Multicultural Communion

TRANSFORMING WORSHIP WORKSHOP
ADELAIDE JULY 2017

Multicultural Worship Night – Friday 28th July

Pre-service




Entry Song South Sudanese Choir

Seeking Permission to be on Country 

Welcome to Kaurna Country Sean Weetra

Response to Welcome – Rev Amel Manyon
Our families came from across the oceans, 
from Europe and the Pacific, from Asia and Africa, 
From far, far away…
In the stories from our homes, 
hospitality is deeply honoured,
and so we honour you.
We thank your for the blessing of your welcome.
We pay our respects to the First People of this place,
especially the elders and law-keepers,
and to all First People in this Land.

Affirmation of Community - Tony JJ (Macedonian) and Lek (Thailand)

We are formed by our stories.
We are shaped by our heritage.

We dwell in this place 
carrying connections from beyond.
We seek the learning and the sacred story 
that will attune us to the Spirit revealed in this Land. 

We sorrow for the loss of Law and connectedness, 
loss that has come 
from dispossession and displacement.
We grieve the loss of potential.
We long for restoration and fullness of life.

We affirm the First Peoples as the hosts in this Land.
We look to them and ask 
how we can respectfully relate in this place?

We commit ourselves to learning 
what it might mean 
for us to be Second Peoples in this place, 
and to honour God and respect First Peoples 
in our learning and practice.

Sudanese Choir 

Prayer of Confession: 
Transition - Gummy-bear Confession

Under the Samoan Fine Mat (AKB)

Under the grass, 
the oppression of spirit is expressed in our bodies.

We sit. 
We wait.
We sorrow.

Under the grass
there is no relationship – only waiting.

Even among others, I am alone.
Even their breathing reminds me of shame.
Even my heartbeat makes me long for restoration.

We sit.
We pray.
We wonder.

Under the grass 
there is brokenness 
– there is longing.

How did we come to this?
How did we misstep?
How can my life be different?

We sit.
We sweat.
We hunger.

Wait upon the mercy of the Spirit of God.
Wait for forgiveness and restoration.
Wait for the Life-giver to plant a new possibility.

In the waiting, we ask for healing for others.
In the waiting, we ask for healing for ourselves.
In the waiting, we ask for wholeness.

We sit.
We thirst.
We weary.

Come to me, 
all you who are carrying weight upon you.
I will give you rest.
Take my carrying pole on your shoulder 
and learn my Way,
for my heart is gentle and humble for you 
and in it you will find soul-rest.
My carrying pole is easy to share 
and my load is not hard to carry.

Come into the light 
– Your sins are forgiven!
Thanks be to God!

Declaration of Forgiveness
Song Hal-le-lu-jah

Scripture Reading – Sai-eed (Nicholas) Bond (in Farsi)

            Daniel 7:13-14
13 As I watched in the night visions,
I saw one like a human being[a]
    coming with the clouds of heaven.
And he came to the Ancient One
[b]
    and was presented before him.
14 To him was given dominion
    and glory and kingship,
that all peoples, nations, and languages
    should serve him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion
    that shall not pass away,
and his kingship is one
    that shall never be destroyed.

              Philippians 2:9-11(NRSV)
Therefore God also highly exalted him
    and gave him the name
    that is above every name,
10 so that at the name of Jesus
    every knee should bend,
    in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue should confess
    that Jesus Christ is Lord,
    to the glory of God the Father.



Sermon – Han and the Promise of Heaven (Amelia and Do Young)

Psalm 19:14 (Samoan)
‘Ia malice fo’i ia te oe ‘upu a lo’u gutu,
Ma mafaufauga o lo’u loto,
Le ALI’I e, lo’u papa ma le na te togniolaina a’u
14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
    be acceptable to you,
    O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.


          Interview - what is Korean culture like? what are some of the characteristics of Korean worship?
  • can be boring – lost many Korean elements - Minor key hymns
  • West wing film-clip ………..(Concept of Han)
         Quote - Sung-Hawn Park (USA/Korea)

“Han” is a pent-up anger mixed with depression over situations that cannot be changed: the unfairness and injustice of life; the disappointments and disillusionments of history and politics.

“Minjung theology” is a specific Korean theology, and it is also global. This means that Minjung theology is a constructive theology, and it is one of the famed third wold liberation theologies.

“Minjung” has often described its identity as the mass of the poor, economically and politically alienated people in Korean history. Minjung theology proclaims and manifests that the knowledge of today makes a sacrifice of oneself for the practice (praxis) of the future.
  • Concept of Han (linked to drinking, domestic violence, passive suffering)
  • Response: Min-Jung Theology (PROK) – liberation theology 
Themes
  • Gospel of love (in the face of a shame culture)…
  • Worship Heaven related to Seasons – agrarian symbols and signs – washing
  • Seasons for pastoral visiting – spring and autumn (to listen to stories) and pray blessing of new home, prayers for new births – honouring of life (birth and death, cycle of life)
Migration
  • High education
  • Diaspora Church – 1st we build a church, then we build community (Sydney 300, Adelaide 10, Melbourne 45, Perth 30, Canberra 10, Brisbane 20, Sunshine Coast 2, Darwin 1, Tasmania 5, Wollongong 3) – start as Home Church
  • 2nd Gen – language obstacles HaeYun 

Experiencing Han
The tune ARIRANG is named after a Korean folk song that has long been a favorite in Korea and became known by many American soldiers during the Korean War (1950¬1953). The song was probably composed around 1865, when laborers were conscripted from allover Korea to rebuild the Kyonbok Palace in Seoul. These workers brought their regional folk songs with them; this one presumably came from the legendary Arirang mountains, which in Korean culture symbolize the sometimes bitter separation of loved ones. Arirang is a lament with romantic connotations; the original text can be translated:
As the stars, my tears are countless
as they ceaselessly flow!
You, so faithless, are leaving me alone and pale.
May your feet pain you at the end of the trail!
ARIRANG is a fascinating tune featuring repeats of complete phrases and small motifs. Polman changed one of the original cadence patterns to make four clear phrases for this song, which is intended for unison singing. The 1986 keyboard harmonization by Dale Grotenhuis (PHH 4) features a drone (held note) in the bass, a device common in much Asian music. Because of the irregular number of syllables in each stanza, have a soloist or choir introduce it to the congregation.
The Wild Goose Resource Group and John Bell took the tune Arirang, with all the Han that it implies, and transformed it in worship into a song of good news - of hope.
(Sing - While earth remains)
Perhaps it is the depth of humanity that we need to experience in order to fully appreciate the possibility of Divine blessing?


Prayers of the People – Map Candles

Communion – Presider Eseta Meneilly         


Hymn: Led by Fijian singing (unaccompanied)

Madrai ni bula sa qai dovi, 
sa livi tu na waini vou;
sa yaco noda veitorovi 
kei na Tamada na Kalou.

Noda na yalo bibivoro: 
wai ni matada tiri tu: 
sa kena i divi ni ‘da soro 
ki na loloma ni Kalou.

Bread of the world in mercy broken, 
wine of the soul in mercy shed, 
by whom the words of life were spoken, 
and in whose death our sins are dead.

Look on the heart by sorrow broken; 
look on the tears by sinner shed.
So may your feast become the token 
that by your grace our souls are fed

The invitation:
The whole of creation belongs to God; earth and sea and sky: 
all that lives, our own bodies and abilities are gifts, 
to be reverenced and cared for. 
It is in allowing ourselves to be embraced by mystery that we find peace.
It is through accepting others that we find acceptance.
It is in giving love that we find love.

The setting of the table:
This is a celebration of life in the form of bread and wine, coconut and coconut juice. 
A celebration of God.
(fracture)

We celebrate the body and blood of Christ.
We celebrate our own body and blood.
We celebrate the substance and life of the cosmos.

The Eucharist is a prism through which we can view the joyful as well as the painful realities of life. It is a way of looking at life in which we see 
all water as wine, 
all air as the breath of God, 
all sunlight as the fire of the Spirit, 
all earth as womb.  

This table is not set for an illustrious meal, 
two plates of different breads, 
two cups of different drinks, 
but it is a glorious setting.

This food is not haute cuisine, 
it is food at its simplest – bread and wine, coconut and coconut juice, 
but it is a majestic and holy feast.

This table is not the exclusive domain of a chosen few.
This table is open to all. 

The nutrition provided here is rich,
and those who gather around take part 
in one of the greatest meal experiences, 
for here at this table, 
the hungry are fed, 
strangers become friends, 
sadness is turned to joy 
and love proves stronger than death. 

All things of earth are holy, all things are one in you, O God. 
This earth is filled with your beauty, charged with your love.

Light the Peace Candle

A Candle light is a protest at midnight.
It is a non-conformist.
It says to the darkness, 
“I beg to differ”.
Samuel Rayan, India (Tiribassi, p.63)

Greeting of peace
Me tiko kei kemudou na loloma ni noda Turaga ‘o Jisu Karisito.
Kei kemudou tale ga.

The peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
And also with you.



Thanksgiving prayer
With joyful hearts we give thanks to God. 
It is the right thing to do, 
for God has come to us in our weakness, 
stood by us in our foolishness, 
and believed in us even when we have turned away.

For this Land
We give thanks!
For the First Peoples (Nations)
We give thanks!
We honour the custodians 
of sacred stories, 
of dreamings 
and the connections 
with the deep earth.
May we work together 
for the restoration 
of the Land 
and Her Peoples.

Presentation of Communion elements

For the seeds and fruits of this Land
We give thanks!
For the work of those who have tended the earth 
and prepared the feast
We give thanks!
For the One who breathes life into this feast
We give thanks!



So together with all of creation 
we sing to the one who has provided all we need:
Holy, holy, holy God of all that is, 
all that was and all that will be. 
Heaven and earth are full of your glory, 
Hosanna in the highest.

The narrative of Institution
Jesus said “This is my body” but the Eucharistic bread is also the body of each of us individually and collectively, as well as the body of the earth.

We remember the story of the Last Supper, 
when Jesus and his friends were sitting around a table. 
After they had finished eating, 
Jesus took some bread, 
prayed a prayer of thanks to God, 
broke it, then gave it to his friends saying, 
“This is my body, broken for you.
Do this to remember me.”

This is Christ, this is you, this is me.
This is us, for we are the body of Christ.

And then he took a cup, 
and after once again giving thanks to God, 
he gave it to his friends saying, 
“Drink from this cup, all of you.
Do this and remember me.”

This is the cup of the new covenant. 
Christ with us,
Christ in us,
Christ through us,
Now and always.

Come, Holy Spirit,
in this act of eating bread and drinking juice, 
flow in and around us, 
open our eyes to the brokenness of the world, 
fill our hearts with love for our neighbours, 
motivate us to become the hands and feet of God, 
and prepare us to take our role as agents of change and reconciliation. 

The Lord’s Prayer:

Sung in Fijian

The breaking of the bread   
We eat this bread as acknowledgement of our place in God’s promise.
We drink this cup as an act of faith, 
believing that forgiveness is real 
and that the healing power of life reconciles 
and recreates all things anew. 
Sharing bread or coconut is a sign of love, 
inclusiveness and interdependence.

So the table is set and the meal is ready. 
Come and take your place. 
Come with your questions and with your answers, 
come with your flaws and imperfections, 
come because you love a little and are open to loving more, 
come because God longs to be in relationship with you.

Come and receive Christ’s resurrection meal, meal of the mystical presence, 
meal of fulfilment, meal of the Spirit’s empowering love.
Glory be to you, O God.

Music during Communion: While earth remains (Korean)


Prayer after Communion:
God our Friend, 
with these gifts of bread and wine,  and coconut and coconut juice,
you sustain and strengthen us on our journey of faith. 
We remember that your promise of abundant life 
is not a promise that we will live sheltered lives, free from all harm, 
but the promise that we will live intricate, 
rich and full lives as people on a journey in relationship with you. 
Amen.



God, who made the earth, declared it good in the beginning,
planned a time and purpose for all things that were and would be.

While earth remains,
there will seed-time and harvest,
summer sun and winter moon,
the dead of night, the bright day.

Though humanity defiled the Eden God had cherished
God did not despise the world whose worth its maker could see.

So, in Christ, God came from paradise to imperfection
Repossessing earth and people through a tomb and a tree.

We, who follow Christ, discover heav’n through limitation
Pruned, we bear more fruit and grafter to the vine, we are free.


words by John L Bell
©1999 WGRG Iona Community Glasgow


Blessing -  Rev Do Young Kim


Acknowledgements and Resources
Song: Peace, Salaam, Shalom
Song I am a Refugee 
Gummy-bear Confession Prayer
Song: Peace, Salaam, Shalom
The Lord’s Prayer in Aramaic
Song: While earth remains (Korean)

Weaving together of Neryl McCallum, UCA Assembly 2012, 
William Wallace, “Celebrating Mystery collection, September 11, 2015, 
Rev Dr Amelia Koh-Butler, “Wide and Deep”, Mediacom 2017,
Presider Rev Eseta Wacqabaca-Meneilly, and 
Rev Do Young Kim.
  


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