s delicacies). We then walked a short distance longer to find our finale of the day- La Sagrada Familia.

Any search of Barcelona will reveal one of it’s most famous structures, a church built by aforementioned Antoni Gaudí called La Sagrada Familia- a gorgeous church a hundred years in the making and still in progress. It has almost a Dr. Seuss type quality, but with such strong and graceful curves that it creates a stunning structure for the glow of colors through the stained glass windows and elaborate sculptures. We were in awe of the beauty and thought behind each detailed element, showing symbolism for the gospel story and depicting biblical ideas that caused us to ponder and explore, maybe even more than the service that began our day. 

Dark settled onto Barcelona as we walked through twinkly light lined streets towards our train station to go home. We had only experienced a tiny part of the city, but we enjoyed getting to know this part of Spain a little bit better. We experienced worship on this Sabbath in unexpected ways, and will continue to explore what it looks like to see God from other perspectives.