Chinese Catholic dance group reflects culture, love of God
Expressing their faith through dance is not only a call to prayer, but liberation for the worship dancers of the Chinese Community who come from a country that suppressed the expression of their Christian faith for years.
“The worship dance is not only the way to praise and thank God, but also to share our culture with others. Furthermore, it could be a vehicle to evangelize those who love dance,” Sister Dong Hong Marie Zhang, CSSF, Chinese Community Liaison, said about “Call to Prayer,” which features sacred songs and traditional movements and costumes.
While other Asian communities have been represented at the annual Asian and Pacific Island Catholics Marian Pilgrimage in Washington, D.C. through dance and song, Chinese Catholics were not, said Sister Dong Hong. She wanted this to change.
In the spring, the API Marian Pilgrimage annually draws 600 parishioners from the District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and the Archdiocese of Newark representing their native countries of Philippines, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, China, Laos, Myanmar, India, Pakistan, Vietnam, Korea, Samoa and the U.S. island territory of Guam.
During the celebration, a call to prayer features sacred songs and performances typically from three or four Catholic Communities. This year after only a few weeks of rehearsals, the Archdiocese of Newark Chinese Catholic Community joined them in performing.
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“I thought it was time our culture was represented through dance, song, and prayer,” said Sister Dong Hong. “Dance and movement are a huge part of our culture at any age.”
When sister announced the formation of the dance group in April 10 people — two who were not even Catholic — began rehearsals in the basement of Holy Cross Church in Harrison before Mass on Sundays.
On May 6, the Archdiocese of Newark’s Chinese worship dance group became one of the four “Call to Pray” groups to perform at the 20th annual API Marian Pilgrimage. Sister Dong Hong said they “praised God through the worship dance with two combined sacred songs at the altar of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.”
The worship song consisted of “Above all else” and “Live out of God’s love,” conveying the story of God’s unfailing love. “Jesus’ love is higher than mountain and deeper than sea. …The love of Jesus inspires me and open my heart. …Let’s live out of the love of God,” the lyrics read in English.
The women aged 18-80, have held two other performances since the pilgrimage — one on Pentecost at Holy Cross Church and another at Our Lady of Mount Virgin Church in Middlesex on Mother’s Day, Sister Dong Hong said. The two women who are not Catholic have also joined the Bible study, said Sister.
The Chinese Catholic community currently has several offerings for faith formation and evangelization, including various Bible study groups, weekly prayer gathering, charismatic prayer, Sunday faith sharing groups, RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) class, Campus Ministry for Chinese students, and youth activity groups. But Sister Dong Hong thinks forming a dance program would appeal to the younger generations and bring Chinese Catholic numbers back up or surpass the 280 families once counted in the Archdiocese of Newark about a decade ago.
“Worship dance could be a new approach for us to praise God and evangelize others,” Sister Dong Hong said. “It is amazing that two women dancers who are non-Catholic heard about us and joined us and joined our Bible Study group too. Two young students who are not Catholics are also among us. I pray and hope this way can help us to reach out to more people, and we will continue our worship dance and follow wherever the Holy Spirit leads us.”
To learn more about the Chinese Catholic community of the Archdiocese of Newark or the dance troupe visit rcan.org or call 973-497-4303
The Chinese Catholic Apostolate is dedicated to “making our faith stronger in our existing Catholic community; offering rich soil of faith for our children and youth; expanding our faithful community by inviting Chinese non-faithful and evangelizing those who do not know the Good News; and joining the universal Roman Catholic Church to proclaim the love of God.”
Photos: Courtesy of Sister Dong Hong Marie Zhang, CSSF, Chinese Community Liaison.
