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'Dancing Our Faith'

By Kelly Jasper, Daily News-Record

People gather at EMU’s Discipleship Center to participate in traditional Jewish dances during Passover, which is celebrated at the first full moon after the vernal equinox.
Photo by Nikki Fox

"Let them praise His name with dancing..." Psalm 149:3

Touch out, to the side, step back, then quickstep. Rock three times, feet together, on your toes.

As far as dance steps go, these are fairly simple to learn, said Harrisonburg resident Brian Farrell.

But getting them right isn't what matters, Farrell said. God smiles at it all.

Farrell taught the steps, part of a traditional Jewish dance, Monday night. Nearly 20 gathered in the Discipleship Center at Eastern Mennonite University to learn from Farrell, who picked up the dances on an earlier visit to Israel.

Between dances and a communion service, the group took a break for a Passover feast - a meal of falafel, figs, almonds and hummus.

The Passover program was deemed "Dancing Our Faith" by campus ministries, which partnered to host the event. The worship was aimed at Christians who wanted to explore the historical traditions of their faith, Farrell said.

Dancing, he said, has long been a part of the Jewish and the Christian tradition.

"Dancing was at the very ancient roots of Hebrew festivals," Farrell said. "It's the origins of our faith."

Joining Hands

After Farrell walked through the steps, dancers clasped hands in a circle, a traditional arrangement that emphasizes community, he said.

They circled in the center of the Discipleship Center, a hexagon-shaped room with big picture windows on almost every wall. Dancing began as the sun set and a full moon rose.

The full moon, which was the first since the vernal equinox, is known as the Paschal Moon and signals the start of Passover. The holiday lasts for seven days.

Many participants are members of Farrell's church, a group known as Early Church that meets in the community and Our Community Place.

Church members have occasionally gathered on full moons, an important part of the Jewish lunar calendar, to study the origins of their Christian faith, Farrell said. For the first time, the lessons were opened to the public, he said.

"It sounds a bit odd for Christians to meet on full moons, but it's biblical," Farrell said, adding that he hopes to hold similar sessions on other full moons.

While EMU might not host each event, campus pastor Brian Martin Burkholder said he hopes the lessons will catch on with students now that the group is establishing itself.

"It's an emerging event, but we thought it was something our students might grow to appreciate," said Burkholder, who joined in the dancing.

In Step

Farrell agreed. After all, the dances are easy enough, he said.

While not every step has to be right to keep up, "it's fun if you do [get them right] and over time you can," Farrell instructed. "Just stay in the flow, the direction of traffic."

And they did, mostly. The group clasped hands, bobbed and weaved in their barefoot feet for about half an hour. They learned three new dances, each with its own soul.

The first was slow and sweet, celebrating "how beautiful are the feet of the messenger who brings peace," Farrell said, offering a translation of the original Hebrew title.

EMU student Karissa Sauder played flute as Farrell sang. Jason Wagner, a Harrisonburg resident, joined Sauder on a second song, an upbeat dance that celebrated the harvest.

"This is my favorite," Farrell said, as he taught the dancers a series of steps holding their hands high, as if carrying a basket, and snapping their fingers, as if picking grapes.

"It was so much fun," said dancer Thea Jordan, of Waynesboro. "I thought the dances would be difficult to learn but they weren't. I can really see this growing."

— article by: Kelly Jasper, Daily News-Record; posted April 3, 2007