Audra Abt Shares Five Resources on Multi-Cultural Congregations

With so much uncertainty about finances and what our worship and mission will look like, given the pandemic, it may seem counterintuitive to look to what small or shoe-string missions are doing. Turning to the most vulnerable congregants of more resourced congregations likewise may seem unusual. But it’s folks who’ve lived on the margins of respectable church and the ‘formal’ economy who have strategies for thriving and adapting to precarious and brutal circumstances. The Rev. Nancy Frausto in Sustainability in the Scrappy Church talks about the gifts of congregations who look to people – both in and outside the church – as resources, not just as charity cases. Because of their unique knowledge of what it takes to survive in a racist and exploitative world, they can lead the way to greater forms of flourishing even in the face of scarcity.

I’ve been humbled, and grateful, to have people with intellectual and physical disabilities show me my own presumptions about planning liturgy and other church activities that unintentionally left no room for them to participate and lead. Sarah Barton’s article, Welcoming Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, invites the church to see each person as a resource. Barton recommends not just listening to our members but going out into the community to meet people where they are, listen, and allow what we hear to help us re-design the way we do everything. As we do this in my community, we’re finding that everyone is experiencing more access to deeper participation in our worship and service life.

Even in a multicultural congregation, there’s still a dominant norm for decision-making processes, leadership selection, and who speaks when. Often this norm fits the White, middle-class, professional culture. For people that don’t fit easily into your congregation’s norms, especially when they come from historically disenfranchised positions, it can be almost impossible to offer their gifts. As the Rev. Anna Olson writes about in Building a Diverse Vestry, developing a team that reflects the diversity of your congregation and surrounding community takes intentionality and a lot of work, but it is worth it.

As startlingly beautiful as multicultural and multilingual life in Christ can be, I have also found it to be challenging because every encounter, every event also includes real opportunities for misunderstanding or offense, which can cause conflict. Valuing and raising up a multicultural community also means valuing change, letting Christ in to change the “we” we call the church. In Conflict and Change, Luisa Bonillas reminds us that conflict is normal, and we can all develop the capacity to endure the discomfort and move through conflict together.

The last discipline that I’ve found helpful in developing multicultural church community has been to stay eager and curious to know how Jesus is alive and present outside our membership. By seeking Christ and traces of the Holy Spirit working among others, we stay humble and tuned to God, who is bigger than any of us and any one culture. A Practical Theology of Episcopal Evangelism is a clear, succinct invitation to practice seeking, naming and celebrating how God is working new life and liberation among our neighbors right now, right where we are planted.