By God’s grace,
two Presbyterian congregations are gathering under Jesus’
commandment. They feel the Lord’s presence as they transform
their mission from an all Euro American ministry into a multicultural
one. For some interpreters, just the new shape of the neighborhood
is forcing the changes. For people of hope, the change in the
socioeconomic setting is God showing them a new transfiguration
in which to minister.
More than a century ago, German immigrants organized the two
Presbyterian churches. Both started declining in membership
by the 1980s, which consequently hurt their programs and budgets.
Now their neighborhoods are transforming from white middle-class
people into low-income immigrants from Latin America and the
Caribbean.
Instead of moving away and closing their facilities, the churches
decided to form a missional partnership. The two congregations
partnered with two new immigrant groups, the presbytery, and
the General Assembly Council office of New Immigrant Ministries
to continue existing as two or more gathered in Jesus’
name. They will merge the two memberships into one cross-cultural
congregation and will support two ethnic-specific immigrant
outreach ministries. Their mission now testifies tothe glory
of God as a multicultural model in a diversified community.
That model is the transformation of the church under the transfiguration
of the Lord Jesus.
At the time of the transfiguration of the Lord, the three invited
disciples interpreted the presence of Jesus as the fulfillment
of all prophesies regarding the essential glory of God that
now belongs to Jesus. The three were exposed to the new understanding
of grace and truth as testified by John 1:14. Circumstances
in their neighborhood were changing, so they transformed their
understanding of mission into the new perspective of the Messiah.
It was a challenging new start for a transforming community
of faith.
—Rev. Angel P. Suárez-Valera, associate, new immigrant
groups ministries in the USA, Racial Ethnic & Women’s
Ministries, General Assembly Council |
