Other Cultures, Other Faiths
As a pastoral caregiver or worship leader there is a call to be sensitive to the needs of families of cultures different from your own or of mixed cultural traditions. How can we accommodate practices from different countries of origin, from the cultural or religious background of significant members of the family, and from the predominant faith practices of the local community? We live in a world where the cultural barriers are constantly crossed and where intermarriage is common.
In Canada, the first people to inhabit the land were tribes and groups of Aboriginal people and peoples who developed their own spirituality, long before the white Caucasian immigrants brought their European Christian ways to the continent. I am indebted to the Reverend Maggie McLeod, Executive Minister, Aboriginal Ministries Circle, The United Church of Canada, for her insights into the challenging situation that Aboriginal groups face in response to the religions of the first European newcomers to the North American continent. Maggie writes:
The United Church’s A New Creed expresses how “God has created and is creating.” The Aboriginal view of Creator also affirms that all life, past and present, is to be acknowledged with gratitude and celebrated. The phrase used by many First Nations peoples, “All My Relations,” is wisdom that captures humanity’s relationship to Creator God and creation—the earth, its creatures, the water, the plants, and indeed the cosmos are all interconnected to the circle of life. Aboriginal community embraces death as part of the circle of life. We are born, we grow into childhood, and we travel into youth and young adulthood; then, the last years of the four cycles are Elder years. All stages of life have a season and a purpose, similar to that which is expressed in Ecclesiastes 3:1: “There is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.”
Many Aboriginal communities, both rural and urban, are experiencing a spiritual and cultural renaissance. After hundreds of years of living with the impact of a colonization imbued with cultural and spiritual superiority, Aboriginal peoples are reclaiming their culture, language, identity, and spirituality. Restoration to Creator’s wholeness is a complex journey. First Nation communities are at various stages of this healing journey. While some Aboriginal communities have reclaimed traditional burial ceremonies and customs and are working alongside Christian communities of faith to meet the needs of grieving families, there are other communities that are very much rooted in the Christian context and believe that the two cannot be combined.
The legacy of colonization and governmental policies has resulted in devastating losses for Aboriginal community. While many layers of grief exist, so does a pervasive resiliency. Aboriginal people are a story-telling people. In fact, the sharing of story is in itself an act of healing and honouring of life. It is important for the community to gather at a time of loss, to share what they have by way of story, food, song, prayer, and ceremony. The minister will gain valuable guidance by listening carefully to the needs of family and community in a time of loss and bereavement.
How does this work itself out in practice? Can non-Aboriginal people get fresh insights into the funeral or celebration of life from considering the Aboriginal way? We take a look at a funeral or life celebration in the First Nations communities of Goodfish Lake–Saddle Lake Pastoral Charge in north-east Alberta with the help of the Reverend Robert Wright, the United Church minister of those pastoral charges. He writes:
Often the body of the person who has died will be brought from the funeral home to the cultural centre a few days before the service. Usually for two evenings there are services where friends and family are able to view the body and offer prayers led by lay persons as well as clergy. There will be refreshments, songs, and stories shared at this time.
The service, the celebration of the person’s life, often lasts all day and is in the cultural centre as there is more room than at the church—and the funeral is recognized as a community event, not just for one denomination. The minister of the pastoral charge joins the day’s events together as celebrant and pastoral caregiver, but the Elders, priest, and pastors of other denominations and traditions have a part in the proceedings if they are available and feel comfortable in [participating].
It begins mid-morning with gospel singing and the drummers drumming, and this is followed by a prayer offered by one of the Elders in the Cree language. After a welcome from the family, the Chief and Band Council bring greetings to the gathered congregation. This welcome is followed by the singing of a hymn, often “How Great Thou Art.”
The minister then offers a prayer along with words of hope and comfort, including an adapted contemporary prayer (from Celebrate God’s Presence), which includes elements of thanksgiving for the life of the person who has died and compassion for family members. This is followed by the Lord’s Prayer and the United Church’s A New Creed or other creedal statement.
Then there are usually four traditionally used scripture readings from the Bible and teachings of the Elders, read if possible by family members and friends spanning the generations. The readings are followed by one or more planned eulogies or tributes to the person who has died. After this, there is often a PowerPoint presentation with pictures of the person’s life, backed by favourite secular and sacred songs, and then friends who are moved to do so have the opportunity to speak of the deceased. This time of sharing may include a singing of the traditional Cree song “Love One Another” (Sakihitotan) and favourite gospel songs, including “Peace in the Valley,” “Where the Roses Never Fade,” “I’ll Fly Away,” and of course, “Amazing Grace.”
The minister gives a meditation reflecting on the life of the deceased person in the light of one or more of the scriptures and the teaching of the Elders. This is followed by a closing prayer and congregational members joining hands for the singing of the last hymn, usually “Bind Us Together.” Following the commissioning and blessing, there is a time to greet and bring words of condolence to the family.
The final service act is a farewell to the person who has died. One by one, family members and friends file past the coffin and offer their farewell, “We never say goodbye,” in prayer, or in a few words, or by the symbolic leaving of a small gift—some sweetgrass, tobacco, or a crucifix for example. The drummers drum, alternating with gospel singers at this time.
The coffin is then closed and sometimes taken by horse and wagon to the cemetery for the committal service. A feast follows with lots of good food and talk about the person who has died, with laughter enjoyed as well as tears, and many stories told and retold.
Non-Aboriginal people often come away from the day of celebration surprised by the flexibility of the service. Nothing is carved in stone here! The order of prayers, tributes, and hymns is open to change by the presiding minister in consultation with family, leader of worship, and other clergy. Neither are there time constraints. The elements of the day, especially the eulogies and tributes, take whatever time is needed for the persons who are speaking—another half hour, another hour more than was expected is okay. I remember on one occasion being taken on one side by the manager of a crematorium and reprimanded for going five minutes over my allotted half hour and then being told that if it happened again, I would be banned from taking services there. This is the exact opposite of the situation at the Goodfish Lake–Saddle Lake Pastoral Charge where, when celebrating a life, time is the servant, not the master!
In this situation the cultural identity of the deceased is honoured with drumming, sage, or sweetgrass, depending on cultural concerns and the participation of the tribal Elders in the service.
Newcomers from Africa and Asia
For many years, it was European immigrants who made up the largest groups of newcomers to the North American continent, but this situation has changed and continues to change. There are many today who come from Africa and from South-East Asia and China. These newcomers often had different ways of observing the rites of mourning and burial in their home countries; some they have brought with them, and some not. As pastoral caregivers and as those who lead worship at funerals and life celebrations, we are able to learn from ritual practices of another country.
Here is an example from the Methodist Church, Ghana, where a compassionate social network that includes church members is responsible for the care of the loved one and close family members of the person who has died. Even a spouse who has no significant family members is not left alone.
When a member dies, it is the church that takes the primary role in organizing the care of the family and the preparation and delivery of the service. Following the long-time Methodist practice of dividing the membership into “classes,” each with its leader, it is the class leader whom the family contacts first when a loved one dies. The class leader in turn contacts the members of the member’s class and the minister of the congregation. Some of these class members accompany their leader and the minister to the family home where the family is comforted and an informal worship service is offered with prayers, scripture readings, and familiar songs.
In many churches, there is a funeral committee of a few members who are jointly responsible for planning and delivering the services in consultation with the minister and family. Often the whole faith community is involved in the funeral. There is usually a service held soon after the death of the church member and though the congregants’ clothes would be in the mourning colours of red and black, the music would be upbeat and free and the celebration punctuated by many amens and alleluias. The service is informal enough that the order can be interrupted and a tribute to the deceased offered or a song of praise suggested and sung. The service is followed by the interment, and about a week later, there is another service, this time focusing on thanksgiving for the person’s life. Again, the feeling is upbeat and joyful, and the service is punctuated by song and memories—the mood this time matched by the colourful clothes of the participants, often whites and blues. Neighbouring congregations join in the service and meal that follows.
Clearly, in the Methodist Church, Ghana, the expectation is that the church will take a lead in the care of the family of the person who has died and in the leadership of the funeral services. Though in a Western context the family has a more prominent part to play, perhaps we might explore how church members generally might play a more significant role.
The liturgy in the Methodist Church, Ghana, is similar to the liturgy that Methodist missionaries brought to that country. In much the same way, the liturgies in India, Korea, and China, for example, in many cases still bear a close relationship to the liturgies of the mother churches—Anglican, Presbyterian, or Roman Catholic—of missionaries who introduced Christianity to those countries. When the second or third generation of Christians arrive in North America or Europe as immigrants and establish their own churches, the liturgies they use, including the hymns they sing, are often derived from the liturgies the missionaries introduced. They are familiar and comfortable.
What happens when we are faced with the need to honour two very different faiths when a person dies?
My first experience of being called on to work in a partially non-Western cultural context was when I was asked to work with a Buddhist priest to create a memorial service for a member of my congregation whose roots were in both the Christian and the Buddhist faiths.
We started from the premise that both faith traditions would be honoured in the ceremony and that symbols essential to the two faith groups would be given equal place in the United Church sanctuary. On the table at the front of the sanctuary we placed both a shrine, at which incense was burned, and the cross, which was normally at the centre of the communion table. The Buddhist priest and I found that there was a natural progression in the services of both faiths that enabled us to alternate sections of Christian and Buddhist liturgy. Before each section, we explained the meaning of the liturgy in the faith context to the congregation and then offered the words.
It was a positive experience for both the Christian and Buddhist faith groups, and I enjoyed working with the priest. Pastoral care to the family was also shared between us.