From exotic to solidarity: being the church together in a multi-cultural and multi-ethnic context

The United States is rapidly becoming a multi-ethnic and multicultural nation thanks mostly to immigration. The church generally still does not recognize these changes fully due to institutional racism, anti- immigrant sentiments, and the inability to accept change. National, regional and local councils of the Presbyterian Church (USA) need to heed the biblical and theological mandates to be a fully inclusive church at all levels, recognizing all the gifts for ministry from every culture. Scripture is full of admonitions and mandates to be compassionate to the “stranger” and bring about justice. Jesus’ mandate to “Love God and your neighbor” must serve as a plumb line. At Pentecost the gospel was heard in many languages and people from many ethnicities and cultures joined the church. The Councils of Jerusalem, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, realized that people did not have to change culturally to join the church of Jesus Christ and to have leadership in it. I plan to use multiple approaches to help enact institutional change/transformation as the coordinator for Hispanic/Latino Ministries for my presbytery. My plan for ministry includes cross-cultural education in congregations and other venues, and encouraging people to engage in direct contact with new immigrants through English as a Second or Other Language programs, visits to organizations helping new immigrants, visits to local detention centers for undocumented immigrants and other opportunities for building relationships across cultures. Evaluating this plan of action will be difficult. Surveys with those already involved in the ministries ascertaining if and how their attitudes may have changed and their willingness to advocate for systemic change may be helpful.