wfn.org | [PCUSANEWS] Celebrating the 'browning' of the church

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Note #8223 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

04214
May 6, 2004

Celebrating the 'browning' of the church

Conference-goers dance to the new beat of multiculturalism

by Evan Silverstein

IRVING, TX - Northeastminster Presbyterian Church is in historic northeast
Kansas City, MO, one of the city's original suburbs, not far from downtown.

	When Northeastminster was founded almost a century ago, it was a
landmark in an all-white, blue-collar neighborhood of railroad and steel-mill
workers.

	Over time, it has become a kaleidoscopic mix of races and cultures,
home to residents of Hispanic, Haitian, Laotian, Vietnamese, Sudanese and
eastern European descent.

	The new people of the old neighborhood are mostly refugees from
trouble or want in their native countries who have settled in Kansas City
with the help of a Catholic charity. They have breathed new life into what
had become a declining borough.

	Homes that sat vacant for years are occupied again. Storefronts are
filling up with ethnic restaurants and an eclectic, colorful mix of
businesses.

	And the members of Northeastminster Presbyterian, most of them white
commuters who live in the suburbs, are reaching out to the new residents.

	"There's a sense that, in order to really be faithful and do viable
ministry, we would need the congregation within the walls to look like the
community outside the walls," says the Rev. Mark Moon, Northeastminster's
pastor. "How can I help lead the congregation into becoming more of a
multicultural church in some fashion?"

	The congregation has 68 active members, one African-American and 67
white people.

	Moon recently accompanied an elder from his congregation to this city
near Dallas, hoping to find answers at the fifth annual Presbyterian Church
(USA) Multicultural Church Conference.

The four-day event, which started on April 22, was planned to give about 500
Presbyterian participants, including people of Asian, Hispanic, Middle
Eastern, African and Native American heritage, a chance to share "new steps"
toward becoming an inclusive, multicultural church for a new millennium.

	"What's neat about this particular conference is the workshops, which
are set up to give you practical ideas on how to do multicultural ministry,"
Moon says, "as well as having a chance to network with different ethnic
groups. All of these different aspects are needed tools ... from music to
liturgy to dance."

	That was a glancing reference to the official conference theme:
"Living the Vision: Dancing to a New Song," inspired by the Old Testament
Book of Psalms, chosen because dance, a Biblical symbol of joy, praise and
thanksgiving, is associated with all cultures.

	The theme also reflects the hope of PC(USA) leaders and conference
organizers that their denomination may one day be truly multicultural,
multilingual and multigenerational.

	The conference was sponsored by the Office of Evangelism, Racial and
Cultural Diversity  (ERCD), part of the evangelism and church development
program area in the PC(USA)'s National Ministries Division (NMD). Grace
Presbytery and the Synod of the Sun were involved in the planning.

	"I invite you to look around and see what I am seeing," the Rev.
Raafat Girgis, associate for ERCD, told a record crowd in a hotel ballroom
here. "I am seeing the true signs of a united, yet diverse community of faith
that God is giving birth to. I see you as a beacon of hope for all our
mainline churches and of this nation."

	Waves of immigration and shifting demographics are calling
Presbyterian congregations to be more inclusive and more culturally diverse.
PC(USA) officials believe the denomination has about 350 congregations that
are "multicultural" - that is, incorporate the traditions of more than one
ethnic or racial group. Several hundred other churches are attuned to a
single ethnic or racial culture.

	"Americans now are eating more tortillas for breakfast than bagels or
biscuits or pita bread," said the Rev. Helen Locklear, associate director of
the racial-ethnic ministries program area, the keynote speaker at the
conference. "The year 2056 is the magic date cited by sociologists as ...
when the majority of the U.S. population will be non-European, non-white. As
it is now, Asians, Africans and Hispanics make up one-fourth of the
population."

	Participants in the conference shared a vision of a church enriched
by worshipers from a broad spectrum of races and cultures.

	"We believe that the church is not just about good music, fine
programming or community service," Girgis said. "In order to be the church,
we must intentionally be something more, something new to this world,
something that intentionally incarnates the faith, hope and love of the
Christ to all."

	Church members, pastors, lay leaders, representatives of middle
governing bodies and others from around the denomination networked, listened
to sermons and speeches and panel discussions. They chose from a lineup of
more than 40 workshops, and celebrated the Eucharist together.

	During a festive "multicultural extravaganza," conference-goers in
native garb, danced, clapped their hands and moved to music from around the
world. A group from the African Fellowship Presbyterian Church in Dallas
banged out African tunes; an orchestra from Nor'kirk Presbyterian Church in
Carrollton, TX, performed pieces by Strauss and Wagner; the Choctaw Dancers
from Eastern Oklahoma Presbytery performed traditional dances; the El Divino
Salvador Presbyterian Praise Team from Dallas belted out contemporary praise
songs; and a choir from Dallas's Oak Cliff Voices of Praise sang such
classics as "Down by the Riverside." There also were a singing dance group
and a youth bell choir - even a magic show by Nor'kirk Presbyterian member
David Woolcock.

	Conference speakers and workshop leaders explored such topics as
creating effective multicultural worship; leadership development in
multicultural congregations; how changing demographics affect multicultural
ministries; and the unique challenges faced by multicultural new-church
developments. A youth track was added to this year's conference for
participants between the ages of 12 and 18.

	Conference leaders said Presbyterians must be open to change.

	"This 'browning' of America will offer tremendous opportunities as
well as alter everything in society, from politics and education, to
industry, values and culture," said Locklear, a Native American who works
with Asian, black, Hispanic, Korean, Middle Eastern, Native American and
immigrant congregations and in the PC(USA)'s anti-racism program.

	Girgis said: "You have come to celebrate and proclaim the good news
of tomorrow's church. A church that is vital, colorful and energetic."

	He said some churches have responded to change by retrenching and
going into "survival mode," but many others are trying to learn to attract
these members.

	"Those who don't see the mounting diversity taking place in this
nation as a blessing the Lord is sending to our doorsteps are giving in to
wrong perspectives and thus giving up faith in the future," Girgis said.
"Their wrong perspective is imprisonment to their souls, but the right
perspective is empowerment."

	Moon said his church provides space for a Sudanese congregation, and
members of both churches worship together at least once a month. He said his
congregation also holds joint services with Haitian and older Italian
immigrant flocks.

	"It's a real challenge for our congregation to be in partnership with
them," he said. "Not only to share with them, but then to learn from them
about their culture and background. They've taught us a great deal. Their
understanding of the Bible and their testimonies about living their faith
through persecution."

	Meanwhile, members of Moon's church are learning Spanish as a second
language and have teamed up with a community agency to offer English-language
courses to Spanish-speakers, "so we can communicate with these folks who are
just coming in."

	Speakers said building a multicultural community based on justice and
equality is like "learning a new dance, step-by-step."

	"This interaction demands a lot of patience from one another," said
the Rev. Salatiel Polomino Lspez, who directs the Hispanic Theological Union,
a collaborative of three theological schools in Austin, TX. "That patience is
just the reflection of something much more important ... which goes into the
heart of what the multicultural church is."

	"The church, essentially understood as multicultural in nature is ...
the antidote for racism," Lspez said, bringing shouts of "Amen" from some in
his audience. "It helps us overcome our distinctive fears by providing us
with a safely warm, loving and inviting, but powerful opportunity to grow our
cultural maturity through the dynamic resources of Christian faith, in
accordance with God's will."

	The Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick, the stated clerk of the PC(USA)'s
General Assembly, called on the denomination to become a Pentecost church,
bringing together people from all around the world and demonstrating the
transforming power of the gospel.

	"God is calling us to have the same zeal that those disciples had in
the Book of Acts," Kirkpatrick said. "To be a church of all nations, to turn
the world upside down to the gospel, right here in the United States.
Friends, we've got a Pentecost world. God is calling us to be a Pentecost
church."

	Kirkpatrick echoed the sentiments of others present, who said they
felt as if they were attending a ''movement," rather than a conference, and
viewing the church of the future.

	"I've been in three (conferences) this week," said Kirkpatrick, who
led worship on the event's final day, "but I decided here yesterday that I
had been in two national conferences and one movement of the Holy Spirit."

	Dorothy Peay, a Presbyterian elder from Colorado, agreed that the
event felt like a burgeoning movement.

	"It was a wonderful feeling," said Peay, a member of St. Andrew
Presbyterian Church in Denver. "I'm invigorated and inspired to do my part,
whatever it is, in helping the church become multicultural. And also in
helping us to reach for a higher level in working with any and everybody that
we see."

	Turnout for the conference was nearly 500 people, a record. About 270
attended last year's event in Seattle, WA. Next year's program will be held
in New York City in connection with the PC(USA)'s National Transformation
Conference.

	A new Presbyterian Multicultural Network (PMN) was created during the
conference as a vehicle for lifting up multicultural ministry in the
denomination.

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