Fostering Connections: Bilingual Eucharist on Oct. 16 joined four Henderson County churches in worship and fellowship

Several times a year, four sister churches in Henderson County gather for a bilingual eucharist and shared meal; the events are a special opportunity to celebrate community in the parish and foster connections among congregants. On the evening of Oct. 16, St. James Hendersonville hosted the Bilingual Eucharist with members from La Capilla de Santa Maria, St. Paul Tabernacle A.M.E. Zion, and St. Paul’s Edneyville. The churches started convening for these events around a decade ago in response to a diocesan anti-bias training. Following the service, a potluck meal was shared by those present.

            “In a time of division and partisan rancor, this service is an opportunity for parishes with different backgrounds and languages to show one another support, solidarity, and shared worship of the one living God,” says The Rev. David Henson of St. James. “The service continues to bear beautiful fruit thanks to our lay leadership who have kept it thriving through leadership changes at each of the four parishes involved.”

            While the liturgy is regularly given each year in both English and Spanish, the service format varies as does the congregation hosting the event. On Oct. 16, the sermon was given by a member from each parish to bear witness on how God had been present and active in their communities in the past year. These testimonies had a basis in the gospel reading in which the angels instruct the women at the tomb to “go and tell” others about the Resurrected Lord.

            “It was so inspiring to see the Resurrection and the Living Christ alive and at work in so many different contexts and communities,” says Rev. Henson. “It truly bears witness to a God that knows no boundaries or borders.”

            A common theme across most of the statements were the impact and response to Hurricane Helene last fall, including the blurring of divisions among neighbors and community in this time of crisis. Each of the messages were translated from either English or Spanish for the benefit of those gathered for the service. Leading the eucharistic service following the sermon statements were Rev. Henson, The Rev. Miguel Alvarez of La Capilla, and The Rev. Kevin Todd of St. Paul’s.

            “I always enjoy the worship service and the fact that we’re able to continue the communion and fellowship together,” says Melinda Lowrance of St. Paul Tabernacle A.M.E. Zion, who spoke on behalf of her church at the service. “The length of time this service has been going on tells you the impact that it’s had on the community.”

            A shared potluck meal following the service included many homemade dishes, from chicken taquitos, meaty casseroles, and green salads to yummy dessert offerings such as traditional conchas as well as pound cake.

            “The bilingual service is a reminder that we have everything we need as followers of Jesus to live faithfully in a precarious world,” says Rev. Henson. “Our worship was a time not just of countering the dehumanizing rhetoric in our nation but faithfully and actively humanizing one another across the gifts of difference and diversity.”