“I think the impact in our presbytery is what I like to call ‘expanding the we.’ Who we are goes beyond the established churches that have been here but expands with different people and new communities, immigrant communities, places all across the Greater Atlanta region,” said the Rev. Aisha Brooks-Johnson, executive presbyter of the Presbytery of Greater Atlanta, who described how 36 new worshiping communities allow the presbytery to be “diverse, unique, inclusive and creative.”
Culture, like faith, is how people grow. It informs how people care for others and share their daily lives together. It shapes an understanding of the world and how people envision a future beyond themselves.
The growth benefits of understanding and sharing between cultures were in the hearts, minds and spirits of participants at the recent Inspire! Regional Gathering in the Presbytery of Cincinnati.
Culture has many forms and resonances. Even the word carries multiple definitions. In anthropology, it refers to customs, social norms and material traits of certain groups. In science, it means to maintain conditions suitable for growth. In sociology, it simply reflects the characteristics of ordinary relationships between people who share a particular time and place. Culture, like faith, is how people grow. It informs how people care for others and share their daily lives together. It shapes an understanding of the world and how people envision a future beyond themselves.
According to the Rev. Dr. Chip Hardwick, when you Google “Why are Presbyterians like that?” one of the top five questions asked is, “Why are Presbyterians called the ‘frozen chosen’?” Hardwick, executive for the Synod of the Covenant, preached at a regional gathering of immigrant new worshiping community and church leaders in Cincinnati over the weekend. Hardwick brought greetings on behalf of the synod, which spans most of Ohio and all of Michigan with 650 churches and 85,000 Presbyterians, to a group that included the praise team from Korean Presbyterian Church of Cincinnati and other regional leaders as well as immigrant leaders from California and Georgia.
“The ministry you are called to serve may not even exist yet,” the Rev. Michael Gehrling said to a group of 18 seminary students and recent seminary graduates at a Discerning Entrepreneurial Ministry event held at Columbia Theological Seminary from Aug. 16–18.
“We all have accents, and really, an accent is nothing to be ashamed of but to be proud of because accents are beautiful,” the Rev. Rafael Viana said during his plenary presentation for the recent “What’s the Secret Sauce?” conference in Atlanta.
The “What’s the Secret Sauce?” conference sponsored by the Presbyterian Mission Agency’s 1001 New Worshiping Communities and the New Church Development Commission of the Presbytery of Greater Atlanta recently welcomed more than 80 participants in a dozen languages with barbecue from three countries and a joyous worship service. Colleagues in the Office of General Assembly and the PMA’s Racial Equity & Women’s Intercultural Ministries were also partners in the event.
“What’s the Secret Sauce?” conference sponsored by the Presbyterian Mission Agency’s 1001 New Worshiping Communities and the New Church Development Commission of the Presbytery of Greater Atlanta welcomed more than 80 participants in a dozen languages with barbeque from three countries and a joyous worship service on Tuesday evening. Colleagues in the Office of General Assembly and the PMA’s Racial Equity & Women’s Intercultural Ministries were also partners in the event.
A new video distributed exclusively on social media last week asked, “What’s the secret to creating successful partnerships with immigrant worshiping communities?” The 45-second video concluded, “It’s all in the sauce. The secret sauce … And yes, there will be barbeque.”
As a child, the Rev. Dr. Lindsay Armstrong loved Mister Rogers and his neighborhood of make-believe — especially the puppets King Friday XIII and Henrietta Pussycat.
