A Celebration of Cultures

You have heard that it was said, “Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. Matthew 5:43

The other day Michelle Mendoza interviewed Pastor Ricardo and myself for a program on KCIS Radio. During that interview we had the opportunity to share with her how we feel the favor of God in our new bilingual worship service at 12:30 on Sundays - Esperanza. We were able to share that one of the great advantages of a “bilingual” format is that English speaking people could begin to learn Spanish and Spanish speaking people could begin to learn English. We explained that the worship songs are done in Spanish and English. (It is amazing to hear the blending of both languages in tune to the music.) When someone like Ricardo preaches, Pastor Rey or our intern pastor, McKenzie, translates. We shared that one of the highlights is after the service when we have a delicious Hispanic meal and the incredible bilingual fellowship.

It was exciting to have the opportunity to share with our community through KCIS what is happening here at Washington Cathedral. In building a great caring network, God has called us to reach through cultural barriers and be a diverse community in the name of Jesus.

Dr. Daniel Shaw a noted Christian Anthropologist says in his book Folk Religions “since God is beyond human culture the only way we can rightly interpret the Word of God is with Christians from more than one cultural context.” The discussion is inspired and allows us to see God from beyond our personal cultural biases. We have all known that God is beyond culture. When Jesus taught, he addressed cultural mores using the formula – “You have heard it said, but I tell you ……” He was not putting down culture but he was fulfilling the deepest expectations and highest ideals with the profundity that one would expect from an interview with God.

Another of our new services is Catalyst Redux, which represents a new post modern culture. Many from that culture question much what has been associated with Christianity and expressed by the culture of Modernity. Their Saturday night 8 pm service is very creative. The service encourages multiple voices sharing the message, rather than just one. The participants mix art, poetry, discussion and candle light with open interaction of the class of cultures often representing religion in the 21st century. What a joy it is for me to see those who have been completely turned off by the Christian religion to find a new fresh faith in Jesus Christ at this service. Our intern pastor, Ben McCary, is working diligently on this Catalyst Redux project under the close directorship of Pastor Scott Burnett and it is having much success.

Recently, I attended 11 different worship services at Washington Cathedral not counting weddings and memorial services. Every service was different. In every service I could feel the presence of God and I was deeply touched. What an adventure! It is going to be so exciting to see what God has in store for us in the next year.