Many cultures, one body: celebrating Intercultural Neighbouring Sunday

At Gungahlin Uniting Church in the ACT, the questions raised went to the heart of intercultural neighbouring: “How can we build greater trust among this community, beyond smiling politely at each other? What does genuine, practical welcome mean for newcomers? What does it mean to be a community of faith in all our diversity?”

These questions are already part of Gungahlin’s weekly life. More than ten languages are spoken among its members, and Scripture is regularly read in Arabic, Sinhala and Korean, alongside an English translation.

In Tasmania, Hobart North Uniting Church created a communal weaving as a symbol of their shared life. Members reflected on the thread they bring to the church and community, where they have experienced belonging before they had “earned” it, and what it means for their own liberation to be bound up with someone else’s.

The finished weaving will remain on display as a reminder of who they are as a community.

At Living Water Uniting Church in Humpty Doo, Northern Territory, worship included prayers, readings and songs in six languages alongside English. Members and visitors wore clothing reflecting their cultural heritage, while an Indian Fijian family shared songs in Hindi, Fijian and English. Grace, a Chinese Malaysian member, sang How Great Thou Art in Mandarin.

Worship was followed by a shared lunch featuring foods from different cultures – a joyful expression of the community gathered around one table.

In country NSW, INS provided an opportunity not only to celebrate diversity but to deepen a relationship with another Christian community. Tamworth City Uniting Church signed a user agreement with the Mar Aphrem Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church of Tamworth, enabling the congregation to hold a monthly worship service in the Uniting church building.

Practical changes were even made to the building as an act of hospitality, with ceiling fans relocated to allow a curtain to be installed to support the Orthodox liturgy.

Moderator for the Synod of NSW & ACT, Rev Faaimata Havea Hiliau, joined the Campsie Earlwood Clemton Park Uniting Church congregation and the United Church of Tonga Sailo Congregation for a shared celebration.

“It was a sacred celebration of God’s faithfulness as we gathered across cultures, languages and traditions, united in Christ,” Rev Hiliau reflected.

Grounded in Psalm 139 and Matthew 13, the gathering reflected on the God who knows each of us completely and patiently grows us together as one people. The service also marked the close of NAIDOC Week, with a yarning circle dedicated in recognition of the heritage and continuing witness of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

“Moments like these remind me that the Church is at its best when we create spaces of belonging where every person is welcomed, every culture is honoured, and together we bear witness to God’s transforming love,” Rev Hiliau said.

These celebrations looked different in every place, but together they offered a glimpse of intercultural life: worship in many languages, stories shared across cultures, honest conversations about racism, food around a common table, practical acts of hospitality and new relationships with neighbouring communities.

Intercultural Neighbouring Sunday is more than a day in the church calendar. It is an invitation to keep asking how we can become communities where difference is welcomed, cultures are honoured and every person has a place.

As the Uniting Church continues its journey as an intercultural Church, these local expressions remind us that God is already at work among our diverse communities – weaving us together as one body, with many parts.