Holy Week 2015

This past week I have shared in the life of the Goodwood Methodist Church. I was invited to teach at their Holy Week services, and found myself deeply enriched.

This is a working class community of people of various generations, life experiences, and cultures. These people are the ‘salt of the earth’: generous, hospitable and spontaneously spiritual. I count myself privileged to have been allowed to share in this life of this community. I made new friends, renewed old friendships, and was refreshed by the wonder of God at work in the lives of people.

What makes this congregation especially interesting is that the Cape Town Korean Church joined us for the week. This raised the unique challenge of being inter-culturally sensitive in a way that allowed for unity while not imposing uniformity. The Holy Week Services included the Korean Church choir leading us in an anthem, Pastor Lee leading prayers in Korean, and the reading of the Bible in Korean while English words were displayed on the screen. This morning’s service was enriched by the Korean choir leading an Easter Cantata which, while sung in Korean, was a moving testimony to our shared faith in Jesus Christ. What I found particularly poignant was the way the Goodwood Methodist people rose to their feet in enthusiastic applause when the choir offered their concluding bow of greeting.   

 Easter is a moment when our common faith in Jesus enables us to simply be human together. And I am grateful.