By Rhoda Klein Miller
OAC staff joined Deer Lake students on a cultural field-trip this week visiting a feasthouse where a Squamish elder shared songs and stories from his Coast Salish culture. In his closing remarks he encouraged everyone to learn and honour their ancestral culture. We may have Canadian, Latin, African, Asian or European heritage but if we trace our lineage back far enough we are all descendants of Noah, a family whose culture centered on their Creator and Savior.
God’s call to disperse and fill the earth (Gen 9:1) resulted in amazing diversity and a myriad of unique cultural expressions. OAC has chosen to celebrate the Christmas season featuring our multicultural richness because God is pleased to have the fullness of His creation reconciled to Him in unity of worship (Col 1:19-20). Jesus incarnation, born a baby that night in Bethlehem united himself with every human, and His sacrificial life and death was a gift offered for each individual to accept. Our response regardless of the instrument or language, is musical and joyous.
The Squamish elder wore jangling deer hooves around his ankles as audible reminders to shake off negativity when joining a community gathering. Likewise our church should also be a place we are united in a shared spirit of celebration and worship. What songs are you “employing” to express your gratitude for who Jesus is and what He is accomplishing?
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