By Jonathan Kindberg, C4SO’s Diaspora Mobilizer
When Jesus came, He came down from heaven / When he landed – He landed in Israel But there was trouble / God send him down to Africa / We must praise him in the African way. We must praise him in the African way.
As a Nigerian Anglican church in the Austin, Texas, area sang this song, flags representing immigrants’ countries of origin from all over the world were raised around the packed, standing-room-only sanctuary. In response, Nepali refugee youth rushed to the front of the room in a spontaneous expression of worship and joy. Non-immigrants danced alongside Burmese and Latino brothers and sisters. Participants read scripture in nine of the 30+ languages present in worship services every Sunday around Austin, including Mandarin, Igbo, Hindi and Portuguese. This was “The Nations Worship,” the opening night of the second annual Diaspora Network Conference in Austin, July 28-29.
The song lyrics reminded us of Jesus’ and Israel’s own diaspora roots in Egypt and served as a powerful reminder of the gifts of worship and joy the global Church in diaspora bring to North America. The African way (and the Latino and the Asian ways) are desperately needed in North America. They are examples of the many powerful gifts of the diaspora Church on prominent display at the conference.
The conference theme was Mutuality in Mission: Receiving One Another’s Gifts. Many participants brought a gift symbolic of their cultural background to share with another participant, embodying the reality that we all have gifts to both give and receive. Representatives from Igbo Anglican Church in San Jose brought a traditional Nigerian chieftain fan and presented it to Bishop Todd in gratitude for C4SO’s assistance in finding and providing for their new Rector. Other participants shared artwork, keychains, and other symbols of the rich diversity of gifts present.
In addition, the conference included content to resource local churches. Diaspora Network leaders developed and shared a Mutuality Framework to talk about how to build true and deep partnerships between immigrant and non-immigrant Christians.
The conference also highlighted 4 Key Shifts underway in the North American Church, explaining why the Diaspora Network exists and why pursuing mutuality is so important:
1) The center of gravity is shifting toward immigrant Christianity.
2) The immigrant Church still remains on the margins.
3) Diaspora Christians represent one of the greatest hopes for renewal of the Church in North America.
4) The reality of diaspora requires a radical shift in our mission models and paradigms.
“Look around! White faces are a minority here,” said Archbishop D’Souza from India, the keynote speaker for “The Nations Worship” night. He went on to say how those in the room were a picture of the global Church, and that each part of the body has an important role and gift to bring. Each part is needed for the body to be complete: those from immigrant backgrounds and those with White faces (like my own).
The Rev. Will Flores, a first-time participant from the Central Valley area in California, is in the process of being adopted into C4SO along with his mostly Latino immigrant congregation. He said of his time at the conference, “These were days full of blessing and the Word of God. The message was given, and now ours is the challenge of embodying it for the good of our cities and cultures!”
In the days to come, the Diaspora Network will offer a cohort for those seeking to plant new diaspora churches and ministries, as well as a cohort for those seeking to learn from and build partnerships with the immigrant church and community. Let me know if either of those cohorts interest you!
Learn more about the Diaspora Network.
The Rev. Jonathan Kindberg mobilizes C4SO’s Diaspora Network to support immigrant churches in our diocese. He is resident clergy at Church of the Cross Austin, where he is helping launch a bilingual missional community in a nearby immigrant neighborhood and is helping the church grow in their cross-cultural and community engagement in Northeast Austin. Jonathan has extensive experience in cross-cultural ministry in Latin America, the Middle East and beyond. He has been instrumental in various initiatives of the Anglican Church in North America related to engagement with the Latino community and church throughout North America.