wfn.org | First-Ever PC(USA) Conference on Multicultural Ministry Held

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Note #5898 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

16-May-2000
00194

	First-Ever PC(USA) Conference on Multicultural Ministry Held

	Don't wait until its too late to open doors to all, keynoter says

	by Brian R. Hook

	ST. LOUIS -- More than 150 Presbyterians from across the country gathered
in St. Louis April 27-30 to talk about the state of multicultural ministry
at the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)'s first annual Multicultural Church
Conference.

	Keynote speaker the Rev. Fred Rajan, Executive Director of the Commission
for Multicultural Ministries for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America,
told conference participants that many churches wait until it is too late to
become multicultural.

	"Many churches wait until they are on their deathbeds until they open their
doors to everyone," said Rajan during his keynote address. "For that reason,
many of our churches are dying a slow death."

	"One Vine, Many Branches" was the theme of the conference, based on the
gospel of John's "I am the vine -- you are the branches" saying of Jesus.

	"Scripture calls on us to include all people," said Rajan "We must mold to
the scripture instead of molding the scripture to us."
 
	Rajan stressed that people of color do not need to first accept Western
European culture to be accepted by Christ. "For Jesus, there was no
outsider.  For Jesus, the boundaries were not to be observed, but to be
crossed," said Rajan.

Rajan told the participants that becoming a true multicultural church is not
going to be easy. But Rajan insisted that becoming a multicultural church is
not impossible

	"My call is not for a revolution.  It is a call for our churches to get
back to the Bible," said Rajan. "The road to multicultural ministry is not
easy, but with God's grace everything is possible."

	"We are not seeking a mono-cultural church. We are not seeking a
cross-cultural church," said Rajan.  "We are seeking a multicultural church,
where we are expanding the boundaries to include all cultures."

	The Office of Evangelism and Racial and Cultural Diversity in the
Evangelism and Church Development Program Area of the General Assembly
Council's National Ministries Division sponsored the event.

	The multicultural conference featured multicultural worship, panel
discussions, workshops, small group sharing, and a banquet.  A variety of
multicultural ministry issues were explored; including the task of
discerning the call to become a multicultural congregation and developing
leadership in multicultural congregations.

The Rev. Camille Williams-Neal, Associate Evangelism and Racial & Cultural
Diversity said a challenge for the Presbyterian Church (USA) is to have a
vision of what it means to be a multicultural church.
	
	"Sometimes we are too constrictive on terms of our ministry," said
Williams-Neal.  "We continue to be fearful of doing something new."
	
	An important first step for the office of Evangelism and Racial & Cultural
Diversity has been to identify multicultural churches.  Over 250 PC (USA)
churches have now been identified as multicultural.

	Williams-Neal said a growing network of pastors and leaders of these
congregations is also being formed in order to identify and creatively
support contemporary and emerging models of multicultural ministries.

	"A multicultural church is one that promotes Christianity through various
cultural aspects," said Williams-Neal.  "But, some churches are content to
just have multicultural members."

	        Worship styles must change for multicultural ministry to succeed

	Participants of the Multicultural Church Conference agreed on one thing:
changing worship to become more of a multicultural congregation can be a
difficult, but  worthwhile.

	The Rev.s Gibson Stroupe and Caroline Leach are co-pastors of the Oakhurst
Presbyterian Church in Decatur, Ga.  Stroupe said that a lot of people got
mad when they changed the worship style, but a lot of people also liked the
changes.

	"None of it is easy and it's all a struggle.  But that is what the gospel
is about," said Stroupe.

	The Rev. Frank Alton, pastor of Immanuel Presbyterian Church in Los
Angeles, California, said that it was also a challenge for him to change the
worship service.  For example, he said he got a lot of complaints when he
changed the words in a few hymns.

	But he said the changes are worth it. "We do a lot of ethnic music. All of
us need to rediscover our own heritage," said Alton

	Laurene Chan, a staff associate at the Presbyterian Church of Chinatown of
San Francisco, said her congregation started to introduce multicultural
aspects into a service designed for families.

	One of the things included in the change was that many of the songs now
include movement.  Chan said that a lot of people enjoy moving to the songs,
but there are a few who do not like it. "There are always a couple of people
who refuse to move," said Chan.

	The Rev. Timm Cyrus, pastor of the Angeles Mesa Presbyterian Church in Los
Angeles, said that a contemporary service helped his church grow after 30
years.

	"Our Reformed tradition calls us to continually reform," said Cyrus.
"Patience is the key word.  Plus, it is the most difficult attribute to
learn."

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