CRC SOW | Refugee Songs, Immigrants Creeds, Lord's Prayer

Exodus painting by Shin Maeng

Still In Awe
of Proskuneo's Multicultural Worship
and the Immigrants Apostles' Creed
by Rev. Jose Luis Casal
at the CRC's Symposium on Worship
Years Later 

Going to the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship's Symposium on Worship, hosted by Emmaus City's denomination in Grand Rapids  January 25-27, 2018 was a seminal moment for me as a minister.

It was an absolute privilege

and joy to worship with
and learn from 1,500+ people
from 30+ countries and 40+ denominations,
and the ripple effects
from this refreshing drop of time
with God's people across culture,
ethnicity, and tradition
continues to impact me today.

While my expectations were high in light of Urban Doxology, Sandra McCracken, 
The Porter's Gate Worship Project 
and more participating, 
the symposium far exceeded my hopes. 

Not even half way through my two days participating in the three-day symposium, I was floored spiritually and emotionally by the wonders of worship displayed through services of the Word; liturgies; seminars on worship in light of suffering, redemption, injustice, vocation, persecuted people groups, indigenous people groups, Church history, sacramental life, mental and physical handicaps, etc.; vespers; and more.

Crying before God
with Proskuneo and
sisters and brothers from
Syria, Sudan, Korea, Myanmar,
China, and more

While there is much more I could write, for now I'm providing this post based on a vesper with Proskuneo, a multicultural worship team I had not heard of until that night. Jaewoo Kim from Korea led us alongside Fadi Alsayar from Syria, Abraham Deng from Sudan, and others from Myanmar, the U.S., and China. Check out Proskuneo's YouTube Channel for examples of their team leading worship-in-song together.

The vesper focused on Psalm 137:4: "How shall we sing the LORD's song in a foreign land?" as Proskuneo's dynamic team led us through a liturgy involving Scripture, stories, and songs focused on conflict, loss, displacement, and the song of the LORD in a foreign land.

I'm getting emotional again just thinking about it again years later. The 45 minutes with these beautiful people was so raw and so full of awe. I still can't give them or the time with them justice on multiple levels. But I can share the order of worship, a few key links to Scriptures and songs, and The Immigrants Apostles' Creed by Rev. Jose Luis Casal we recited together to close the service. 

Songs of the Refugees Vesper:
How shall we sing the LORD's song
in a foreign land? 
+ Psalm 137:4

 | 1 | 

CONFLICT

Scripture: 

Psalm 137:1-4 in Arabic, Burmese, and English  

Narration: 

Story of persecution for faith  

Song: 

"I Have Decided to Follow Jesus"

 | 2 | 

LOSS

Narration: 

Story of a refugee 

Song:  

"Elahi Yesua," 

Arabic song by Manal Samir  

Prayer: 

For those suffering loss 

and grieving our own loss

 | 3 | 

DISPLACEMENT

 

Narration:  

Story of a refugee 

Song: "Hold on Strong," 

South Sudanese song by Abraham Deng 

Scripture:  

Philippians 3:20 

in Korean, Arabic, and English 

 

 | 4 | 

SONG OF THE LORD
IN A FOREIGN LAND

Narration:  

Story of a refugee 

Scripture:  

Jeremiah 29:7 

Song:  

"Always Thankful," 

Arabic song by Fawaz Amaish   

Song:  

"Blessed Assurance" 

by Fanny Crosby 

King of all nations painting by Shin Maeng

The Immigrants Apostles’ Creed

Adapted from Rev. Jose Luis Casal’s
update of The Apostles’ Creed,
2nd Century A.D. 

I believe in God the Father almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth, 

who guided His people
in exile and in exodus, 

the God of Joseph in Egypt,
Daniel in Babylon, Esther in Persia. 

I believe in Jesus Christ,
His only Son, our Lord, 

conceived by the Holy Ghost,
born of the Virgin Mary, 

immigrant of heaven
and displaced Galilean on earth, 

who was raised under occupation
and fled as a refugee with His parents
when His life was in danger.

When He returned to His own people, 

He suffered under the imperial power 

and oppression of Pontius Pilate, 

and was unjustly crucified
by the empire, dead, and buried. 

He descended to hell. 

On the third day He rose again,
not as a scorned foreigner, 

but as the King victorious,
ascended to heaven and 

empowered to offer us citizenship
in God’s eternal Kingdom. 

I believe in the Holy Spirit, 

the eternal immigrant
from God's Kingdom among us, 

who speaks all languages,
lives in all countries, 

and reunites all races. 

I believe in the holy catholic Church
that is the secure home
for the foreigner among believers
across time and in every nationality. 

I believe in the communion of the saints
that is revealed 

when we embrace all of God’s people
in our diversity in unity. 

I believe in the forgiveness of sins, 

which makes us all equal
before God at the cross, 

and in His reconciliation,
which heals our brokenness and 

identifies us together more
than race, language, or tribe. 

I believe in the resurrection of the body
when God will unite us
as one people
in which all are distinct
and alike at the same time. 

I believe in life everlasting
in which no one will be a foreigner 

but all of God’s people
will be citizens of the Kingdom of heaven 

when Jesus Christ reigns forever and ever.
Amen.

The Latin American Lord's Prayer

Credit to Numerous Sources

God who is in us here on earth,
holy is Your name

in the hungry who share
their bread and their song.

Your Kingdom come, 

which is a land flowing
with milk and honey.

Let us do Your will,
raising our voice when all are silent.

You are giving us our daily bread

in the song of the bird
and the miracle of the corn.

Forgive us for keeping silent
in the face of injustice.

Don't let us fall into the temptation of 

taking up the same arms as the enemy.

But deliver us from evil.

Give us the perseverance
to look for love, even if we fail;

so shall we have known Your Kingdom 

which is being built forever and ever.

Amen.

The Immigrants Nicene Creed

Adapted from St Albans Diocese’s 
update of The Nicene Creed, 325 A.D.
and Rev. Jose Luis Casal’s update of 
The Apostles’ Creed, 390 A.D.

We believe in God,
the Father, the Almighty,

Maker of a heaven and earth
without borders or nations,

who led His people from slavery to freedom

through exile and exodus,

the God of homelands lost and found,

the God of temple and desert,
of manna and sacrifice.

We believe in Jesus Christ,
His only Son, our Lord,

incarnate from the Holy Spirit
and the Virgin Mary,

immigrant of heaven
and displaced Galilean on earth,

who was born under occupation
and fled as a refugee with His parents 

when His life was in danger.

When He returned to His own people,

He suffered under the imperial power
and oppression of Pontius Pilate, 

and was unjustly crucified
by the empire, dead, and buried.

On the third day He rose again,
not as a scorned foreigner, 

but as the King,
opening for us the door to new life and

destroying the power of death 

that denied us our birthright
as citizens of God’s Kingdom.

We believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord and Giver of life, and

the eternal immigrant
from God's Kingdom among us, 

who speaks all languages,
lives in all countries, and reunites all races,

who proceeds from the Father and the Son, 

unity in diversity, three-in-one.

We believe in one holy catholic
and apostolic Church,

the communion of saints
across countries and centuries,

made equal by our need for repentance 

and our assurance of God’s mercy,

united by our citizenship identity by baptism 

in the name of the Father, Son, and Spirit,

We look for the coming of the Kingdom of God,

where our passport is Christ’s love,

our bodies are resurrected and healed,

the image of God in all of us is honored,

and all nations and tribes and people
will be reconciled in the place

where there is no mourning or sadness,
no exile or despair, and

we will be no longer strangers or guests,

but family gathered safely together
in the arms of our Father and

united at the table of Christ our King.

Amen.

For more examples for how to bring to light, lament, and worship in light of our immigrant and refugee sisters and brothers' plight, check out Emmaus City's denomination's additional helpful sites:

+ CRC Justice Worship Resources  

+ Reformed Worship: 

God's Eye Is on the Refugee: 

A Simple Drama, a Powerful Message  

 

 Bonus Posts:

+ Les Mis: Do We Still Love Them?  

+ Tattoos on the Heart

Soli Jesu gloria.

Rev. Mike "Sully" Sullivan

Email Pastor Mike | Website | Visit Us | Support Us | Facebook Us

Childermas | Wondering As We Wander with the Holy Family

The Magnificat of Every Tribe, Tongue & Nation (Lk. 1:45-55)

Wondering as We Wander

with the Global Holy Family

During Childermas

The story below was pulled together after meditating on preparation for Childermas and Matthew 2:12-23 in consideration of what poets, artists, theologians, and historians help us bring to life when we consider what the holy family endured and would have had to endure today.

Jesús was born to a teenage girl, María, before she was married to anyone, though she was engaged to a blue-collar carpenter and construction worker, José, at the time.  

María’s pregnancy out-of-wedlock likely made her, José, and Jesús' family social outcasts in their town.   

While María and José were still unwed and her pregnancy continued, they were forced as a couple to travel south due to an unjust tax implemented by the rulers of the state.   

To make their reputation even worse, when they arrived in the town José's family was originally from, they were visited by local animal caretakers and bottom feeders (seen as untrustworthy and dirty) and then foreign mystic rulers and astrologers (seen as untrustworthy and evil).   

Jesús then spent the first few years of his life on the run with María and José. This holy family embodied civil disobedience by not allowing Jesús to be a part of the rule of law’s mandated infanticide.   

Somehow, in the midst of a time that included an insecure ruler, a fearful people, and a violence-justifying state, God sent an ethnic minority baby born to a poor, teenage mother to bring His Good News of great joy from heaven to earth.   

And because of Jesús – or as He was also called Emanuel, God with us – new life continues to be born in individuals and families today in a global Kingdom that surpasses country lines and walls, and stretches across time, bringing together poor and rich, native and foreigner.   

Jesús was born right in the middle of the mess of human bigotry, power, injustice, fear, and violence, and that's exactly where He continues to seek to meet us now to bring new life today through His salvation that forgives and unites people together from every tribe, tongue, and nation.

What would "bringing back Christmas" really mean for us if this is what Jesus' coming would look and sound like to our eyes and ears?

"Jose y Maria" by Everett Patterson

Away from the Manger: The Refugee King

Liz Vice, Wen Reagan, Bruce Benedict, Greg Scheer, Lester Ruth, 2018 A.D.

Away from the manger they ran for their lives,
The tiny boy, Jesus, a son they must hide.
A dream came to Joseph, they fled in the night
And they ran and they ran and they ran. (Ooh x 2)

No stars in the sky but the Spirit of God
Led down into Egypt from Herod to hide.
No place for His parents, no country or tribe,
And they ran and they ran and they ran. (Ooh x 2)

Stay near me Lord Jesus when danger is nigh
And keep us from Herods and all of their lies.
I love Thee, Lord Jesus, the Refugee King,
And we sing and we sing and we sing ...  (x2)

Alleluja! x 5

Our Savior's Infant Cries Were Heard

Thomas Troeger, 1986 A.D.

Our Savior's infant cries were heard

And met by human love

Before He preached one saving word

Or prayed to God above.

In Joseph's arms, at Mary's breast

While Herod's vi'lence spread,

God's love by human loved was blessed,

protected, nurtured, fed.

By trusting Christ to human care,

God blessed forevermore

The care of children ev'rywhere —

The bruised, the lost, the poor.

Whoever calms a child by night,

Or guides a youth by day,

Serves Him whose birth by lantern light

Was on a bed of hay.

For Christ, who was a refugee

From Herod and his sword,

Is seeking now through us to be

Our children's friend and Lord.

Bonus Read:

Prep for Childermas  

+ Bishop N.T. Wright 

& Pope Francis

Bonus Songs & Creeds:

Songs of the Refugees w/ Proskuneo 

and the Immigrants Apostles' Creed

To close this post, here is a prayer that Christ would overcome the most the destructive darkness, not outside of us, but in us.

Childermas Prayer | Overcome the Darkness in Us

Immanuel, reveal You are with us now. Don't hold back. Magnify Your presence and Your great salvation for us! Disrupt our way of life without You. If in the darkness of Mary's womb, the holy child grew, You can grow in us. If in the darkness of the world's pain, Your blessed light came and overcame, You can overcome the darkness in us and ignite Your light and love in us.

In our own doubting of You, and of ourselves, cause us to be born again to a living hope that begins to grow like a lump in the throat: the holy hope that You came and still come to us truly, that You will be born again in our midst. We need You, Jesus, our Messiah, the Prince of Peace in a world at war. You are our hope. We need You to ransom us and our beloved neighbors, friends, and enemies in the city of Worcester from the darkness of everything that we are selling ourselves short for.

Lord Jesus, our Savior, open our mouths and our hearts to sing like Your mother, Mary, did, "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for He has looked on me, His humble servant! ... " When people in the 1980s in Guatemala began to sing Mary's song, the government outlawed this first Advent hymn about God's preferential love for the humble, poor, and needy. It was deemed too dangerous and revolutionary because men, women, and children began to believe that freedom and change were indeed possible, and that following the way of Jesus would interrupt the flow of civilization as they knew it.

Holy Spirit of God, make us dangerous to believe the way of Jesus transforms our lives like that today. Make us believe the Magnificat's words (i.e. Luke 1:46-55) are true, that You look on us and intend to bring dynamic change in us and through us, Your poor and humble servants in Worcester, to bring Your resurrection power and life to people in our city. We pray all these things in confidence because we are praying in Jesus' mighty name. Amen.

+ Adapted from "Come and See" by Frederich Buechner & "A Divine Disruption" by Christiana Rice

Christ is all,

Rev. Mike “Sully” Sullivan

Email Pastor Mike | Website | Visit Us | Support Us | Facebook Us

CN | Learning to Speak God: The Meaning of Neighbor

Jesus' definition of "neighbor" is similar to my earliest notions of this word, which were shaped by a thin, soft-spoken man named Fred—known to the world as Mister Rogers.

This post finishes some notes from one of the top books I have read in 2018: Learning to Speak God from Scratch: Why Sacred Words Are Vanishing and How We Can Revive Them by Jonathan Merritt. Below are the previous posts of notes from Learning to Speak God from Scratch:

CN | Learning to Speak God: Sin as Death Dealer, Life Stealer

CN | Learning to Speak God: Grace to Receive and Give Freely

Sin, grace, neighbor. These words have been used, abused, and accrued by many throughout the centuries in relation to religious and irreligious discussions. 

Neighbor is not only a word we need to understand, it's a person we need to become with regular intentionality, care, and action.

In Learning to Speak God from Scratch, author Jonathan Merritt helps unpack the word, "neighbor," with power, consideration, and application. 

Here is an excerpt from Chapter 16: Neighbor: Mister Rogers and the Global Refugee Crisis from Learning to Speak God from Scratch:

Are Syrian Refugees Our Neighbors?

When ISIS militants in Syria beheaded American war correspondent James Foley, I was only a few miles from the country's border, interviewing refugees in a Lebanese tent settlement. The news that ISIS forces were targeting journalists in the region struck me like an anvil, but I did not leave. I could not leave. The Syrian refugee children's stories deserved to be told.

I recorded stories for nearly two weeks before returning home, where Americans were debating whether to allow Syrian refugees into our country. Arriving back to my apartment, I phoned a friend—a Christian of the southern conservative variety—to process the horrors I'd witnessed. He listened patiently to my stories and then responded, "That's sad, but we can't be responsible for those children. We've got our hands full here in America with our own problems."

This kind of "America First" thinking would not fully metastasize in American public life until the political ascension of Donald Trump two years later. But the narrow worldview confounded me even then. "But what if those children were your neighbors?" I asked him. "In that case, I guess I would have to do something to help them," he said.

What Does Neighbor Mean to Jesus?

The English word neighbor derives from the words nigh or "near" and gebur or "dweller." In the literal sense of the English word, a neighbor is someone who lives near you. If we are to love our neighbors, as Jesus instructed, as the second greatest commandment, we must care for those who live in close proximity to us. But in a world of hustle, bustle, and business, this simple task can seem formidable. In many American communities, it's easy to avoid knowing or being known by one's neighbors. As a result, we have forgotten how to love and prioritize the people who live alongside us.

Jesus' understanding of neighbor, however, includes but also stretches beyond the fence posts of the English definition. In one of the Bible's most famous passages, a legal expert asks Jesus, "Who is my neighbor?" Jesus tells the story about a Samaritan who helps a Jewish traveler who has been robbed and left for dead. The Samaritan in Jesus' story didn't dwell near the victim. Samaritans lived and worshipped in a segregated community, so he almost certainly didn't reside in close proximity to the bedraggled man. He just happened to be on the same road that day. So Jesus' definition of neighbor seems to be "anyone who is in need." They can live across the street or ten thousand miles away in a refugee camp.

This isn't the way many think of neighbor when they speak it today. In recent years, an isolationist ideal has been rising, narrowing the application of neighbor only to someone you can put eyes on personally. But Jesus' definition is similar to my earliest notions of this word, which were shaped by a thin, soft-spoken man named Fred—known to the world as Mister Rogers.

How did Mister Rogers Help Restore the Meaning of Neighbor?

Fred Rogers got into television because he "hated" the medium. During his senior year in seminary, he encountered television for the first time, and what he witness repulsed him. "I got into television," he once recounted, "because I saw people throwing pies at each other's faces, and that to me was demeaning behavior. And if there's anything that bothers me, it's one person demeaning another. That really makes me mad!"

In the wake of World War II, when many men (many of them veterans), were having trouble expressing their feelings, Fred Rogers recognized that the children of these quiet giants might also have difficulty expressing their emotions. He worried that the type of programming that was becoming normative would spawn a generation of emotionally bankrupt Americans. Faced with the decision to either sour on television itself or work to better the medium, he chose the latter and began pursuing a career in broadcasting. Fourteen years later, he created one of the most beloved American television shows of all time. Each day he stood before a camera and spoke words that, like torches, illuminated his young viewers' minds and shaped entire generations of American children.

Fred Rogers knew the power his words contained, which is why he reviewed his shows and scripts with Dr. Margaret McFarland, a professor in the department of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh. Before taping an episode, a team of child psychology experts reviewed the script's effects on children's cognitive and emotional development. He talked to children like adults, teaching kids to face the world's hard realities and not shrink back. Emotions should be embraced, not buried. "The world is not always a kind place," he once said. "That's something all children learn for themselves, whether we want them to or not, but it's something they really need our help to understand." Rogers imagined himself as something of a surrogate parent, which is why other children never appeared on the show. He didn't want to create a sentiment of sibling rivalry. When Rogers encountered a child who watched faithfully, he might say, "Why, I think you've grown!" And the child often proudly responded, "I thought you'd notice that, Mr. Rogers." Such responses proved that he had been successful in providing what he called "a neighborhood expression of care for children." 

Rogers's approach to his craft and calling was the result of his Christian faith. Rogers was an ordained minister, and since he left seminary to pursue television, the local branch of his denomination gave him a special commission as an evangelist to children. This unlikely TV evangelist seemed to be always aware that his vocational calling was originated from on high. He believed "the space between the television set and the viewer is holy ground," though he trusted God to do the heavy lifting. The wall of his office featured a framed picture of the Greek word for "grace," a constant reminder of his belief that he could use television "for the broadcasting of grace through the land." And before entering that office each day, Rogers would pray, "Dear God, let some word that is heard be yours."

In 1998, Esquire reported the story of a young viewer of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood with an acute case of autism. The child had never spoken a word until one day he uttered, "X the Owl," the name of one of Mister Rogers's most popular puppets. And the boy had never looked his father in the eye either, until the day his dad said, "Let's go the Neighborhood of Make-Believe." After this, the boy began speaking and reading, which inspired the father to visit Fred Rogers personally to thank him for changing his son's life. Later in Rogers's life, he recounted the story of a child who was being abused by his biological parents, who reportedly "wouldn't even give him a winter blanket and wouldn't give him a bed to sleep in." Through encountering Mister Roger's Neighborhood, the child began to hope that there were kind people in the world and became convinced that he too should be treated with respect. The child called an abuse hotline and was rescued. Even more stunning, the hotline operator who answered the phone adopted the boy.

No matter which topic an episode featured, there was one word Rogers always spoke: neighbor. For him, a neighbor was not just the person who lived next door to you that you waved to when retrieving your mail. It may not be someone who looked like you or dressed like you or frequented the same coffee shop. It was anyone whose path you crossed, especially if that person was in need. Which is to say, Mister Rogers's definition was almost identical to Jesus'. In 1999, when Fred Rogers was inducted into the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame, he reflected on his career: 

... Life isn't cheap. It's the greatest mystery of any millennium, and television needs to do all it can to broadcast that—to show and tell what the good in life is all about. But how do we make goodness attractive? By doing all we can to bring courage to those whose lives move near our own. By treating our "neighbor" at least as well as we treat ourselves and that to inform everything that we produce. ...  

Fred Rogers's entire existence seemed wrapped up with that legal expert's question to Jesus: "Who is my neighbor?" He did all he could to care for his neighbors—children of every color and creed, living across America and around the world—and he loved them well. "You've made this day a special day by just your being you," he'd famously sign off. "There is no person in the whole world like you, and I like you just the way you are." 

Rogers was right. There is no person in this world like you. You have been created and called to love those in need, whether nestled in the suburban cocoon across the street or languishing in a refugee camp a million miles away. As neighbors, we are bound to each other by humanity, not just proximity. Some in our culture believe we become stronger by being more inward-focused. That building walls and closing borders is better than the biblical mandate to invite all to the table. When it comes to neighborliness, we are connected by need, not nearness. If we began to understand neighbor in this way, it would be a beautiful day in our global neighborhood.

P.S. If you liked these excerpts about Sin, Grace, and Neighbor, then I encourage you to purchase Learning to Speak God from Scratch: Why Sacred Words Are Vanishing and How We Can Revive Them by Jonathan Merritt. The two most profound chapters in the book are:

+ Chapter 10: Pain: Chronic Conditions and Other Metaphors 

+ Chapter 11: Disappointment: Dopamine Roller Coasters and Palm Branches 

Here are links to previous City Notes books:

2014 | A Meal with Jesus; The Art of Neighboring; A Praying Life; Building a Healthy Multi-Ethnic Church; Family on Mission; Encounters with Jesus; One Thousand Gifts

2015 | The Rest of God; Everyday Church; Rhythms of Grace

2016 | Letters to a Birmingham Jail; A Field Guide for Everyday Mission; Notes from a Failed Missionary on Rediscovering Faith; The Pursuing God; Yawning at Tigers

2017 | Gospel Fluency; Moving Towards Emmaus; Evangelical, Sacramental, and Pentecostal; Faith Without Illusions

2018 | The Eternal Current; Learning to Speak God from Scratch Part 1; Learning to Speak God from Scratch Part 2

Next post: CN | Tattoos on the Heart: Compassion: The Wallpaper of Jesus' Soul

Christ is all,

Rev. Mike "Sully" Sullivan

Email Pastor Mike | Website | Visit Us | Support Us | Facebook Us