Sometimes we get the most pleasant surprises at the Chapel. One of those was last Sunday evening with a visit of some Yolgnu people from northern Australia. Aboriginal people of north east Arnhem Land, they were here for the National Christian Youth Convention of the Uniting Church currently being held in North Parramatta. They were brought to us by Rev Helen Richmond with whom I studied too many years ago! She is now working in Nungalinya College in Darwin. We quickly re-adjusted our planned regular Sunday night Café Church so as to have some conversation with these people.
Central to the conversation was the idea that these people can hold the Christian story together with their traditional Dreamtime stories. Rather than seeing a contradiction in these, they understood them as being something which complement each other. Their faith represents a fulfilment of their cultural tradition.
We often either ignore or struggle with the link between faith and our cultural tradition. We often like to pretend our faith is clean from cultural tradition and some Christians are critical of people like the Yolngu who understand their Christian experience and cultural traditions as being in continuity. Of course our faith is rooted in its cultural and historical tradition with much to do with our two greatest festivals, Christmas and Easter, coming from the older pre-Christian tradition. Furthermore our contemporary faith all too often uncritically picks up things of the surrounding culture, the modern phenomenon of prosperity theology being little more than a reflection of the world’s values, cloaked in religious garb.
The Yolgnu have much to teach us about a healthy integration of faith and tradition.
Looking forward to seeing you at the Chapel soon.
Rev John Queripel
Central to the conversation was the idea that these people can hold the Christian story together with their traditional Dreamtime stories. Rather than seeing a contradiction in these, they understood them as being something which complement each other. Their faith represents a fulfilment of their cultural tradition.
We often either ignore or struggle with the link between faith and our cultural tradition. We often like to pretend our faith is clean from cultural tradition and some Christians are critical of people like the Yolngu who understand their Christian experience and cultural traditions as being in continuity. Of course our faith is rooted in its cultural and historical tradition with much to do with our two greatest festivals, Christmas and Easter, coming from the older pre-Christian tradition. Furthermore our contemporary faith all too often uncritically picks up things of the surrounding culture, the modern phenomenon of prosperity theology being little more than a reflection of the world’s values, cloaked in religious garb.
The Yolgnu have much to teach us about a healthy integration of faith and tradition.
Looking forward to seeing you at the Chapel soon.
Rev John Queripel