Image By: woodleywonderworks
We have had a most unusual weekend. Joan and I attended the General Conference of the Evangelical Methodist Church (you can look up the details at http://emchurch.org if you need them). There were three striking things that happened that brought the world into perspective.
First, at the Communion Service on the first day, there were three presiding general superintendents: one for the US who spoke only English, one from Mexico who spoke no English, and one from Myanmar (Burma) who spoke some English. Each offered prayer in his mother tongue without translation–after all, the audience to our worship was God, for whom languages are no problem!
Second, the Myanmar Chin (the Chin are a large non-Buddhist ethnic group in Myanmar) superintendent spoke at the ordination service, and introduced a choir of perhaps 30 young Burmese who sang in their native Mizo–every one of them a refugee who found each other and were part of an immigrant congregation in Indianapolis. Some grew up in churches under the Superintendent’s care.
Third, I had two memorable meals. I sat at a table with a half-dozen African pastors. To my left was Peter, who had planted a predominately immigrant church in the American south. To my right was a Congolese pastor who served an immigrant congregation in Germany. Seated next to him was the pastor of an immigrant congregation in Belgium. They are closely connected with churches in the Congo, and all spoke primarily French. We had some difficulty communicating in English (given my “reading knowledge only” of French and German), but we tried. Then later at a missions banquet, to my right was a Filipino pastor of an immigrant congregation in San Diego, and next to him an American married to a Filipino woman, and their congregations were planning a mission to the Philippines. The music at the banquet was provided by a young Chin woman with an exquisite voice, then by an a-cappella chorus of the six African pastors of immigrant churches in Europe. They invited us to join them in How Great Thou Art in whatever language we could use, so we sang in English, Mizo, Spanish, French, and Creole (and perhaps others).
Here are a couple of observations. First, we were among immigrants and refugees who are portrayed as threats by so many voices in our society. It seems to me that immigration is another tool that God has already sanctified to advance his kingdom. Second, this is a small American denomination with an undistinguished history that in the span of six years has been drawn into a world-wide web of Christians seizing opportunities for witness that are created by adverse, and sometimes threatened circumstances. I think God has some surprises for us!
I too was at the EMC General Conference, and in amongst all the business of the conference and changes made to the structure of the EMC, I had almost missed the Glory of God found in the events you mentioned above…it truly is a wonderfully grand thing HE is doing.
Thank you for the reminder…be blessed in HIS name.
Kev