Announcement: Revelation 7:9 Art Contest

The Intercultural Study Committee invites you to participate in our Revelation 7:9 Art Contest! Entries are welcome from all ages groups, and congregations are urged to encourage participation from their membership.

Guidelines:
One entry per artist.
Entries should represent the artist's understanding of Revelation 7:9. (See below.)
All entries must be flat on an 8 1/2" x 11" piece of paper.
Any media may be used (i.e., crayons, markers, oils, graphics images, photography, etc.).
On the back of the entry, please clearly print (or firmly attach a sticker that includes):
1. Artist's name,
2. Congregation name and address, and
3. Age group, using these categories:
- Young child (8 and under)
- Older child (9 to 12)
- Teenager/youth (13 to 18, in high school)
- Adult (College-age and older)

Deadline: Entries must be received by Friday, April 6, 2007 to:
Asha Solanky
Attn: Art Contest
8209 Franconia Rd.
Richmond, VA 23227

Judges will award a prize to the winner of each age group. All of the artwork, including the winning entries, will be displayed in the Intercultural Study Committee's booth at the 2007 Annual Conference in Cleveland, Ohio (June 30 - July 4, 2007).

After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white and held branches in their hands." ~Revelation 7:9

Finished: Final Report

We turned in our final report. It contains recommendations and accountability measures for national, district, and congregational leaders, as well as individual church members. We hope to have it available for posting on our part of the Annual Conference website soon.

We call on the Church of the Brethren to view the Revelation 7:9 vision as a denominational vision for the 21st century.

Short survey: What attracts you to our church?

Dear brothers, sisters and friends:

Please take a few moments to respond to this new, short survey. It will help us in writing our final report!

1) What drew you to the Church of the Brethren? What do you like most about the Church of the Brethren?

2) What action steps can we take to become more intercultural? How do you see Revelation 7:9 being fulfilled?

On a separate note, we have launched a Spanish version of this blog titled "COB Intercultural en Español."

Bible study and Sunday School items

Upon request, here are two Bible study materials featured on our Reading List that are available from Brethren Press. These can be used for bible study groups and Sunday School classes.

Uncovering Racism by Kathryn Goering Reid and Stephen Breck Reid. Part of the Covenant Bible Studies series. Contains 10 lessons, plus a section with suggestions for sharing, prayer and music to study this topic.

The Second Mile: The Road to Emmaus (Pathway C). Sponsored by the Church of the Brethren, Mennonite Church (USA), Mennonite Church Canada, and Mennonite Central Committee's U.S. and Canadian offices.

Many Cultures, One in Christ by Julie Garber.Study guide challenges readers to reflect on the diversity in the Body of Christ and to be reconciled to God and one another.

District thank-you's!

Thank you to the following nine districts for completing our Diversity Survey and/or the Annual Conference Recommendations Status Table!

Michigan
Missouri/Arkansas
Northern Indiana
South-Central Indiana
Western Plains
Atlantic Northeast
Pacific Southwest
Atlantic Southeast
Mid-Atlantic

For any districts that wish to help us take a fresh "pulse" of the denomination, please use the Intercultural Study Committee link in the right column to access our portion of the Annual Conference website. Scroll to the bottom of the page and select item #3 for the District Executive Diversity Survey.

Extension to AC 2007

Dear brothers, sisters and friends:

The Intercultural Study Committee requested and received an extension to give its final report with action recommendations at the 2007 Annual Conference in Cleveland, Ohio. We appreciate the support and understanding of this issue's complexity and seriousness by the delegate body, the congregations and districts they represent, and the church officers and staff.

Since our report must be filed by February 1, 2007, here is our plan to complete the final two of our five assigned tasks:

• Continue research on how other denominations and churches are addressing the topic.
• Continue evaluation of past recommendations to Annual Conference.
• Continue interviews and focus groups to elicit specific action steps.
• Collect and analyze results from current surveys being conducted within the denomination.
• Collect and analyze feedback and discussion through this web log.
  

Regular postings to this web log will appear through mid-January 2007. Additional information will be posted following the February 1 report deadline.


We ask Church of the Brethren members and friends to continue to:

1. Pray for the Intercultural Study Committee and its work.
2. Provide feedback about possible action recommendations.
3. Recommend additional reading and/or study guide materials.
4. Hold continued dialogue within the congregations and denomination about how God is guiding us to the Revelation 7:9 vision.
5. Engage in deliberate study of the history, culture, faith, etc., of ethnically and culturally diverse sisters and brothers by inviting them as guest speakers to lead study groups.
6. Include cultural minorities within our congregations, districts and at the denominational level in program planning for all events.
7. Initiate pulpit exchanges, exchange music and worship programs, visit one another's worship services.
8. Invite the Anti-Racism Team to train church members and leadership. (Contact Congregational Life Ministries for more information.)
9. Engage in deliberate dialogue with different cultural groups and include them in planning and hosting intercultural events.

Congregational Discussion Guide

The Intercultural Study Committee invites you to utilize these questions with your congregation to explore the Revelation 7:9 vision and what Jesus calls us to become.You are welcome to share your answers with the committee by commenting on this post.

1) How did Jesus minister inter-culturally? What did he do to reach out to those from other cultures? What specific examples can you find in the Gospels of Jesus’ ministry to those from other cultural backgrounds?

2) Discuss ways in which we can overcome ethnocentrism, which means thinking “our way” (whether US American or even Brethren) is the “right way.”

3) What are some barriers to building intercultural relationships? How can we begin to overcome those barriers, especially looking to Jesus’ life and ministry as an example?

4) What are some things we can do specifically to meet –and love- people from a different race or culture in the next few weeks?

5) What would/can we change in our church to welcome – and accommodate- people from different cultures? How can we begin to put others’ needs above our own?

6) What other scriptures shed light on God’s plan for us to be an intercultural body of Christ?

7) What are the benefits of being an intercultural body of Christ?

8) What can we do to be more involved in the lives of those from other cultures in our community? How can we share and celebrate God’s love together?

9) How can we more intentionally build true Christian community within our congregation, moving more toward living the Revelation 7:9 vision? What does true Christian community look like?

10) What do the two great commandments mean in context of our congregation? Of worship?

Additional questions drawn from “The Second Mile” curriculum, “The Road to Emmaus”:

A) How might “church family” be experienced differently in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic congregation?

B) How do we practice community when people of different cultures, ethnic and racial backgrounds view community differently?

C) How can our own church family become more diverse?

D) Is the majority of your congregation culturally, racially, or economically similar? If the answer is yes, have members of your group commit to worshipping at least one time this month in a church community where you will not feel as socially at home. Then discuss these experiences together and how God was revealed through these experiences.

2006 Annual Conference items

Dear sisters, brothers, and friends:

We hope to see many of you at the 2006 Church of the Brethren Annual Conference in Des Moines, Iowa on July 1-5.The conference booklets are available and contain our 2006 report. Soon this report will be added to our section of the Annual Conference website in English and Spanish.

We hope to see you at one or both of our Insight Sessions in Hy-Vee Hall, Room 2!

• Sunday, July 2: 9:00 - 10:00 pm
• Monday, July 3: 9:00 - 10:00 pm
  

Please feel free to speak with us during the conference. You can also leave messages at the Translation table in Veterans Auditorium, where business sessions and worship services will be held.

Lastly, please keep this year's Annual Conference in your prayers! There is a heavy schedule of annual reports, unfinished business and new business.

Be watching!

The Intercultural Study Committee participated in the 2006 Cross-Cultural Celebration held in Lancaster, PA this past weekend. We were happy to see so many friends from last year, and to make new ones this time. We hope to see as many of you as possible at the 2006 Annual Conference in Des Moines, IA!

If anyone would like a copy of Brother Larry Brumfield's Saturday night sermon, please send an e-mail to interculturalcob@yahoo.com. A Microsoft Word version will be sent to you as quickly as possible!

The committee also met on May 7. We continue to gather suggestions for action recommendations. Please keep checking here for several resources that will be posted throughout May. Additionally, check the link to our part of the Annual Conference website to see our report when it is posted.

Clarification: committee terminology

Several 2005 delegates asked for clarification of the terminology the committee considered and uses. For the purposes of the committee's work, "cultural" groups refer to ethnic/racial cultures.

Cross-cultural: Potentially limited to one cultural group seeking understanding of and relationship with another. The second culture may not see these efforts as a mutual relationship.

Multi-cultural: Potentially two or more cultural groups on parallel paths seeking understanding of each other, but not necessarily relationships with one another.

Intercultural: Two or more cultural groups seeking a mutual understanding of and relationship with one another.

The Intercultural Study Committee sees mutuality in relationship as the key to a faithful response to the two queries.

Related previous papers and resolutions

We are investigating the status of previous recommendations from the most contemporary Annual Conference papers and resolutions. These include:

Inclusion of Ethnics Paper adopted by the 1989 Annual Conference

The first to examine multiple racial/ethnic groups present in the Church of the Brethren in the United States and Puerto Rico. It includes a "snapshot" history of these communities: African-American, Hispanic, Filipino, Korean and mentions the emerging Haitian membership. Its recommendations are directed to the denominational, district, and congregational levels.

Brethren and Black Americans Paper adopted by the 1991 Annual Conference

It examines the history and relationship between the European-American majority and the African-American minority in the Church of the Brethren. Its recommendations are denominational and congregational. The paper has a general recommendation that all Brethren institutions vigorously practice affirmative action.

Community: A tribe of many feathers Paper adopted by the 1994 Annual Conference

The paper examines the history and relationship between the European-American majority and the Native American minority centered at Lybrook Community in Cuba, NM. More importantly, the committee writing the paper takes the opportunity to give a concise history of Native American relations in the United States, as well as an introduction of Native American perspective on Christianity as it relates to their cultural reference points.

Resolution on Ethnic Representationadopted by the 2001 Annual Conference

The Castañer congregation (Puerto Rico) petitioned the Annual Conference to update the guidelines in the 1979 Annual Conference Elections paper to assure "fair representation for minority groups in the church by calling forth and utilizing gifted leadership from among our ethnic brothers and sisters."

Study committee tasks

The Intercultural Study Committee received five tasks as a result of Annual Conference approval:

1. Name the barriers in the Church of the Brethren that prevent the fulfillment of the Revelation 7:9 vision. Completed

2. Recommend actions we must take to bring us into conformity with that vision. In process

3. Formulate a mechanism to report intercultural ministry progress at Annual Conference through 2010. Several formats being considered

4. Integrate an ex oficio member from our affiliate denomination, the American Baptist Church (USA). Completed - March 2005

5. Select an eighth full committee member from the African-American nominees on the 2004 Annual Conference ballot. Completed - September 2004

Original queries

The Intercultural Study Committee was elected at the 2004 Church of the Brethren Annual Conference in Charleston, WV as a result of two queries. Below are their titles, districts of origin, questions, and scriptural references.

Becoming a Multi-Ethnic Church
Atlantic Southeast District
Isaiah 56:6-7; Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 15:9; 2 Corinthians 13:12; Revelation 7:9

What action must we take, in our lives, in our congregations, in our districts, in our denomination, and globally, to bring us into conformity with the biblical vision of a church from every nation, tribe, people and language, united in worship befor the throne of God? How are we to become the church John saw in Revelation 7:9?

The Need for Cross-Cultural Ministries
Oregon-Washington District
Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:12; Revelations 7:9b

The query asks "for assistance in identifying and naming the barriers that exist in the Church of the Brethren which are preventing the biblical vision of Revelation 7:9 from happening within our congregations and districts, and to outline specific steps which can enable congregations and districts to overcome them."