Sunday 24th September 2023 was a very colourful and joyful day of celebration at the Church of the Resurrection, Kirkdale, Sydenham. It was a beautiful celebration of "Oneness in diversity" marked by colourful cultural diversity.
On that occasion, the people of God gathered to celebrate the Eucharist, bringing their culture alive to one another. This made it very joyful and colourful and this is what the Church reflects and shares. The diversity in our Parish reflects the rich diversity in the Archdiocese.
London is a cosmopolitan area and since the Archdiocese is in London, what better way can we showcase the diversity of the Church, united in love of God in communion with the Holy Spirit.
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The Liturgy was very beautiful and moving. The readings, the bidding prayers and the songs were in different languages. The parish choir and the invited Ugandan choir were amazing.
In his homily, Canon Victor began, first of all, by congratulating the outgoing Parish priest, Fr Alfred Osamor, on his new assignment to St Teresa, Ashford, and also to thank him on behalf of the Archbishop and the entire Archdiocese for a job well done in his 12 years at the Church of the Resurrection, Kirkdale. He commended him for building a community – a place of welcome both for the parishioners and non-parishioners.
He commended him for introducing the Intercultural Mass in the parish which has been celebrated since his arrival. He and the entire congregation gave a standing ovation to Fr Alfred, in appreciation of all he has done in the parish for over 12 years. He wished that this Intercultural Mass would be something celebrated in all the parishes, in the Archdiocese, especially in the South East Area which he is overseeing.
Canon Victor was very happy to celebrate Mass with the parishioners and the invited guests, and he welcomed everyone, once again to this great occasion. According to him, we have come together this day to celebrate our oneness in diversity. We celebrate our different cultures and ethnicity, bringing the diversity into our faith and worship.
Canon Victor said we need to be more welcoming, irrespective of our cultural background. He emphasised also that there should be no place for racism in our parishes, schools or in our Archdiocese.
He said, we are called to be one people, diverse and different as we are. But baptism unites us all and makes us brothers and sisters of our Lord Jesus Christ.
