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Note #7648 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

Shaping the inclusive church
03166
April 1, 2003

Shaping the inclusive church

Community building to be focus of multicultural conference 

by Evan Silverstein

LOUISVILLE - Organizers of the fourth annual Multicultural Conference of the
Presbyterian Church (USA) are stepping up efforts to help the church welcome
worshipers from a variety of racial-ethnic backgrounds.
	
This year's national gathering, scheduled for April 24-27 in Seattle, WA,
will offer six hours of community-building workshops, tripling the time
devoted to such workshops in past conferences.
	
The sessions are intended to introduce new concepts and techniques for
involving people from different cultures and traditions in the lives of
congregations.
	
"This year's conference focuses more on how to do multicultural ministry in
the Presbyterian Church (USA)," said the Rev. Raafat Girgis, a conference
planner and associate for the Office of Evangelism, Racial and Cultural
Diversity (ERCD).
	
The community-building sessions will explore how church leaders can create
equitable and just power relationships among different groups, set
denominational priorities for attracting racial-ethnic members, and identify
and confront obstacles such as stereotyping, discrimination and racism.
	
The four-day conference will bring together members and pastors of
multicultural churches, representatives of middle governing bodies and others
interested in ministries to people from a variety of races and cultures.
	
"We will hear from different multicultural churches whose ministries reflect
a variety of multicultural models," Girgis said. "How did they begin? What
kinds of obstacles have they faced? What is their vision for the future?"
	
The symposium, whose theme is Becoming the Body of Christ: Breaking Barriers
and Building Communities, is sponsored by the ERCD, part of the Evangelism
and Church Development Program Area in the National Ministries Division
(NMD). 
	
Girgis said he expects more than 200 people to attend the program at the
Seattle Marriott Sea-Tac Airport Hotel. About 180 turned out for last year's
conference in Michigan.
	
The Rev. Mark Smutny, pastor of Pasadena Presbyterian Church, a large
multicultural-congregation in Pasadena, CA, will conduct the
community-building sessions, drawing on Eric H.F. Law's study, The Bush Was
Blazing But Not Consumed: Developing a Multicultural Community Through
Dialogue and Liturgy.
	
Law, an Episcopal/Anglican priest, is an author and a consultant on diversity
issues.
	
The opening address will be delivered by the Rev. Robert N. Burkins Sr.,
pastor of Elmwood United Presbyterian Church in East Orange, NJ, whose
congregation is among the fastest-growing African-American churches in the
PC(USA).
	
The Rev. Curtis A. Kearns Jr., director of NMD, will address the conference
about barriers to multicultural ministry. Four Presbyterian ministers will
serve as worship leaders.
	
The Rev. Fahed Abu-Akel, moderator of the General Assembly, is scheduled to
speak on the final morning of the conference and answer questions about the
state of the church in a multicultural world. 
	
Among the workshops:

	
* Case Study: Urban Multicultural Ministry will explore the challenges of
implementing a multicultural model of ministry. The Rev. Karen
Hernandez-Granzen, pastor of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Trenton, NJ,
will lead the workshop with elders Linda Konrad-Byers and her husband, David
Byers. 
	
* Developing and Facilitating Leadership in a Multicultural Congregation will
be led by the Rev. Frank Alton, pastor of Immanuel Presbyterian Church, a
bilingual inner-city congregation in Los Angeles, CA.
	
* Counseling with People of Other Cultures will explore different approaches
to ministering and counseling people from other cultures. Its leader will be
the Rev. Lawrence Low, a social worker and pastor from Seattle, and the Rev.
Natividad E. Lamug, a therapist who specializes in multicultural counseling
for the Presbyterian Counseling Service in Seattle.

For more information, contact Dana Dages, administrative assistant for ERCD,
by phone (toll-free) at (888) 728-7228, ext. 5252; by mail at 100 Witherspoon
Street, room M040A, Louisville, KY 40202; or by email at
ddages@ctr.pcusa.org.

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