Talking Together as Christians Cross-culturally A Field Guide Revised Edition Talking Together as Christians Cross-culturally: A Field Guide, rev. ed. Written by Ronald W. Duty Copyright ©2004 by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Copyright for the Revised Edition, ©2009. Permission is granted to reproduce this document as needed provided that each copy carries the copyright notice printed above. Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA and are used by permission. Preface and Acknowledgments The church today not only lives in a multicultural world, the church itself is also a multicultural body of Christ that is still struggling and learning to live fully into that reality. Two personal examples may illustrate this struggle and also why talking together as Christians cross-culturally is important for the church’s life and mission. The congregation in which I grew up was located in a largely White blue collar suburb. When Latinos and African Americans started moving into the area in greater numbers, members of the congregation, many of whom lived in the immediate area, began to discuss this informally. When I suggested that perhaps we ought to welcome them, the pastor abruptly changed the subject. No effort was made to invite the newcomers to the area to worship with us. The congregation which once saw between 125 and 150 people worship on a Sunday now has about 30 at worship each week. While this first example is a mission failure Those congregations and pastors include: The marked by fear of people who are culturally Church of the Abiding Savior, Durham, N.C., different, the other example concerns an effort Rev. Gordon Myers; Angelica Lutheran Church, at cross-cultural spiritual discernment about an Los Angeles, Calif., Rev. Carlos Paiva; Iglesia urgent matter for church and society. A few of us Luterana Ascención, Dorado, Puerto Rico, Rev. from that same congregation also met with others Vivian Davila; Ascension Lutheran Church Hmong in the Lutheran Human Relations Association at Ministry, Milwaukee, Wis., Revs. Youa Kau Vang Messiah Lutheran Church—LCMS, an African and Jon Jacobs, and Ms. Caitlin Vang; Augustana American congregation in San Diego’s Logan Lutheran Church, Portland Ore., the late Rev. Heights section, during the late 1950s and 1960s. Ramona Soto Rank and Rev. Walter Knutson; We met to discuss developments in civil rights Chinese Life Lutheran Church, Alhambra, Calif., campaigns of the Southern Christian Leadership Rev. Timothy Fong; Christ Lutheran Church Conference, and to talk about what the realities of Cambodian Ministry, St. Paul, Minn., Rev. Ronald race in America and these developments meant for Johnson and Ms. Thaly Cavanaugh; Church of us as Lutheran Christians in that time. Dream Builders, Anaheim, Calif., Rev. Joel Lee; Iglesia Luterana Epifanía, Bayamon, Puerto Rico, This church, the ELCA, imagines for itself a Sr. Carmen Ramirez; First Lutheran Church, more flourishing multicultural future, a future for Torrance, Calif., Rev. Fumio Itoh; First Lutheran which it may now act in hope. This field guide is Church African Ministry, Sioux Falls, S.D., Mr. offered as a means to help this church live into that Samuel Gayetay and Rev. Natanael Lizarazo; future. Any effort such as this one to provide a field Frederick Lutheran Church, Charlotte Amalie, St. guide for cross-cultural conversation in the church Thomas, Virgin Islands, Rev. Stephan Kienberger is naturally a cross-cultural one itself involving and Rev. Rochelle Lewis; Good Shepherd Lutheran many conversations. This project gratefully Church Korean Ministry, Naperville, Ill., Rev. Jae- acknowledges the collaboration of several ELCA Bum Kim; Hmong Central Lutheran, St. Paul, congregations and their pastors, who acted Minn., Rev. William Siong; Holy Trinity Lutheran hopefully by engaging in conversations that helped Church, Fredericksted, St. Croix, Virgin Islands, open up for the author how these congregations Rev. Robert Wakefield; Holy Trinity Lutheran engage in public conversation in their own cultural Church, Hollis, Queens, N.Y., Rev. Perucy Butiku; contexts. These conversations inform the material Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Inglewood, Calif., in Sections 21-40 of this field guide. Rev. James Lobdell and the late Rev. Carol Scott; i Huria Kristin Batak Protestan of New York, Juan, Puerto Rico, Rev. Mario Miranda; Mision Elmhurst, Queens, N.Y., Rev. Samuel Silaban; Luterana San Pablo, Weslaco, Texas, Rev. Ismael Huria Kristin Batak Protestan, Upland, Calif.., de la Tejera; Iglesia Luterana Santisima Trinidad, Mr. Hasudungan Hutajulu; Indians for Christ, Bayamon, Puerto Rico, Rev. Jose D. Zayas; St. Elias Rockville, Md., Rev. Chandra Lite; Joy of the Christian Congregation, Chicago, Ill., Rev. Rimon Gospel Lutheran Ministry, Lake Ridge, Va., Rev. Said; St. Jacobi Lutheran Church, Brooklyn, N.Y., Edward Buabeng; Kingshill Lutheran Church, Rev. Mary Chang; St. John’s Lutheran Church, Kingshill, St. Croix, Virgin Islands, Ms. Thelma Austin, Texas, Rev. Timothy Anderson; St. John’s Youngblood; Lao Evangelical Lutheran Church, Sudanese Ministry, St. John’s Lutheran Church, Minneapolis, Minn., Rev. Thiem Baccam; Living Council Bluffs, Iowa, Mr. James Dak Rut; St. Waters Lutheran Church, Cherokee, N.C., Rev. Mark Lutheran Church, Los Angeles, Calif, Rev. Mary Louise Frenchman; Lord God of Sabaoth Brian Ecklund; St. Mark Sudanese Ministry, St. Lutheran Church, Christiansted, St. Croix, Virgin Mark’s Lutheran Church, Storm Lake, Iowa, Mr. Islands, Rev. Lester White; Mabaan Sudanese Peter Duk; St. Michael’s Truth Lutheran Church, Community Ministry, Grace Lutheran Church, Mitchellville, Md., Rev. Immanuel Grantson; Omaha, Neb., Mr. David Nange and Rev. Damon St. Paul’s Lutheran Church Lao Ministry, Revs. Laker; Messiah Lutheran Church, Los Angeles, Phetsamone Vannavong and Donna Brown; Thai Calif., Rev. Vivian Martin and Ms. Marie Gunigale; Church Washington, D.C., Arlington, Va., Mr. Supot Nile Lutheran Ministry, Trinity Lutheran Church, Ouasri; Thai Community Church of Chicago, Omaha, Neb., Mr. John Beding; Nile Lutheran Forest Park, Ill., Ms. Monta Limthongviratn; Mission, Rochester, N.Y., Rev. Jordan Long; Oromo Truth Lutheran Church, Naperville, Ill., Rev. Peter Evangelical Lutheran Church of Washington, D.C., Wang; Tumaini Swahili Chapel, Chicago, Ill., Mr. Washington, D.C., Rev. Waagtolaa Dinagdee; Our George Mungongo; and United Sudanese Lutheran Redeemer Oromo Evangelical Lutheran Church, Ministry, United Lutheran Church, Lincoln, Neb., Minneapolis, Minn., Rev. Melkamu Negeri; Peace Mr. John Keck. Lutheran Church, Alexandria, Va., Rev. Nana Opoku; People’s Community Lutheran Chapel, This project owes a significant intellectual Baltimore, Md., Rev. Titus Clarke; Purna Jiwan debt to two scholars and practitioners of cross- South Asian Ministry, Chicago, Ill., Rev. Eardley cultural conversation. We owe to Dr. Patricia Mendis and Rev. Omega Varma; Reformation Taylor Ellison a debt for her pioneering research Lutheran Church, Chicago, Ill., Rev. Joseph on moral conversation in congregations and on Bocko; Salam Arabic Lutheran Church, Brooklyn, congregational leadership of conversation which N.Y., Rev. Khader El-Yateem; Salem Cambodian informs and helps to shape this project. We are Mission, Dakota City, Neb., Rev. Soriya Roeun; grateful to her for her comments on sections 46 and Parroquia Luterana Sagrado Corazón, Waukegan, 47 of this field guide on “Congregational Gifts and Ill., Rev. Heriberto Prudencia; Parroquia Luterana Assets for Talking Together” and “Leader Assets;” San Francisco de Asís, Aurora, Ill., Rev. Hector sections 46 and 47 of this field guide summarize Garfias Toledo; Iglesia Evangelica Luterana San some of her work. We also owe a significant debt to Marcos, Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, Rev. Marysol Dr. Thomas Kochman for his pioneering research Diaz; Iglesia Luterana De La Trinidad, Chicago, Ill., on public conversation between African Americans Rev. José Goitia; Iglesia Luterana San Pablo, San and European Americans. His work has illumined ii Talking Together as Christians Cross-culturally aspects of public conversation that are important staff. These colleagues reviewed earlier drafts of in this field guide and helps to inform the ethnic- this field guide, provided helpful criticisms and specific sections of this field guide. We thank him suggestions, or produced demographic data. as well for his personal generosity with materials Without these colleagues, this project would not he uses in his consulting. have happened. The project team for the first phase of this project from 2001–2004 includes: As you will see as you use this field guide, it Ms. Joanne Chadwick, Commission for Women; owes a great deal to those who have developed Rev. Ruben Duran, Division for Outreach; Ms. processes and methods of moral conversation and Victoria Flood, Research and Evaluation; Ms. deliberation. Rather than reinvent the wheel, this Loretta Horton, Division for Church in Society; field guide takes their work as a gift, and endeavors Ms. Marilyn Olson, Division for Ministry; Rev. to show ways to use their processes with deliberate Fred Rajan, Commission for Multicultural care in cross-cultural conversation in a way that Ministries; Dr. Leonard Schulze, Division for also honors cultural distinctiveness. The work for Higher Education and Schools; Ms. Evelyn Soto, which we are grateful includes Growing Healthier