Represents Diversity - Thoughts by Debbie Streicher

The definition of diversity is a difference, an unlikeness.  In the context of the church, this difference usually refers to cultural diversity, but can also be about age and gender differences. In Acts 1:8, the Scripture reads:  “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” I believe that we are called to be witnesses in our communities. We are the   vehicles sharing God’s love in the world. What this looks like and how we answer this call as Christian educators opens many doors for us to provide opportunities for all ages to gain an awareness of existing differences in our communities and the world. Though Scripture and prayer we can learn together how we may reach out to our neighbors, take steps to get to know them, and invite them to know us.

Do we take into consideration the social, cultural, ethnic, age, and gender differences that exist within our community?  
I would like to answer this with a resounding yes, but all too often I have experienced the feeling of “being comfortable” in the congregation. We are attracted to people like ourselves who have similar interests and similar backgrounds in our faith. In some ways this can be a strength if we grasp the opportunity to learn together about others and gain a healthy respect for those who are not like us. I think taking steps to know our differences and appreciate them is important. This can be done in small group settings where we can share honest thoughts and pray together.

I will reflect once again, as I did when answering the questions about whether or not we are "invitational" in education. It's the analogy from my experience of living on a military base overseas. When your family is thrust into a new setting where you do not speak the language, read the writing, or understand the culture, it can be overwhelming. Americans have a choice to live on the base and never leave the front gate or they can choose to learn about the culture and the people and get involved in the community right outside their door. Many have no interest in leaving the “safe environment” of the base, but those who do discover a whole new world. They make new friends amidst unbelievable differences. They learn to honor and respect one another. The benefits I have experienced from going off the base to learn more about the culture is that most often, after showing an interest in their world, they thirst to know my world. They want to come inside the gate and meet my friends and know my world too!

Our churches are not much different than living on a base. Perhaps effective Christian education may look more like “going off the base” in the future and involve some hands-on experiences. Has this happened in your congregation? If so, I’d love to hear about it.

How do we meet their needs?  
I think the first step in meeting the needs of those who are different than ourselves is taking the steps to know what the differences may be. If we take the first step, we may have surprising results.

We may find there are more things in common than we imagined and use them as tools to connect, communicate, and learn from one another. What do those things we have in common look like? Family, Music, Community, Bible…until we have an interest in finding out, we’ll never know.  

How do we lift up and celebrate the blessings that each group brings to the greater whole?
We won’t know until we actually do it. If we truly get to know others who are different than we are, the blessings will be unlimited. Only until we know one another and provide places and times to come together and celebrate the joy, can we even begin to dream about celebrating our blessings.

An example I will share is when I was teaching ESL, English As A Second Language, in our church every week. We had people from El Salvador, Afghanistan, Korea, China, Mexico, Iran, and Vietnam.  Several times a year we would celebrate our differences with a family gathering. Everyone would bring food from their own country. There were times we followed eating with dancing. We taught each other dances from our own countries. Line dancing and laughing with others with whom you do not share a common language was a true blessing. Laughter … Love…..that’s what He asked us to do: “love one another.”  Let the Spirit come upon you! Celebrate the gift of differences we have.