Jenan Taylor
15 February 2024
A northern suburbs church drew new worshippers at its first service for non-English speaking members of the Hindi speaking community.
The Hindi service at the Anglican parish of St Matthew’s Glenroy with St Linus’ Merlynston aims to help worshippers engage with the readings, songs and prayers.
Drawn from liturgies approved by the Melbourne diocese, it also aims to help break down barriers to church participation, particularly for that community’s older people.
The first service did just that.
Church leaders said participants were singing, praying and echoing the liturgies as if they hadn’t done so for years.
Lay minister Vinay Dass said having the opportunity to worship in their own language encouraged many of that cohort to feel that they mattered to the parish.
“If they can attend a service in Hindi, they will get to understand the sermon, they will understand the Bible readings and they will be able to take part in the hymns,” Mr Dass said.
He said it would also create a space for younger generations, and children especially, to be immersed in their culture and language.
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Mr Dass said the service held at St Matthew’s drew more than 30 people many of them new to the parish, and many of them elderly.
He said they came from Epping, Caroline Springs, Craigieburn, Roxburgh Park, and further, and were soon singing, praying and echoing the liturgies.
Mr Dass said being able to help seniors understand the service at his home church was a long-held dream.
He said when he migrated to Australia from Fiji in 2000 he found there were many non-English speakers, who would attend church but weren’t able to take part in services.
Memories of the frustrations of the older generation, in particular, inspired him to ask parish clergy to create the service for Hindi language speakers from across Melbourne.
Priest the Reverend Rob Koren said the parish wanted to encourage people from other churches who attended the service to see it as an addition to their worship.
Mr Koren said the intention wasn’t to take them away from where they usually worshipped, but to find way to help them engage deeply with the Holy Spirit.
He said it was too early to tell whether the participant numbers would be sustained, but two elders from the Indian community had told him it was likely.
Mr Koren said they anticipated that by Christmas there could be about 100 worshippers.
The services are held on the second Sunday of each month at St Matthew’s Glenroy. For more information see here.
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