Hope Vale Community Celebrates the Coming of the Gospel
Hope Vale joins together for ‘Muni Day’ which was happily turned into the Longest Lutheran Lunch (2/09/19).
Celebrating the Coming of the Gospel
On the 2nd Sunday of September each year the Hope Vale community celebrates the Coming of the Gospel with a service on the shores of Alligator Beach, Hope Vale.
The day is affectionately named ‘Muni Day’ in honour of the first missionary Rev. G.H. Schwarz. (The word ‘muni’ means ‘black,’ just as the name Schwarz does in German.) This year attendance was approximately 230 people, each of whom embraced the concept of the Longest Lutheran Lunch. On a warm and windy day everyone formed a suitable single line as best we could in the shade of the existing trees; probably best described as a crocodile winding its way down to the water’s edge. We were then served a variety of lunches prepared by an enthusiastic group of local people.
‘Muni Day’ mixed with the Longest Lutheran Lunch has become the local practice, as we invite all of the churches in Cooktown to experience this occasion. Their attendance gave us a unique blend of Aboriginal and non Aboriginal people on Aboriginal-owned land, demonstrating the unity of the denominations and the success of integration and reconciliation in this relatively remote region of far north Queensland.
Our unity is a result of the word of God reaching our shores and the tangible embracing of the love of God for all people: We sing together, pray together and eat together. What a joyful celebration in 2019.
All praise be to God alone.
David Spanagel
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