If the Tiger Kloof Assembly in 1999, which marked 200 years of Congregationalism in southern Africa, was truly a singing, dancing, celebrating Assembly throughout, the 34th Assembly has been that only in part.

According to some delegates Digest has spoken to, the high point so far has been the Sunday afternoon united act of worship.

By contrast, the audience participation at the sports field was poor. Rev Bertram Swartz, Secretary of the Central Region in the SA Synod, felt that this might have been because of the event taking place outside, where sound dispersed and it was easy for attention to wander.

Another delegate pointed out that most of the congregational singing in the worship services was in English and Afrikaans, and that more songs in indigenous African languages could have been used.

That having been said, one older delegate expressed delight that generally, the worship at the Assembly had become more spontaneous and lively than it was a decade or so ago.