Part 1

Part I

Procession to the Banquet (Background)

Palm Sunday Story

A young woman hands a branch to a mature woman. They dance down the aisle, gathering God’s community, singing an unknown language. Their dance is from a land neither has visited, surrounded by different cultures, generations, backgrounds and sexual orientations. All worship God. They are joined by Samoans, Fijians, South Africans and South Sudanese, a toddler and a newborn, one accompanied by a builder–father and the other carried by his PhD mother. Although most try to look attentive during the sermon, this is the moment when all are paying close attention to the Spirit of God. As each joins in the song and dance, they enter into being the people of God. (Field notes: April 13, 2014)

In Psalm 42, the psalmist describes people who worshipped God with singing, dancing and communal movement. Such worship is embodied in the missional community and reflected on by liturgists and students of ritual. On Palm Sunday in Newcastle, Australia, I was struck by questions to be addressed: When do stories interact? Who is the God that calls all? What helps common response? What purposes might God have for renewed relationships with God and among people?

Part 1 provides the framework for an interdisciplinary response to these questions. By integrating contextual missiology, ethnomusicology and shining an anthropological light on liturgical practice, interrelated factors are seen to contribute to forming missional community, made possible through the sharing of stories, songs and rituals.

Chapter 1 outlines my missiological influences. 
Chapter 2 provides an understanding for how I approach the task as an ethnomusicologist. 
Chapter 3 explains the interdisciplinary framework and methodology for the research.