BEING A MULTICULTURAL CHURCH: A Study for Church Councils

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1 Suggested time 1 ½ hours BEING A MULTICULTURAL CHURCH: A Study for Church Councils Aim: Encourage church councils to put in place an intentional multicultural ministry policy. Step 1 Recalling the vision of being a multicultural church 20 mins People will come from the East and West, North and South, and will take their places in the feast in the kingdom of God. (Luke 13: 29) The Uniting Church believes that Christians in Australia are called to bear witness to a unity of faith and life in Christ which transcends cultural and economic, national and racial boundaries. Basis of Union The fourth Assembly produced a Statement We are a Multicultural Church which said The Uniting Church welcomes the progress that has been made in the last twenty years towards the formation of a society in Australia in which people of many races and cultures live together In small groups reflect on the following questions: 16 years have passed since we made that Assembly Statement We are a multicultural Church, how far have we gone as a congregation in developing multicultural ministry? What barriers need to be overcome? How has the social profile of our community been changing? Does our church membership reflect the diversity of cultures in our community? What is God is calling us to now? Sharing back with the whole group Step 2 Renewing the vision of being a multicultural church 20 mins (i) Spend 10 minutes individually writing a letter to your congregation. What words of encouragement and challenge are needed? Share your letters in small groups. OR (ii) Listen as one of the letters in Section A is read. In small groups discuss what points you would include if you were writing a letter to your congregation. What kind of church do we seek? In the large group list the points you would want to write in a letter to your congregation. Step 3 Developing multicultural ministry: Story of Monash 15 mins What aspects of the story appeal to you? How could the vision of being a multicultural church be lived out more fully in your setting?

2 Step 4 Action and Commitment 20 mins At its meeting in March 2001 the Assembly Multicultural Reference Committee encouraged all church councils to set in place an intentional multicultural ministry policy ; and to aim for 12% of our active congregational members to be from cultures other that Anglo Celtic. How could you work towards this? How are you meeting the needs of the second generation and involving them in decision making in the life of the church? What concrete ideas could assist your congregation to develop multicultural ministry in a more intentional way? (see Ideas for Action) List on white paper. Step 5 Taking it further 15 mins Out of this time together, frame a letter to the congregation sharing your vision for multicultural ministry and some concrete ways this vision can be put into practice. Plan how you will share this during One Great Sunday of Sharing service. Closing Litany of Commitment to a Journey Together Written by Helen Richmond Based on the 1985 Assembly document The Uniting Church is a Multicultural Church VOICE 1 VOICE 2 VOICE 3 VOICE 4 VOICE 1 VOICE 2 VOICE 3 VOICE 4 In Christ all human boundaries are swept away! This we affirm. Jesus Christ has made peace between people of every race, culture and class! We are witness bearers to this truth. Our life together can be a foretaste of the reconciliation of all things in Christ! We will seek to live as a sign and witness to the kingdom, and a sign of hope within the Australian community. As we move towards this new day we stand before God and our sisters and brothers to face who we are and who we seek to be. This means being open to changes that the Holy Spirit will bring. We hear the call of God to be open the gifts of all God's people. It will mean naming the sin of racism, even when it exists in the body of Christ. We will work to create a community of justice and love None of God s people are to be pushed to the fringes of our church. We will ensure that there are equitable rights in the use of Uniting Church properties; full access to its resources; full participation in decision making in the councils of the church; and pastoral care for all God s people. And when we are tempted to hold on to what we have from the past and insulate ourselves from the hurts and struggles of each other. God give us courage to risk leaving the security of the safe and familiar. May we celebrate the richness of our diversity and unity and go forward as your people, carrying within us the dream of your renewed and reconciled creation. Amen

3 Section A Dear Uniting Church Letters written by Rev. Liva Tukutama, Rev Sophia Ng Vaitkus and Rev. Graham Beattie My Dear Brothers and Sisters in the Uniting Church, I am very encouraged by your vision when you state that we are a Multicultural Church. It is really the way for us to be as Christians, to walk together as one people of God. To be a multicultural church we are in fact, living out the vision of the Kingdom to come, a Kingdom with people from all different lives, living together in harmony with creation and with God. But can we enrich further such a journey in this day and age? I strongly feel that we need to teach each other to respect and learn from our differences. We need to remind each other that there are different ways we can worship our God. Language should not be seen as a barrier but as enrichment to one s spiritual journey. We need to share the resources we have. God is a God of hospitality who openly shares his love with us. And we need to celebrate our diversity, The Uniting Church is a church of many colors. We need to show our unity through celebration of our cultures through one faith as one people bound in the body of one spirit. Yours sincerely Liva. Dear UCA, With the church becoming so multicultural, it is hard not to be identified with it. And yet to identify with a multicultural church means that we will need to be very intentional in the way we carry out our ministry. And the way we practise our hospitality. My vision is one which speaks of inclusivity and also one which promotes multiculturalism. Educating the church to be cross-cultural is critical and can be costly. Will you come with me? From Sophia Dear Church, Several years ago now, we embraced the vision of the Uniting Church as a multicultural church. While I rejoice in that vision I am sad that for many of us it seems we have found it one that has been too hard to embrace. As Australians we seem to find it difficult to practice active hospitality to those who are different from ourselves. Too often we allow differences of language, music, and other aspects of culture to keep us apart from our brothers and sisters in Christ who share a different journey from our own. Have we forgotten so soon that the God of Deborah, Ruth, Hannah, Moses, Jesus and Paul is the God who delights in diversity? Have we forgotten the God who, while we were still estranged from our Creator, reached out to embrace us in arms of welcome, acceptance and love? In Christ, this God has become our brother. And in Christ this God calls us to move beyond the barriers of our cultures to relate to each other as sisters and brothers, in family with this same Lord. Our Saviour s vision is ultimately of a new heaven and a new earth where cultural limitations are transcended by love in diversity. As Gospel communities, our calling is to show the fragmented and diverse people groups of this age that in Jesus we find our true home. This is a mission that must be lived out in our hearts through active hospitality and authentic community and not just a matter of high sounding words. May the mosaic vision of our glorious God disturb and extend us all in living out who and what we are called to be. Your fellow sojourner, Graham

4 For Step 3 Monash Congregation (Clayton, Victoria) Material provided by Margaret Farrell and Jim Murray Several years Monash congregation was a small, ageing Anglo-Australian congregation. Today the Monash faith community is a lively multicultural group with approximately 50% of its members of non- English speaking backgrounds. How did this change happen? With the social profile of the neighbourhood rapidly changing and Monash University s strong recruitment of international students, the elders of the congregation asked: What is God calling us to do in our changing environment? A comment from one of our international students pointed us in an important direction. When I go to an Australian Church, he told us, I am made to feel that the Anglo way of worshipping and expressing the Christian faith is the only way. It was a comment that reminded us that being a warm, welcoming, friendly church was in itself not enough. It was important to recognise and acknowledge that all cultures and different cultural expressions of the Christian faith were of equal value. It was necessary to be an inclusive congregation rather than just expecting people to fit in with us. With the Assembly s 1985 document We are a Multicultural Church as a resource, the elders, spent time examining and evaluating what was happening. After some struggle the elders developed a mission statement which was subsequently endorsed by the congregation. The mission statement declared Monash Church to be a multicultural congregation. The congregation intentionally commenced its journey of multiculturalism. This was the first step. However we had to work at putting this declaration into practice. Worship began to change as we introduced "cultural spotlights" and songs of faith in other languages. Students shared faith experiences from their home countries and the Gospel was read weekly in another language. Cross -cultural activities were promoted.. A monthly social program of outings, shared meals and fun nights commenced. Increased contacts with our multicultural neighbourhood also made us aware of the need for some support programs. In response, we established an English Conversation Class and a Playgroup. And some members of the congregation began providing students with language support in the writing of their assignments and helped in other areas such as the finding of accommodation and the moving of furniture. It was not always easy. It required continued evaluation, focus and commitment. Now, ten years on this vision has become a reality. No longer do we have to declare ourselves to be a multicultural community, it is our daily experience. It has been exciting to grow in our understanding of what multicultural ministry means. We have experienced new life and been enormously enriched. We commit ourselves to develop further a model of mission that is culturally inclusive. See You and I, Stories (available from the Assembly) for a fuller account This material has been prepared by Assembly Multicultural Ministry of the Uniting Church as a resource in preparation for One Great Sunday of Sharing Feel free to use and photocopy with acknowledgment.

5 IDEAS FOR ACTION- Checklist From Building a Multicultural Church, Multicultural Ministry Unit, Board of Mission, NSW Synod 1. Discovering Your Neighbours What is the cross-cultural make up of your area? Who are the main groups, their culture, their leaders? What are their needs and their gifts? 2. Growing a Cross-cultural Congregation What is the cultural make up of your congregation? How do people from different backgrounds participate in the life of your congregation? How do people respond to the cross-cultural interaction of your congregation? 3. Sharing the Vision Is your congregation intentionally cross-cultural in its mission? How can the whole congregation be encouraged to grow in understanding, owning and sharing in the vision for cross-cultural outreach? 4. The Bigger Picture Networking What is being done by other churches and groups? What existing activities or plans could you join in? 5. Resources Who are the bridge-builders in your congregation? What can your congregation offer in response to cross-cultural needs? (Eg. people, buildings, worship, hospitality, English classes etc) Are you in contact with the cross-cultural network in Presbytery or Synod?

6 And some further ideas for action 1. Learn a local community language as a way of building bridges into the community or invite someone to teach their language to a church group wishing to learn. 2. Establish links with communities in your area and local migrant resource centres. 3. Read the guidelines on sharing of property. Could your congregation offer to share property? Contact your synod of presbytery multicultural ministry officer. 4. Experiment with forms of worship life that better reflect being a multicultural church eg music, prayers we say, readings in other languages. 5. Evaluate the participation of Non English Speaking Background (NESB) people in leadership in the life of the congregation? What barriers exist? 6. Ensure your church signs, banners, notice boards, notice sheets, church leaflets reflect a welcome and supportive environment, and are printed in community languages. 7. Where there are combined/ bilingual services provide interpretation (it isn t that expensive) contact Assembly Multicultural Ministry for more information 8. Develop a cross-cultural ministry team or congregational multicultural ministry working-group to keep these issues alive in the congregation. 9. Celebrate One Great Sunday of Sharing and make use of resources leading up to it. 10. Organise special multicultural festivals and cross-cultural events as opportunities to grow and learn from each other. 11. Develop cross-cultural skills by encouraging visits to partner churches, doing further study in cross-cultural ministry and making time to build friendships. 12. Invite Action for World Development to run an anti-racism workshop; plan for a cross-cultural relationships workshop in your presbytery or congregation (contact Assembly or Synod Multicultural Ministry staff -available from 2002) 13. Develop a ministry with refugees (contact NCCA state ecumenical officers) 14. Reflect on culturally appropriate forms of evangelism with reference to particular groups 15. Help fund Multicultural Ministry projects such as translation of key documents; cross-cultural relationships workshops, enabling cross-cultural workers/ youth workers. 16. If your area isn t very multicultural- you can still share in multicultural ministry! Express your willingness to host families for weekends or holidays or invite members from one of the migrant congregations to come and share in worship and hospitality