Many African refugees have a deep Christian faith and a rich spiritual life. Social supporters of African refugees in Australia have noted that the worship and fellowship life of a church provides some of the most valued experiences in assimilating to life in Australia.

In Africa worship is well attended and involves the whole family. Worship may be lead by a ministry team, with a senior pastor as the preacher. Enthusiastic singing is an important part of Christian worship, with drums as the only accompaniment, and a choir giving the lead. Children attend Sunday School, and may sing as a children's choir.

In Australia, African refugees appreciate the opportunity to worship in their own language and own traditions, if there is a worshipping community that they can join. They also appreciate the opportunity to join in an Australian congregation where they are accepted and welcomed. They are quite adaptable at sharing in worship styles that are quite different to what they are used to. Even if their level of language comprehension is limited simply being in a worshipping community speaks to them of the grace of God.

Some refugees and migrants can be quite shocked and horrified by Australian culture and the in your face nature of unbelief, divorce, and sexual exploitation.

It can be difficult for African people to determine that their church denomination is Lutheran, as the church goes by various names. In Ethiopia for instance the Lutheran Church is known as 'Mekane Yesus'.

Example:

"Esther and Samuel had arrived in Australia recently and were invited to attend worship by Christian friends. The way they dressed and presented themselves showed that worship was an important occasion for them. Esther had not yet learned even basic English. But Samuel would find the Scripture readings for her in their Arabic Bible, and she would read for herself during the sermon."

Tips for integrated Worship:

Try to use a translation of the bible in worship that uses easy to understand language.
Sing some songs or hymns with simple refrains. Often it is difficult for new readers to follow the words fast enough to sing along. The repetition of a chorus will enable participation in at least part of the song.
When someone is just learning to understand, speak or read English it can be hard to stay tuned in to a lot of words during a worship service. In these circumstances artwork, stained glass, iconography, paraments, banners or other visual arts help communicate. If your church has visual art work talk about it. It is said that works of stained glass were created centuries ago to teach the illiterate the scriptures. If your church is a bit light on for visual arts perhaps you might consider developing this aspect of your worship.
Visual aids in sermons or children’s addresses are also helpful.
Encourage non-english speakers to pray the Lord’s Prayer in their mother tongue, until they feel comfortable praying it in english with the rest of the congregation.
Have a refugee teach your congregation’s choir a simple song from their language. Then explain the meaning of the song to everyone.
Refugees may find it easier to follow a service if the words are all projected with a data projector, rather than if they have to find their way through several books. If your congregation is not data projector equipped then having someone offer to point to the words in the liturgy as they are spoken will be appreciated by a refugee learning to read.
In some cultures men and women worship separately, or men and women might sit separately in church. This may seem strange to Australians who typically worship as a family unit. This difference doesn’t mean that there is anything wrong with the family, it is just that our customs are different.
Find out about the special gifts that your refugee brothers and sisters have and allow them to contribute. Often refugees need extra support in the first few years after they arrive in Australia, and finding ways that they can contribute to the life of the congregation will help them feel a sense of belonging and acceptance.

Case Study:

17 year old Elsbeth was very conscious that her family always seemed to be asking for help. She didn’t like to ask. When Elspeth was asked to help with the Sunday school after church each Sunday she felt accepted and began to feel less self conscious about receiving help. She enjoyed helping because she always wanted to learn more about God and enjoyed being with the children.

Reading the Bible

For many Christian refugees access to the Bible has been limited in their country of origin. In some cases people have lacked the ability to read, or bibles were just not available, or it might have been against the law to have one. It is often the case that one of the things celebrated the most by refugees is the easy access we have in Australia to the Word of God. Refugees often relish opportunities to read the bible together or to listen to the bible being read.

Reading the bible together in people's homes provides not only the opportunity to be blessed by God’s word it also provides the refugee with valuable reading practice and it will give you opportunity to talk more about words that they might hear in church but don’t understand the meaning of.

It can be difficult to match people's reading abilities with material that is age appropriate. For instance, although an infant's first bible contains easy to read text - they often don't provide enough substance for an adult or teenage reader. Text with pictures is very helpful for early readers no matter the age, however you may have to search hard for something suitable. The Good News Bible (GNB) on MP3, CDs or cassettes is often suitable especially if accompanied with a text to follow along with. Perhaps your congregation could purchase a set of GNB disks for loan to families.

The 'Jesus' DVD is often a handy resource, used either with subtitles on or off.

If there is no copy of the bible in a household it can be a very precious gift to receive even if one can't read it yet. Perhaps the giving of bibles could be considered as a standard 'welcome to our congregaton gift' for newly arrived refugees and migrants.

Case Study:

I will never forget my first visit to Naomi’s house. I took my children’s bible with me and we read about Adam and Eve. They had never heard this reading before. We sat on the sofa with the bible on my lap and three teenagers huddled up to me each wanting to see the pictures and try to follow the words. They were keen to read for themselves too. The youngest pushing an older sibling out of the way to have a turn. He was so pleased with himself to be reading from a bible for the first time in his life. They haggled with me over my departure time – couldn’t I stay and read a bit longer.

Teaching the faith:

Try Luther's small catechism - pithy and brief but ever so handy!
It can be

Home Visits

When an English speaking pastor or lay person is visiting non-english speakers often one will be asked to pray. It is helpful to ask if there is anything special that they would like to pray about and to invite them to also pray in their own language if they like either before or after you pray. Talking about what one will pray about beforehand helps build vocabulary so that the prayer can be understood and shared. The invocation of the Triune God and signing oneself often rings bells among Africans. If you know one precious liturgical word or phrase in their vernacular that can help. Often prayer in the home involves the whole family - make sure the TV is off!

Sharing Table Fellowship

Food is intrinsically tied up with culture and environment. When planning congregational lunches or dinners be sensitive to differences around food. In some cultures food is always cooked and never eaten raw because it is not safe to do so. In some cultures food is always consumed with hands or the aid of bread and not with knives and forks. For some people it is fun to try new things but for others the comfort of familiar foods will be appreciated. Encourage refugee families to bring something to fellowship meals that they enjoy eating so that they feel comfortable participating. Assure them that they don’t have to feed everyone and that they are welcome to try some of the other foods if they like. Don’t be offended if something you like is not appreciated by others.

Other reflections on multicultural food experiences:
I'll never forget the Sri Lankan who found the smorgasborg overwhelming as normally he would eat only a few specially chosen foods together. I note too that Vietnamese see food as medicine and follow strict combinations accordingly (yin/yang). We have sometimes found it difficult to get our women to relinquish their place in the kitchen to make room for the new ladies. Yet, when a refugee woman finds her place in the kitchen, her hands will speak a language of love and service.
Asians and africans generally honour the aged. we encourage the same to eat first. We're sensitive to titles and respect in language - addressing as people wished to be addressed. For some the idea of everyone bringing some food as in our luncheons is foreign. Often a particular family hosts everyone else.

Finally if possible, try and schedule fellowship meals close to Centerlink payment dates, so that those on Centerlink benefits feel able to contribute something special for the table. In some households food becomes less special as the fortnight wears on.

Resources in Languages other than English

The Bible Society in Australia sells Bibles in many languages, including Arabic and many African tribal languages.

The LCA Victorian District offiice has a hymnal in Nuer with permission to make copies. Contact Allan Heppner.