Colin Wood is the senior pastor at Parklands Baptist Church in Christchurch.
My grandson has just learnt to point at the moon and say “Ma”. It’s very cute even though he clearly hasn’t got the pronunciation right.
He must have heard someone saying it, and now he’s trying to say it himself.
Language matters. In the book of Revelation, the angel speaks to all languages and ethnicities.
If you stepped into our mostly Pakeha church, you’d probably hear some of us doing the equivalent of mispronouncing moon.
It started with hearing.
As a Pakeha male, I have mostly been unaware of my ethnicity in a way that differs from many Māori and Pasifika, and I suspect most new immigrants. I hear them say they are confronted with this daily, and I hear, too, the challenges they face as they walk into mostly Pakeha churches. As we have been listening, we’ve noticed a raft of statistics that suggest that non-Pakeha have a rougher ride than we do. As we have been listening, we have been learning that our ways are often jarring to a different culture that is strong in places where we are weak. Like many, we’ve been listening to our chequered history, noticing the glorious and the ghastly. (commongrace.nz has a great resource called Belonging in this land.)
What are we to do?
I think there is a journey of the heart that even Pakeha church can embark on.
Here are three simple suggestions: in the light of “Ko te Reo me ōna nei tikanga ka haere ngātahi” (the language and culture go hand in hand).
Firstly, seek to support those Māori who are on the journey of re-claiming their reo. Listen to them, support them. Trust them.
Secondly you might consider learning some yourself. A number of us are on this road. It's a long but rewarding journey. I've been surprised again and again at how te ao Māori has enriched my faith and been teaching me to listen and understand more.
Lastly, we’ve sought to integrate some te Reo Māori into our services. Even if it’s only a greeting at the start, a song, a scripture displayed or read in both, or a blessing at the end, we reckon it’s not tokenism if we are on a journey and we are. It’s a long road, and we are just starting on it.
So, for Māori language week I offer a small resource from our kete you could try.
Here’s a “Try-lingual” version of the Lord’s prayer, designed to be read in both English and Te Reo Māori. Find accompanying actions to make it all-age friendly in the PowerPoint linked below [and within square brackets below].
It’s a nice thing to do together, reminding each of us that there is more to our world than my culture and ethnicity.
At most, it’s a baby step on a journey. But it’s a step.
One day, my grandson will point at the moon and say “Marama”, and I will reply “Ae”.
E to matou Matua i te rangi
Our Father in heaven
[Look up, like a child to a parent]
Kia tapu tou Ingoa
Hallowed be your name
[Run hands over large imaginary name plaque hanging above and in front of you]
Kia tae mai tou rangatira-tanga. Kia meatia tau e pai ai
Your kingdom come Your will be done
[Raise an ear to heaven as if listening for God's guidance]
ki runga ki te whenua, kia rite ano ki to te rangi.
On earth as it is in heaven.
[Reach down and scoop up some “earth”, rub it with your fingers]
Homai ki a matou aianei He taro ma matou mo tenei ra.
Give us today our daily bread
[Tip away the earth and with both hands lift up a bread roll and tear it in two, mime eating a chunk]
Murua o matou hara…
And forgive us our sins
[Cup right hand as if holding sins, look into it then raise it out front and to your right]
Me matou hoki e muru nei i o te hunga e hara ana ki a matou.
As we forgive those who sin against us
[Cup left hand, look at this then hold that out, so that you are balancing left and right, like scales. Turn both hands over and let all the sins go]
Aua hoki matou e kawea kia whaka-waia;
Lead us not into temptation
[Reach out for something, then stop and retract hand]
Engari whaka-orangia matou, i te kino:
But deliver us from evil
[Hold hands up to shield face from danger]
Nou hoki te rangatira-tanga,
For yours is the kingdom
[Sweep hands together in front of you as if collecting up a large bundle]
te kaha
the power
[Lift the imaginary bundle up high - just as God has the power to carry us]
me te kororia,
and the glory
[Sweep hands across and above you as if smoothing out the sky]
Ake, ake, ake.
forever and ever
[Remove watch from wrist and throw it away]
Āmine.
Amen
[Bow heads, with hands clasped]
If you would like a simple PowerPoint file with this prayer (includes actions), it’s available here. All actions are sourced from Dave Hopwood and the te reo Māori from te Paipera Tapu.
Image credit: pixabay.com/photos/maori-koru-fern-fronds-green-4595770/
