Shared Joys: Eastwood and Forestville Celebrate the Moon Festival Together

During the recent Moon Festival on Tuesday, September 17, Eastwood Uniting Church, had a delightful time with our friends from Forestville Uniting Church for a wonderful friendship exchange. About 20 enthusiastic participants from Eastwood, including members from the English class and Community Café, joined the friendly congregation members at Forestville in a joyful program.

Rev. Seung Jae Yeon, Lead Minister at Eastwood Uniting Church firstly said, “A big thank you to Rev. Daniel Sanghyeon Nam and the amazing congregation at Forestville for creating such a warm and inviting atmosphere, allowing us all to celebrate the holiday spirit together here in Australia.”

This lovely visit was a heartfelt response to last year’s gathering when Forestville members came to Eastwood. We warmly invite other Uniting Church congregations to join us in future friendship exchanges to celebrate and connect with each other!

The event began with captivating stories shared by some wonderful members of the Forestville congregation, who talked about the Moon Festival traditions from different regions of China and other parts of Asia. Rev. Nam also treated us to a special video that beautifully explained the significance of the Moon Festival in South Korea. They shared their stories with us in both Mandarin and English, making everyone feel included and connected.

AZer the introductions, we all got to divide into three enthusiastic teams, ‘Falling Leaves’, ‘Full Moon’ and ‘Moon Cake’ to participate in three fun activities. We tried our hand at Chinese calligraphy, created snow mooncakes, and made delicious dumplings together. For many, it was their first experience with calligraphy, and everyone was thrilled to write with brushes and ink, even creating some beautiful art!

One of the funniest moments happened at the mooncake-making table! The first team used up all the ingredients, so the other two groups could only admire the mooncakes that had already been made. Making dumplings turned out to be the most popular activity, and the tasty dumplings we prepared were later cooked and served for lunch.

Rev. Nam, the minister from the hosting church, with gratitude for shared cultural experiences and hopes for future connection in Christ, commented on the event as follows:

“We are glad that our church members’ service at this event allowed all to experience the diverse cultures of our Asian neighbours. Above all, we are grateful that all who took part could experience understanding, love, and joy in Christ across countries, cultures, and communities. We hope to have other opportunities like/beyond this. We would like to express our gratitude to all who prepared and participated.”

Many people joyfully expressed how wonderful it was to spend time with our neighbours who celebrate the Full Moon Festival in so many different ways. The activities were so much fun! The food was absolutely delicious! And friendships we made in Christ were even more special!

The Eastwood Uniting Church family, are especially grateful to Forestville Uniting Church for sharing such a grand feast with us. The Uniting Church in Australia truly feels like one big, loving family!

Rev. Seung Jae Yeon, Eastwood Uniting Church

Photos by Daniel Sanghyeon Nam