Why on earth would we te reo Maori in our Sunday service?

 Gate Pa – 5th August 2012

(the week after Maori language week – te wiki o te reo Maori


Readings:

Hebrew Scripture:          2 Samuel 11:26-12:13a
Psalm:                                  51
Epistle:                 Ephesians 4:1-16             
Gospel:                                John 6:24-35,    

What I want to say:

ask people why they think it is important to use te reo Māori in the service, or what questions they have about using it?
Outline some of the reasons I think it is important:
·         welcoming for Maori speakers to hear their language
·         Te reo Maori is a gift from God, cultivated by our ancestors and bequeathed as a gift to all generations it behoves us to fill our hearts with what is good and just.
·         official language of Aotearoa New Zealand and as such deserves a place in our services
o   partly because it is an official language
o   partly Maori is used all around us and is part of our context
·         who we are as Anglicans in this country
o   language first Anglican church (te Haahi Mihinare)
o   language of our tikanga partners in this land
·         enable us to worship with Tikanga Maori partners with confidence
·         Lutheran work on relationship of liturgy with culture:
o   trans or beyond culture
o   contextual
o   counter cultural
o   cross cultural

What I want to happen:

people to engage with te reo Māori in an informed and enthusiastic way

The Sermon

Introduction:

ask people why they think it is important to use te reo Māori in the service, or what questions they have about using it?
Outline some of the reasons I think it is important:
·        welcoming for Maori speakers to hear their language
·        Te reo Maori is a gift from God, cultivated by our ancestors and bequeathed as a gift to all generations it behoves us to fill our hearts with what is good and just.
·        official language of Aotearoa New Zealand and as such deserves a place in our services
o   partly because it is an official language
o   partly Maori is used all around us and is part of our context
·        who we are as Anglicans in this country
o   language first Anglican church (te Haahi Mihinare)
o   language of our tikanga partners in this land
·        enable us to worship with Tikanga Maori partners with confidence
·        Lutheran work on relationship of liturgy with culture:
o   trans or beyond culture
o   contextual
o   counter cultural
o   cross cultural


In summary:

don’t use te reo Maori because
·        it is trendy or because it is PC
·        I use it because it is who we are

using te reo Maori honours:
·        who is here
·        who we are as an Anglican church
·        our context in these communities
·        liturgy as a vehicle that moves us
o   out of our culture
o   helps us embrace other cultures
o   hold our culture up to the gospel

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