A multicultural service co-hosted by The English Language Class at St Barnabas, Fendalton and Antioch (Young Adults Service) saw unity in diversity.

On a cool Sunday evening on 29 Oct 2023, the English Language Class co-hosted a multicultural service with Antioch (Young Adults Service) at St Barnabas Anglican Church, Fendalton.

St Barnabas, Fendalton ELC Coordinator Olive Lawson, and Young Adults Minister Andy Dickson worked together with international migrants and students for a contemplative and rich interfaith service inside the church memorial building.

Throughout the service, Olive warmly welcomed each person to St Barnabas, Fendalton and invited everyone to join in prayer. Jason, one of the first ELC graduates also shared his testimony:

"My name is Jason Yen. I am from Taiwan. I have been in New Zealand for over 8 years. I started coming to St Barnabas English class probably since 2017. Off and on it has been more than 6 years. I still remember how I found this class 6 years ago. I saw a small notice paper posted at Church Corner Mall. Then, I started to come to the class.

As a non-native English speaker in New Zealand, St Barnabas English class was a good place for me to get started and to discover the Kiwi life.

I enjoy this class because the atmosphere is surrounded by cultural diversity and well-prepared lessons.

The class is divided into small groups, led by enthusiastic volunteer tutors. This can make sure all learners are able to take part in the class.

Compared to 8 years ago, my English is good enough for me to get by my daily life. I am comfortable to use English most of the time, but still, I know I need to improve my language skills as well. We all know that any language study is a boring thing and quite challenging for most of learners (new vocabularies, complicated grammar, and get frustrated by different accents). But St Barnabas English class is a place I would like to keep coming. Although I don’t come to class every Thursday as I did 6 years ago, I still recommend St Barnabas English class for new friends who want to try a casual but a fun way to learn English.

Lastly, I want to say that destiny is a strange thing. You never know who you will meet in the class at St Barnabas. When you encounter some difficulties in life, someone might give you a hand in time." 

We were treated to colourfully rich traditional costumes from South Korea, Myanmar, Ethiopia, Thailand, and China; we heard different languages sung and spoken; we heard the Lord's Prayer spoken in Amharic; we listened to Dave Dobbyn’s song "Welcome Home", written especially for migrants to New Zealand; we greeted each other with peace, and prayed for peace by placing candles.

One of four Buddhist monks spoke. It was their very first time being inside a church and they believe that we all share a common humanity. Later, Andy Dickson echoed that we are all human beings and we are all the same.

The evening finished with light refreshment at Fendall Hall next door and it was a joyous gathering of English Language tutors with their students.

Here is the Opening Prayer we said at this moving St Barnabas, Fendalton Interfaith Service:

'Loving God, You created all people in your image,
We thank you for the amazing variety of races and cultures in this world,
Mysterious God, never confined by culture, class or creed, thank you for
newcomers who have left the security of family and friends to come to
New Zealand to become strangers in a strange land.

May we embrace the gift of new migrants;
including their skills, valuing their differences.
Teach us to love and respect those who are different from us for
we are all brothers and sisters in Christ.
This we ask in Jesus’ name,
Amen.'

Yvette Koo Butcher