A Multicultural Affair
cDear Ann.
I had the most marvellous day last Sunday, quite different to the norm. At line dancing the prior Friday, our teacher Jean, asked me if I would like to attend a multicultural service at St. Lukes Uniting Church at Belmont. She explained that they were having a service at 9.30 a.m. & the sermon was being delivered by Francine Bell, a famous singer, actor & preacher, which was to be followed by morning tea & a multicultural luncheon.
That evening I was sitting contemplating the idea of going on my own & decided in the affirmative as it sounded like something a little different. Later I called my friend, Ursula on the phone who is a devout Baptist Christian. During the conversation I told her where I was going next day. She asked if she could come along with me & I was as pleased as punch to have company.
I arranged to collect Ursula from our shopping complex at 9 a.m.as I have never been to her home & this was an easy meeting place for both of us. Then we tootled off to Belmont where I go line dancing.
The church was only a small distance away from there & easy to find, although I should know it as I went there last year for Jean’s husband’s funeral. We still had a few minutes up our sleeve when we arrived, but already the church was packed & we had to sit in the back row which was okay, we could hear it all.
What immediately attracted our attention when we sat down was what looked like a huge painting of The Last Supper, although it looked a little different to a painting. It was very large & looked quite beautiful looking down on us from behind the lectern.
Later we ascertained that a man had woven the whole thing with wool & to give you an idea of what it was like I will show you the photo I took. It was beautifully done & Ursula & I were very impressed with it.
The Last Supper Tapestry.
The church service started with a bang in the modern way as it is done today. No drawling out the hymns as in earlier days, but they had the drums, guitars & the organ. There was an excellent vocalist up the front with the microphone leading the singing, with us following the words on the screen before us.
Two very nice young men came in taking a seat next next to us & we joined hands with them when the time come to participate in getting to know each other. It was all really nicely done. I must admit it’s been a long time since I have been to Church & even though the service was longer than usual I don’t think anyone cared as it was very enjoyable, jolly & full of warmth.
When Francine stood up to talk to us she had our attention immediately. You could have heard a pin drop when she started to sing with no accompaniment. Francine is an American negro & just oozed personality.
Her voice is spectacular & in a very slow & deliberate manner she sang the first verse of ‘Jesus Loves Me’ then went on to sing ‘Were You There When They Crucified My Lord’ closing it off with the first verse of ‘Jesus Loves Me’ again. It was very distinct & beautifully sung. I doubt any of us will ever forget it as it was sung from the heart & very meaningful.
There must have been close to two hundred people at the service & after it we went out in the vestry area where we shared morning tea. This was followed by us all moving to the very large Church hall where several tables held centre position in the middle of the hall covered with white cloths plus the names displayed of fourty countries.
The myriad of casseroles,& all sorts of different things which were brought out were then placed to show where the recipes originated from. When it came time to eat the lass with the microphone (which she needed with so many people) advised us to take small portions so that we could try as many different ones as we liked, knowing that there was plenty more to come for the second time around!
The ladies of the Church had prepared all this food with the help of five people from different countries. It was magnificent; a feast to feed an army. We did great justice to it all as it was so delicious.
Before we dined, we had the lady on the microphone explaining that we were to have a mystery parcel which she held in her hands. On each layer there was an instruction. I can’t remember all the instructions but they had concocted up about a dozen or more things applicable to a multicultural gathering such as:
“Stand up all those who were born in another country & came to live in Australia.”
“Who was born in Australia & attended a wedding in another country?”
“How long have you lived in Australia since moving here?”
And so it went on. The winner each time got to open the next layer.
Ursula was pipped at the post as one other person had been here longer than her 63 years, but I got to open a layer for being the one to attend a wedding in another country, Switzerland, which was further than anyone else had been who had attended a wedding outside Australia.
When it got down to the last message she announced that anyone born in another country to come out front to sing the National Anthem in their native language. As you might imagine, no one stood up!
A young lass of about 8 years of age walked smartly out with great confidence, took the microphone & belted out very confidently & loudly our Australian National Anthem! It was quite funny as the audience realised what had happened, but followed it through with a great round of applause when the little girl finished & took charge of the prize.
That wasn’t all the entertainment either as after we had lunch, the tables were disassembled & we had a bus load of young people along with their teachers from the Central Coast about an hour’s travel away. They were all residents of Australia, but originated from New Zealand. They were there to entertain us with a large rendition & display of their NZ culture.
They were all in their maori costumes & sang & danced beautifully. Mostly they were very young children & did their parents proud with their renditions as they danced, swinging their pois & doing a variation of their national dances & songs.
The cheeky little 3 year old performing with the boys doing the Harka.
The little girls did the Harka on their own, but not allowed to poke out their tongues which the boys did! The youngest little girl of about 3 – 4 years old did the Harka with the boys & was just so cute.
There was one little lass of about 9 years that I couldn’t take my eyes off as she was just so good. Her steps & rhythm was absolutely perfect in every rendition.
After the show was over I jut had to find her to say how brilliantly she performed, she was a joy to watch & I took a close up photo of her, but when talking to her I forgot to ask her name.
After all this entertaining was completed the organisers took photos which they hope will be considered for the front page of our telephone directory next year. The people involved in the photograph were all those who immigrated to Australia plus the group of youngsters with a New Zealand background who entertained us so beautifully.
I do hope they succeed as the whole of the multicultural gathering was so extremely good in the promotion of how we should all accept each other in the true sense of love.
But yet again, the proceedings were not at an end. While these photographs were taking place the church members were putting tables in place to hold the deserts they had prepared.
My goodness, after the feast we had enjoyed how could we hold more? Apart from whatever else was placed on the tables, Ursula & I heard the Aussie word ‘PAVLOVAS. Which resulted in another inch on our hips, but we cant refuse a PAV! It was very appropriate because the pavlova was invented in New Zealand then became an Australian favourite.
A colleague & friend of mine from line dancing, Ann, was next to me at that time. She hails from South Africa, but she knew that word PAV! We looked at each other took off on the same leg, got to the table & picked up 3 plates with PAV including all the trimmings, fresh fruit, whipped cream & ice cream. Oh, we did add a tad helping of bavarian cream whatever it was & headed back to our seats with three plates full to the brim: one for each of us including Ursula who by now was in deep discussion with Penny, who was the lady leading the singing in the church on the microphone.
On the way out from the Church, Penny had stopped to acquaint herself with ourselves & it seemed an immediate friendship with Ursula. So, armed with the PAV, Ann & I returned.
Perhaps the cover of next year’s phone book?
Well, let me say by this time Penny had pulled up a seat next to Ursula, which was fatal. For the next twenty minutes those two did not draw breath, nor did Ursula nibble at the PAV nor the Bavarian ‘whatever’ that she was brought up on & I know she loves.
They were so engrossed in chatting, it went on for an eternity, I couldn’t even get a word in to say “Eat your Pav Ursula”!
Finally, & I will swear on the Bible that this is the truth, Penny & Ursula were sitting on the last two seats in that huge hall. The men had taken the other two hundred back to storage!
Imagine me suggesting & nudging Ursular with eyes directed straight on Prnny who took no notice. Ursula still with PAV not eaten & the two of them sitting on the last two seats in that huge hall!
The men worked around that pair until there was nothing left but two ladies still eating PAV & sitting on the last two chairs! I wished I had taken a photo of the last survivors on the block!
Suddenly ( or not so suddenly) the two of them decided they should relinquish their chairs & Ursula managed to eat her PAV! I I think she enjoyed it, but feel sure she enjoyed the conversation with Penny more.
By this time, being the only visitors left in the place, I went off to get the car to save any walking for Ursula as she had a knee replacement not too long ago & was still using a walker. You are not going to believe this, but when I got back with the car those two were still there talking & saying lengthy farewells.
They say that if you look hard enough you will always find a ray of sunshine in the dark clouds. I could not find a dark cloud, but there was plenty of sunshine as I thought of this new friendship between Ursula & Penny, so spontaneously.
I would not be the least surprised to find that a dedicated Baptist could turn out to be a staunch member of the Uniting Church (or vice versa)!
Enough to say that the function was to end at 2.30 p.m & we arrived home closer to 4.30 p.m. having loved every minute of the whole event; marvelling at the planning, timing, cooking & entertainment that was carried out by the men & women from St. Lukes.
It was a credit to them all & both Ursula & I had a truly magnificent day.
My Fondest Love, Dawn. O X O