International Sunday is May Day!

Many years ago I participated in a May Day (May 1^st) celebration that involved rising before dawn, putting flowers in my hair and going to a field to watch the sun rise while others participated in Morris dancing and decorated a May Pole.  It was an experience – one that I did not repeat as I still prefer sleeping in to sunrises.  The whole enterprise felt a bit pagan rather than Christian, but it was interesting to learn something about another culture/ancient tradition.

This May 1^st at St. Barnabas we will celebrate our cultural diversity with our annual International Sunday.  It is an opportunity through worship and fellowship to share our commonality and celebrate our difference.  Although the colonialism of the British Empire has its short-comings, the Anglican religious tradition is shared throughout much of the world because of the work of many evangelists.  This shared ethos brings many of us from very diverse backgrounds together every week, being connected by a liturgy that is more similar than different.  Even when the words and language differ, the sentiment and core beliefs in Scripture, tradition and reason bind us together, striving to establish God’s realm on earth.

Part of the beauty of the Anglican Communion and the Anglican Tradition is that it allows local context to have an impact on how we worship. Music and metaphor vary from place to place, with each expression of praise being authentic in that locale.   Someone living on an island has a different experience with water than someone living far away from a shore.  Those whose culture uses drums for various reasons naturally would use them in worship.  People who live in cold climates (England) wear more clothes (vestments) than warmer places (or at least clergy should wear less vestments in warm places!).

Our shared religious cultures allow us the opportunity to learn more about the ethnic cultures from which they develop.  At St. Barnabas, we love sharing our favorite foods from our ethnic traditions, perhaps an alternative definition of “soul food” as these dishes feed our souls and bodies.  Regardless of whether or not our palates like or don’t like a specific dish, we appreciate that these foods are important to the family traditions of those who made them and share part of what makes them who they are.  The food is a celebration of love of family and identity.

Similarly, our clothing expresses our cultural identity, and all who choose are encouraged to wear clothing from your cultural heritage.  I will NOT be wearing lederhosen even though I claim a Germanic heritage because 1) I am not male, 2) I don’t own any and 3) no one in my family has worn them in the last century (I would bet).  I do believe that Americans have the most boring clothing customs (jeans and a T-shirt), which is why it is a delight to see other traditions, especially what people wear to church!

Perhaps what I love most about International Sunday is that it allows us to live into our Baptismal Covenant of respecting the dignity of every human being.  Rather than creating a “melting pot” in order for us to all be the same, we create a “mosaic” of our differences that give us texture and color. 

I did not assume a different culture that May Day many years ago, but I experienced something new and appreciated that it had great meaning for those close to it.  I didn’t have to demean their expressions in order for mine to be authentic and true.  That is the real lesson we have to teach and learn from each other.  I pray we continue to do so for many years to come.

With Easter Joy,

Rev. Valerie+