DISSERTATION - opening

Title

THE FORMATION OF A MISSIONAL CROSSCULTURAL URBAN COMMUNITY: COMMUNAL SINGING OFF THE MENU - A ‘MEAL TO MUSIC’ APPROACH

By Amelia KohButler 



A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the 
School of Intercultural Studies FULLER THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree
Doctor of Intercultural Studies (Doctor of Missiology) 

I was asked to say grace at the wedding breakfast, knowing Mark and Olenka wanted to convey thanksgiving to God and invite friends and family into a new understanding of community...
One of the most important events for Jesus was to break bread with his friends. This act of sharing bread and wine together was a form of bonding a new family with a new identity. Today, in their first act as a married couple, Mark and Olenka have invited you here to break bread with them, as the family and friends who will support and bless them in their lives together. So, let us all take the bread roll beside our plates, lift it up, break it, and give thanks to God, praying for peace and harmony as we send them into this new life together, started today. (Fieldnote transcription: November 2013)
The relationship between shared hospitality and being sent in mission is often assumed. Without articulation, however, they can be seen as independent, rather than interdependent, activities. In this project, I ask questions about community and worship relevant to every era and location. This introduction gives background to the study and situates the researcher and participants in the project.


Personal Background

I sing my faith as a ChineseCeltic Aussie woman, serving as a Minister in a reformed, progressive and evangelical setting. I am a Christian convert, Buddhist by background. Trained as an operasinger and conductor, I entered ministry through varied denominational and ecumenical influences. I am married with adult children and young grandchildren. Our home has familymembersfrom seven different ethnic groups. 


For some years, I explored Trinitarian Ecclesiology, using music to illustrate the influence of a dynamic God breathing life into communities of faith. I was drawn to the work of the Spirit in and among people, called together to become Gods own. I became wary of speaking of Gods activity from a theoreticalabstract position and sought to observe and measure Gods inspiration in a concrete setting. I looked for a opportunities to use music to inspire people.


Background to the Study

From 2012-2015, I served as the National Chairperson for Multi and Crosscultural Ministry in the Uniting Church in Australia. I gathered leaders, representing different ethnicities, sharing identity in Christ, to join in Gods mission. This made me aware of global movements exploring interracial and intercultural communities of faith and how to share the gospel in a hurt and broken world. 

Increasingly, liturgical resources, including music, are being sourced internationally or developed locally for use with congregations of multiple background identities. They find their way from Iona (Hawn, 2000) and Cleveland (Tirabassi, 2000) to a coal town in Australia.

In March 2012, I commenced as the Minister of an urban community, with a mix of people from diverse ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds, generations and sexual orientations. While I brought passions for creative arts and theology, these people were entering a period of exploring shared identity and common purpose. This research is an expression of my work with them. I helped them understand identity in Christ, and their missional calling as disciples. Music was to be a key tool at my disposal.
  
The diversity presented challenges in sharing lives and naming common identity. I supported their covenanting together in worship. They gathered in one place, their voices joined in praise, prayer and prophecy. They participated in Baptism and Holy Communion, becoming one body through ritual experience. Yet, this coming together was not an end in itself, it became a story of empowering the people to fully engage in Gods mission (Lingenfelter, 2008:83).
Through a study of four culturallydiverse groups in the Wesley Uniting Church (Newcastle, Australia), I investigate how and in what ways music mediates communitas in Eucharistic Services, with particular focus on the contribution of music in nourishing unity in diversity and enabling crosscultural mission. 


Subproblems

Assumptions

Definitions

Delimitations


Overview

This paper is presented in three parts. 

Part I, provides the grounding from literature in missiology, ethnomusicology and reseach methods. The missiological foundations rely heavily on the use of Five Marks of Mission and musicmaking is used to uncover ethnographic identity, build community and support ritual. The research uses interdisciplinary qualitative methods, consisting of three parts: (1) comparative subgroup case studies, using ethnographic tools to examine social hospitality gatherings, (2) eventcentered analysis, using ritual criticism, to examine Eucharistic events and (3) missiologicalethnomusicological integrated reflection and analysis, featuring the experimental use of Ceilidhs to develop crosscultural skills.

Part II commences with an outline of the context for the research. Chapters five, six and seven present datacollection, findings and analysi in relation to the social hospitality gatherings, Eucharistic events and Ceilidhs.

Part III reflects on the roles and relationships within the case study, including tracking changes in social orientations and an evaluation of leadership. Missional outcomes are detailed and proposals are offered for further study. 

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