An intercultural meal together may offer an opportunity to break down racial divides.
Learning
To me, Canada is beautiful and impressive. In the years that I have been living here, I have experienced a warm welcoming of diverse cultures and various traditions. I also love working for The United Church of Canada. I love the church’s deep theological foundations, the ways that the church works in global partnerships, and how the United Church takes stances for people who are on the margins. Working with this church is exciting and inspirational, and it is a fountain of happiness and joy.
But there is one experience in a large United Church of Canada event that remains unforgettable. Up until that point, everything had been going well. At the event’s mealtimes, however, a few of us struggled with feeling isolated. We were three racialized ministers, including me, and we were often left by ourselves during meals. It happened quite consistently—that the three of us were left alone together to eat by ourselves. By contrast, the majority of other people at the gathering were White, and they gathered in large groups with their friends.
We did not talk much about this racial dynamic at the time, but we talked about it later. I never believed that the White people at the meeting were intentionally ignoring our presence. But the dynamic bothered us quite a bit. At one point, when I talked with the other ministers about what we were experiencing in relation to the importance of intercultural ministries, they empathized with me, and then agreed that we need to engage in intercultural ministries!
In my Korean theology, it is important to have a community meal together, and we are strengthened in our diversity. Therefore, I would have much preferred that we as racialized people were not always separated and isolated. I would have wanted us to have a meal together—as diverse racialized and White people and creating intercultural community together.
I wanted to have lunch with them, listen to their stories, and feel a strong sense of belonging in the United Church.
I know that the people attending that gathering are (and will be) great, inspirational, and dedicated leaders of the United Church. I wanted to have more time to talk with them deeply because of my respect and admiration for them. But as a male Korean immigrant, I came to realize that even in the United Church, a large and tall glass wall, which could be called “White supremacy,” divides people according to their races. To be honest, I wondered if I should have attempted to join in more private meetings such as a mealtime or break time, and tried to figure out how to introduce myself more actively and build up stronger friendships with other members in order to be treated fairly. But regrettably, I found that I might have to resign myself to become accustomed to this divisive culture and accept it as a new norm. I also wondered whether other racialized members, who were also left alone at mealtimes or other private times, might feel the same, further internalizing their feelings of racial marginalization.
Faith Reflection
My experience reminded me of theological implications of sharing food at a table in pursuit of the realization of the “Vision for Becoming an Intercultural Church.” Jesus pointed out the importance of sharing food with those who are poor and alienated. In particular, it was at breakfast that Jesus embraced Peter and other disciples who betrayed Jesus and restored relationships with his disciples by serving them.
Jaesoon Park, a Korean theologian, argued in Theology for the Open Society that it was in a community of meals that Jesus embodied the values of the Kingdom of God by eating and sharing food with the alienated and poor, who can be identified with minjung, in “the movement of a community of meals.”
Eating together has often been one of the best spiritual ways of creating a community of peace, love, and justice. There should be no exclusion and no alienation at tables. It is, however, hard to practise. It was Peter who realized God’s inclusive and indiscriminatory love at Cornelius’s home. But in Galatians 2, we read how Peter was rebuked by Paul for his hypocritical behaviours directed against the Gentiles at a mealtime. Peter stopped having meals with the Gentiles when James’s friends came. His seemingly discriminatory act came from his fear of being criticized by those who argued for the importance of circumcision. In light of the gospel, Peter’s behaviour was not right.
Prayer
Holy Lord, open and purify our hearts and minds. Let us listen to your voice and follow Jesus Christ in pursuit of love, justice, and peace. Gracious God, remove all roots of hatred and prejudices, which bring about injustice, discrimination, and racism in the world. We pray that God continues to help us to give us all wisdom and knowledge to work together in cooperation with each other to eradicate racism and create communities of justice. We pray that God will be present with us and inspire us to mutually understand each other and gain powerful lessons from each other in an intercultural community of meals in pursuit of an intercultural church. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
Living It Out
Let’s have an intercultural meal together!
Personally, I need to talk to people from different racial and cultural backgrounds about my experiences and cultures. I also need to learn more about their theological traditions in creative and productive conversations, and to create the common ground on which I should stand with them in pursuit of the shared intercultural vision.
In that regard, I also dream of working towards overcoming White supremacy and internalized racism present in the United Church by creating an intercultural community of meals where we can all eat together, have a joyful and meaningful conversation in harmony, feel a strong sense of belonging, and establish strong solidarities together.
How might you create an intercultural meal together and continue to break down racial barriers?
—OhWang Kwon (he/him) was born and raised in South Korea, and ordained in the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea (PROK). He is the first PROK minister who entered ministry in The United Church of Canada under the Mutual Recognition of Ministries between the United Church and PROK. Since 2017, he has been dynamically involved in ministries in the former Alberta and Northwest Conference and Chinook Winds Region. He also received his Ph.D. in religion from Claremont Graduate University in 2008. Since then, he has been seeking to figure out how to live out faith on earth as he showed his enthusiasm for intercultural ministry by coauthoring Jesus and the Marginalized together with Donald Schweitzer as well as Hope Peace Unrest: The Holy Spirit in the Korean Community in The United Church of Canada. OhWang is interested in discovering powerful theological lessons in dialogue between traditional and progressive theologies in pursuit of love, justice, and peace.
This reflection originally appeared in 40 Days on Anti-Racism 2022.