All Nations Sunday: Kwesi's story

On November 2, we celebrated All Nations Sunday - a celebration of the diversity and unity we have in Christ.

I can speak for myself when I say that the All Nations Sunday is a day that I always look forward to. It is a day where we tastefully zoom in on each other's cultural differences. Not to find new grounds for divide, but to celebrate them and rejoice in the unity that we find through Christ. Many would agree that only a shared love for Christ would be able to unite a group so diverse in age, culture, and reason for being in Maastricht. Definitely getting to wear beautiful traditional clothing and delicious food are heavy influences as well.

The church was welcomed into service by a few beautiful people sharing greetings in Portuguese, Papiamento, Persian, and Italian. Similarly, during our time of worship, a few songs were dedicated to have parts sung in Chinese, Twi, Spanish, and Dutch.

This Sunday was structured very differently than it regularly would be. As we are highlighting cultures, we couldn't just have our usual faces up on stage, beautiful as they may be. From the very beginning the church was  welcomed into service by a few beautiful people sharing greetings in Portuguese, Papiamento, Persian, and Italian. Similarly, during our time of worship, a few songs were dedicated to have parts sung in Chinese, Twi, Spanish, and Dutch. One might think that this arrangement created a cacophony that most in the congregation wouldn’t understand. They would not be entirely wrong. However, the one to whom we are singing these praises does understand it all, and rejoices in it. As I sang in Twi and the person next to me in Spanish, neither one of us understood the other. Yet, we could stand together in unity because our hearts praised the same name. 

Though we may now be together in Redeemer Maastricht, a lot of our members and guests have incredibly varied backgrounds. A portion of the service was set apart to interview and be able to hear from a woman and two men who are a part of our church. Between the three of them, four continents were represented as they are from China, Germany and Congo, as well as Chile and the Netherlands. It was a joy to hear the funny anecdotes about realising the difference that comes with living in a country where the average height is nearly 180cm, and also getting insights on different cultures' perspectives of punctuality. 

Photos by Ariel Bussani.

Most importantly, they shared with the church what was on their hearts for their countries around the world. As a church we want to join in with the global church. It may sometimes be less obvious to us than seeing a brother or sister in our congregation in need. Nonetheless by spreading awareness and coming together in prayer, real impact can be made. That is a truth that brings me peace, and that I will continue to live by. The sermon preached around the passage; Revelations 19:6-8, beautifully depicts the relationship between Christ and his church, and the power it all holds. It sets an example for how we can fully live and experience the unity with Christ and each other that he planned for us to have. As we took communion together, I experienced a taste of that.

The day ended with full bellies as we were all able to enjoy the multicultural food that had been brought to share. Some dishes would maybe never have been seen next to each other. Leave it to a church like this to offer a plate with a Sri Lankan chicken roll with a Canadian Nanaimo bar on the side. Simply delicious! 

Kwesi Awity