Pentecost 2022: Encouragement for a more multilingual church June 4, 2022

I’ve been blogging for a while about #multilingualchurch. Here’s why – A rich diversity of language and culture was God’s idea!

This is an idea explored a few times in a new book, “Language and the mission of God“. This is an ebook with a suggested price of $25 but a minimum price of “FREE” , that asks, amongst other things, “How does our perception of language influence our lives and ministries?”

If it’s the first time you’ve been asked that, ponder it yourself for a while while listening to this very multilingual compilation of “the Blessing”.

Long before the “World Blessing, the “UK Blessing”, the “The Blessing Zimbabwe” or before that particular 2020 worship chart topper was sung in over 214 languages in over 100 nations around the world, it was God’s idea to bless not just one chosen people but to bless all the nations.

At Pentecost three amazing things happen:

1. The Holy Spirit comes on a waiting but hidden group of believers
2. He gives them the gift of speaking other languages (and the hearers a gift of being spoken too)
3. He launches the church as something that is not confined by language or culture.

It’s 30 years since I first really heard about Pentecost in a way that spoke to me and made me realise that the fragments of the Bible I’d heard many times before might fit together into something that was both attractive and true.

Pentecost definitely isn’t the first appearance of the Holy Spirit but it’s the start of something new. Jesus had said he was going back to the Father (I recently saw a facebook post where someone talked of Ascension day as the day Jesus started working from home), and he had told his disciples to wait. He’d said that he would send a new counsellor.

As with many other things Jesus had said, the disciples probably didn’t get what he meant at the time, but with a possible threat to their own lives they had good reason to be hiding away.

At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit gave the tired believers new courage to proclaim good news to those around them. May that be our prayer and practice in the church today.

The Blessing – how many languages will it be sung in? May 10, 2020

Updated Aug 12, 2022
A new song based on an ancient blessing quickly became the anthem of 2020 for virtual choirs around the globe. I first heard the “UK Blessing” performed by a virtual choir from 65 churches and received almost 2 million views in it’s first week.
The UK Blessing wasn’t the first and definitely not the last attempt to bring churches together from a single country.

I like the song and love the significance of so many people coming together to sing (or sign) it. This same concept has been repeated in many different communities and countries so I went looking for how many different languages I could find it in and began adding them to a playlist.

To start with I found English (a few varieties), French, Spanish, Hebrew, Tagalog, Farsi, Italian, Malalayam, Hindi, (and another in both Malalayam and Hindi) Nepali, Romanian, Polish, Papiamentu, Korean, Japanese, Russian, Luganda, Mongolian, Lingala, Thai, Mandarin Chinese, Nigerian Pidgin, Tamil, Amharic, Portuguese, German, Dutch, Swahili. I then added Shona, Ndebele, Xhosa (each part of The Blessing – Zimbabwe), Rukiga, Haitian Creole, BSL, ASL, Makaton, and Filipino Sign Language (There are 380+ sign languages in the world). One artist sings in Portuguese, French, English, Lingala & Korean. The Malaysian Blessing includes singers from 80 churches and includes English, Tamil, Bahasa Malaysia, Mandarin, Dusun, Kelabit and Iban. Then came Ukranian, Fijian, Ekegussi, Afrikaans , Vietnamese, Burmese, Mauritian Kreol, and Hungarian , and the list kept growing. I almost stopped counting at 70 but then I heard the Nigerian and Ghanaian versions, soon followed by a version from India with 31 different languages.
By the start of June there were over versions in over 140 languages. If it wasn’t already the most translated song, it was probably the song that had been translated most quickly into so many languages.

New versions were still coming out and by of Sept 1st 2020 it had been sung and signed in at least 160 languages.

By the end of 2020 this was one curve that was flattening out. By Feb 2021 there were 130 videos in the play list comprising of both single language and multilingual versions brought the total to 175 languages, and by December 2021 I had found another 20 and yet more from 2021 found later in 2022.

The most recent update to the list comes with twelve videos from Cameroon as part of a national competition Heal the Land in which groups made original covers of the song in four local languages or dialects from the over 250 spoken across Cameroon.

Other additions included a five language version from Australia, an eight language version from South Sudan, and a compilation World Blessing that has well over 100 languages. Here is the full alphabetical list of what I’ve found so far:

Albanian, Afrikaans, Ambon, American Sign Language (ASL), Amharic, Ao Naga, Arabic, Armenian, Assamese, Australian sign language, Bafamg, Bagangte, Bahasa Indonesia, Bahasa Malaysia, Bakossi, Batak Pakpak, Batak Simalungun, Balanda, Bali, Bamoun, Banen, Bassa, Batak Karo, Batak Toba, Bayangi, Bengali, Benin, Bhojpuri, Birom, Bisaya, Bodo, British Sign Language (BSL), Bulgarian, Bulu, Bundeli, Burmese, Camaroon Pigin, Cebuano, Chatino, Chhattisgarhi, Chichewa, Chinese (Mandarin), Chinese (Cantonese), Cilacap, Comores, Damara Nama, Dari, Dayak, Duala, Dusun, Dutch, Ekegussi, Ende, English, Esan, Eton, Ewe, Ewondo, Farsi, Fijian, Filipino Sign Language, French, French Sign Language, Fulfulde, Ga, Garhwali, German, Greek, Gurene, Gujarati, Haitian Creole, Hakha Chin, Hausa, Haryanavi, Havakinau, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Iban, Ibibio, Igbo, Igede, Ijaw, Ilocano, Italian, Japanese, Jarai, Jawa, Kabyle, Kalabari, Kankanaey, Kannada, Kaonde, Karenni (Kayah), Karina, Karo, Kashmiri, Kelabit, Khasia, Khmer, Kikuyu, Kirundi, Kinyarwanda, Kokborok, Konkani, Korean, Krio, Kutai, Kwassio, Kyrgyz, Ladakhi, Lahauli, Lamnso, Lampung, Lingala, Lua, Luganda, Maban, Macedonian, Makaton, Maithili, Malagasy, Malayalam, Malaysian Sign Language (BMI), Maltese, Manado, Manguissa, Manipuri, Marathi, Mauritian Kreol (Morisyen), Mexican sign language, Mewari, Mixteco, Mizo, Mongolian, Mungaka, Nagamese, Ndebele, Ndogo, Nepali, New Zealand Sign Language, Ngadju, Nias, Nigerian Pidgin, Nishi, Noongar, Norwegian, Nuer, Nyiyaparli, Nzema, Odia, Okrika, Oshiwambo, Otjiherero, Padang, Pangasinan, Papiamentu, Papua, Pitjantjara, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi, Romanian, Rukiga, Russian, Sadri, Samoan, Sawa, Scottish Gaelic, Shilluk, Shona, Sinhala, Slovak, Spanish, Suomi (Finnish), Sunda, Swahili, Swedish, Tagalog, Tamil, Telugu, Ternate, Te Reo Māori, Tetun, Thai, Tiv, Tok Pisin, Tongan, Toraja, Tupuri, Turkish, Ukranian, Ukrainian sign language, Urhobo, Urdu, Uzbek, Vietnamese, Waray, Welsh, Wimbum, Xhosa, Yoruba, Zapotec, Zomi and Zulu.

This also included versions in 13 sign languages (so far) from UK, Singapore, Mexico, Philippines, USA, Uzbekistan, Malaysia, Nigeria, New Zealand, Columbia, Japan. The final one in my playlist being Makaton, a sign language developed for children and adults with communication and learning difficulties.

Inspired by the global impact of the song, and aided by the playlist, one person has now pulled together over 500 clips into one amazing eight minute video. I’m not sure yet how he counts 257 languages but it does includes 57 ways of writing Amen in different languages and scripts.

According to Billboard.com, “The Blessing”, was written by Kari Jobe and Cody Carnes on Feb 27th and first recorded in Charlotte, North Carolina on March 1st. The lyrics are much older, based on Numbers 6:24-26

“The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”
(NIV)

These verses have been translated into at least the 724 languages that have full Bibles, of which at least 4-500 are available via bible.com, bible.is global.bible, find.bible and scriptureearth.org .(Over 75% of the 3500 languages in which some scripture has been translated now have at least part of the Bible online in some form)

Since I first posted about this I’ve added many updates, each ending with the same question:

In how many languages could be it be sung by the people connecting online to your church?

This final video is from one congregation in London, UK, in a city where well over 300 languages are known to be used (and others are yet to be counted). If you like it, share it. The Blessing in over 200 Languages playlist has passed 10,000 views in June 2022, but the goal is not to see how many hits that can get, the goal is simply to join the prayer and celebration and celebrate as part of the #multilingualchurch.

Global(ised) Worship June 3, 2019

83 widely translated Worship Songs

Each of the songs below have been translated into at least 10 languages and are available via www.weareworship.com .

To find exactly which languages you now have to be logged in as a member but can set up a free account.

Sometimes using the translated song title or first line may find a recording on YouTube and one song may lead you to a whole playlist of songs you already love, and songs that you’ve never heard.

These 83 songs represent contributions from 54 different songwriters most writing in English and having global reach. While it is good that these songs can be sung in many languages it is also good to recognise that around the world songs are sung in hundreds and one day thousands of languages each with its own distinct style and unique expression.

Over 1300 of the nearly 8000 songs listed have been translated into at least one other language (not counting UK and USA English as separate). with 360 being available in 4 or more languages.

2020 update: Several of the songs are available in many more languages than mentioned below and since researching this in 2019 one new song, “The Blessing” has already been sung (and signed) into over 160 languages (only English and German currently on WeAreWorship).

(There are a wide range of other sites and tools for Multilingual worship which I’ll add to in the #multilingualchurch tab)

Some of the translated versions are available on songselect.ccli.com (serch by title or ccli number), but in a much smaller range of languages.

*Counts of languages from early 2019.

Five ways to use other languages (a bit) in your church June 1, 2019

How many languages will be heard in and from your church this Pentecost?

Do you know how many languages are spoken by the members of your church? (it could be a good time to find out)
Do you know how many languages are spoken in your local community? (it may be more than you think)
And even if everyone can understand English (or the language used most in your church) is that their only or their preferred language? Would people welcome hearing and using the other languages they speak on a daily basis at home and in their community?

That’s part of what I am currently looking at for my MA dissertation and for a paper I will present in July as part of the London School of Theology’s one day conference “Sounds of Heaven and Earth“.

I’m exploring a lot of the ways churches are or could be using languages other than English as part of their services and outreach. Here are just five very simple ideas.

1. A multilingual welcome sign, plus other signs and posters.
   With text projected on the screen, used into printed notices, and used on the walls in various parts of the church buildings it is easy to add content in a few more languages. (Translations of Bible verses easily available using Bible.com but verse numbers are sometimes mid sentence and in some translations verse numbers vary. You can double check with speakers of the language or for languages covered by Google you can translate the verse back into English for confirmation)
2. Saying “the grace” or a blessing in other languages
   Saying ‘the grace’ to one another’ seems to be the only bit of liturgy my own church uses but there are many other options of single verse greeting.
   “May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”  Cor 13:14 NIV
   You can put a few others on the screen or just invite people to say it in their own language.
3. Playing familiar worship songs in other languages.
   Many of the songs you sing are already available in other languages. Whether or not you sing (or play them) in other languages you can add the lyrics on the screen in another language.
   I’ve compiled a list of 83 worship songs that are each available in 10 or more languages . Over 1300 of the nearly 8000 songs listed at https://www.weareworship.com/ have been translated into at least one other language with 360 being available in 4 or more languages.
   Be aware that versions in other languages are often not direct translations. (Update 2020 probably the most widely translated song to emerge this year, or in the last few centuries is “The Blessing” now in over 160 languages)
4. Introduce songs with a verse of scripture in the languages spoken in your community.
   Simply display translations of a Bible verse that introduces the theme or is directly quoted in a song. eg 10,000 Reasons starts with and takes several phrases from Psalm 103 .
5. Introduce worship songs from another language and culture
   Newcomers may appreciate songs that are not only in their preferred languages but also in their preferred musical styles. If you want a mostly English congregation to join in singing in a language they don’t speak pick something simple or just teach one line of the chorus. Sing the song, explain the significance.
   Some songs available at worshipleaderapp.com and https://songs2serve.nl, http://hmworship.com has songs in Latvian, English, Ukranian, Russian, Turkish, and Estonian. Also see twonineteen.org.uk/multicultural-worship-top-tips/

I could add other ideas but so can you. Add comments here or on the accompanying Facebook post. What has worked well in your church or what ideas would you like to see tried?
Other Pentecost post coming soon.

The Worlds Favourite Worship Songs? January 31, 2019

This is no longer a new CD, so many of the songs might already be among your favourites, but are they really the World’s favourites?

“Possibly the best worship collection ever made featuring over 50 of the finest modern worship songs sung the world over.

With songs that cross the nations and span the generations The World’s Favourite Worship Songs showcases what the world’s churches are singing today.”

Really?

I like lots of the songs on here (as do many people around the world) but watching the video you’d think the church only sang in English.

I am pleased to see that the team at weareworship.com , recognises that and are inviting subscribers to submit translations of many popular songs. (eg there are 29 translations of “Here I am to Worship” and scroll to the bottom of the list and it gives you a link to provide a translation if there isn’t one in your language).

Sadly they don’t (yet) have the built in ability to search by language, but it is possible to use Google to do that for you. eg

My hope however is that in addition to the globalisation of worship where everyone sings to the same tunes we will have truely global worship where we get to hear more songs from other cultures and musical styles both traditional and modern. WeAreWorship are contributing to that too with a platform called SongShare and there is another emerging community at proskuneo.org.

Meanwhile if you look for it there is a lot of worship happening in different languages, some of which is shared on YouTube. Here’s 70,000 people singing in Arabic

And another Arabic Christian song that seems quite popular

How many languages are actually being used to worship God? Heaven knows.

I know that there are over 3350 languages into which some part of the Bible has been translated and would hope (but don’t know) that songs are being sung to God in each of these and perhaps even more.

I also know that there are well over 300 languages spoken by people living in my home country of the UK but suspect that far fewer are used in our churches. So I hope you’ve enjoyed some of the singing. Here’s some worship leaders and theologians talking in 2015 about their hopes for the future of worship in the UK.

…and a plug for a Multicultural Worship day on Feb 23 at All Nations