This past Sunday, we had a joyful celebration in worship. We shared both Communion and Baptism, a
message on generosity and giving in this politically charged season, and a big
turn out. The one piece that cast a
shadow on the day was the sharing of the Lord’s Prayer. Sharing the Lord’s Prayer and the Padre
Nuestro, English and Spanish, has been integral to worship in my whole tenure
at this church.
The shadow came in the expressions on some of the faces in
the congregation as we began this most beloved prayer in Spanish. I cannot read minds, only expressions, so I
cannot say if the prayer was unwelcome, unwanted, or even offensive to the worshipping
experience of some. What I can measure
is my own reaction, one of righteous indignation, anger, and a deserve to lash
out.
This blog post comes from my process of reflection at my reaction. What was that? It is rare that I feel such a visceral desire
to lash out, especially during the worship of our Living God, most especially
when the service was one of great joy otherwise (despite being something of a ‘kitchen
sink’ service). It was a moment of selfish
indulgence.
Why is there one splash of Spanish in our otherwise English
service? Is it a glaring example of
tokenism? No, it is something more
fundamental to who we are and where we are.
We are in Perth Amboy, NJ, an immigrant city for 400+ years. A boatload of Scottish Presbyterian
immigrants came to these shores in the 1680’s and worshipped the Lord for
delivering them to a new land.
The generations of immigrants now include growing numbers of
Mexicans, Dominicans, and Peruvians-to name but a few. The language of the community has shifted
from a Gaelicized English through many others, to the varieties of Spanish
spoken in these different lands. One
thing I have learned is that Spanish, like English, is not monolithic. While not rising to the level of dialects,
there are certainly regionalisms in the Spanish spoken in these various places.
Where are we? In the midst
of that diverse community. What do we
share? This most joyous prayer that all
hold in common.
Who we are is more fundamental. We are a church of Jesus Christ, worshippers
of God Almighty, indwelt by the Holy Spirit.
We have the wonder of being a Pentecost church, located in the midst of
many languages. And who we are is a
welcoming neighborhood in God’s Kingdom.
And while we may not have the blessings of the number of languages represented
in Jerusalem for that Pentecost celebration, we are indeed richly blessed here
in Perth Amboy.
And we invite everyone to the Lord’s house, inviting them to
pray the prayer that our Lord Jesus taught us to pray, first in Spanish-for the
community and the guests around us, and then in English-for the hosts who would
welcome them in.
My prayer is that if people know who we are, they will enjoy
the moment of welcome, and join us in reaching out.
Rev. Peter Hofstra
A ‘kitchen sink’ service is one where we seem to throw in
everything but…the kitchen sink…
