Reshaping Liturgy in Postcolonial Indonesia

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Notes

1 The worship order, for example, from the missionaries of Reformed Church of the Netherlands included reading the Ten Commandments or the Apostles’ Creed, confession of sin, scripture readings and prayer, preaching, the Lord’s prayer, and a blessing with singing inserted between each part.

2 For in-depth understanding of this musical genre, see Lester Ruth and Swee Hong Lim, A History of Contemporary Praise and Worship (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2021); Lester Ruth, ed., Essays on the History of Contemporary Praise and Worship (Eugene: Pickwick Publications, 2020); and Swee Hong Lim and Lester Ruth, Lovin’ on Jesus (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2017).

3 The votum is from Psalm 124:8, “Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth.”

4 See Portal Informasi Indonesia, https://indonesia.go.id/profil/agama.

5 Heuken Adolf, SJ, “Christianity in Pre-Colonial Indonesia,” in A History of Christianity in Indonesia, ed. Jan Sihar Aritonang and Karel Steenbrink (Boston: Brill, 2008), 5–6.

6 The Dutch were afraid that Christian missionaries in a Muslim majority area would disturb the peace and interrupt their trading businesses. See Samuel Hugh Moffett, A History of Christianity in Asia, vol. II: 1500 to 1900, American Society of Missiology Series, No. 36 (Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 2005), 217.

7 Rev. S.E. Harthoorn, an Indische Kerk missionary sent by the Dutch Missionary Society, listed ten taboos that had to be avoided by Christian Javanese, which he called the “Christian commandments.” Among the list were “(1) Thou shalt have thy hair cut short. (2) Thou shalt take off thy head-kerchief in church. (3) Thou shalt not listen to gamelan music. (4) Thou shalt not attend a wayang performance… ” Philip Van Akkeren, Sri and Christ: A Study of the Indigenous Church in East Java, trans. Annabeth Mackie (London: Lutterworth Press, 1970), 79–80.

8 Sutarman Soediman Partonadi, Sadrach's Community and Its Contextual Roots: A Nineteenth Century Javanese Expression of Christianity (Amsterdam: Rodopi, 1988), 233.

9 For information on C.L. Coolen, see Van Akkeren, Sri and Christ. Likewise, for Kyai Sadrach Suryopranoto, see Partonadi, Sadrach’s Community.

10 We use the term “postcolonial” referring to the era and geopolitics after Indonesia’s independence in 1945. Postcolonialism is also a standpoint from which to analyze our experiences on participating, leading, creating, and organizing worship. For more on postcolonialism and Christian liturgy, see Michael N. Jagessar and Stephen Burns, Christian Worship: Postcolonial Perspective (Sheffield: Equinox, 2011); and Kwok Pui-lan and Stephen Burns, eds., Postcolonial Practice of Ministry: Leadership, Liturgy, and Interfaith Engagement (Lanham: Lexington Books, 2016).

11 Each tribe in Indonesia has its own way of greeting. The people of Timor and Sumba, for example, greet each other by rubbing their noses to symbolize breath sharing and life-giving. Some Indonesians greet by raising both hands beside their ears, clasping both hands and putting them in front of the chest, putting the elder’s hand on one’s forehead, simply bowing, or nodding the head. In other words, greeting one another by raising one’s right hand is not an Indonesian way.

12 Kidung Jemaat (Jakarta: Yayasan Musik Gereja, 1984) is the most popular hymnal in Indonesia with new and old hymns from Indonesia and beyond. Pelengkap Kidung Jemaat (Jakarta: Yayasan Musik Gereja, 1999) is a supplement to the Kidung Jemaat. More than half of Pelengkap Kidung Jemaat’s repertoire are original local compositions. Because Kidung Jemaat includes newly composed hymns that make use of Indonesian ethnic tunes it is the first to realize contextualization, and it is also ecumenical as it includes hymns from various Christian traditions. See Rasid Rachman, “Upaya Penyesuaian Liturgi Gereja-Gereja Reformasi di Indonesia,” in Liturgi Autentik dan Relevan, ed. Bernadus Boli Ujan and Georg Kirchberger (Mumere: Penerbit Lealero, 2006), 248–50.

13 Komisi Liturgi Konferensi Waligereja Indonesia, Puji Syukur (Jakarta: Penerbit Obor, 1993).

14 Ujan and Kirchberger, Liturgi Autentik dan Relevan, v–vi.

15 Swee Hong Lim, “Church Music in Postcolonial Liturgical Celebration,” in Postcolonial Practice of Ministry, ed. Kwok Pui-lan and Stephen Burns (London: Lexington Books, 2016), 123.

16 The Christian Javanese held bidstons (prayer meetings) to remember the deceased family members on specific days according to the Javanese adat (traditional custom) calendar, even though church leaders did not approve the practice. Nowadays, pastors of the Christian Churches of Java (GKJ) are not against the remembrance bidstons. The series of post-funeral prayer services are not officially recognized by the GKJ; they are absent from the GKJ’s official worship book. See Ester Pudjo Widiasih, “The Ritualization of Remembering the Dead among the Christian Javanese: A Study of Liturgical Contextualization in a Reformed Church in Indonesia,” PhD diss., Drew University, 2012.

17 To commemorate August 17, Indonesia’s Independence Day, the celebration lasts for the whole month with sports and traditional game competitions and art performances. Some churches designate August as the national month in their liturgical calendar and more creatively plan the liturgies than at other times.

18 E. Martasudjita, “Misa Inkulturasi,” in Ujan and Kirchberger, Liturgi Autentik, 178.

19 Martasudjita, “Misa Inkulturasi,” 179.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ester Pudjo Widiasih

Ester Pudjo Widiasih, an ordained minister and PhD, serves a local congregation and the Liturgical Committee of the Christian Churches of Java, is also a lecturer in liturgical music, and ecumenical-spiritual formator at the Jakarta Theological Seminary.

Rasid Rachman

Rasid Rachman, an ordained minister of the Indonesian Christian Church and a DTh, lectures on liturgical and congregational studies at the Jakarta Theological Seminary, and chairs the center for the study of liturgy and church music.