Dear People of St. James’,
Last Saturday, your Vestry gathered for a mini-retreat, which began with some good conversation about Michael Emerson’s book, People of the Dream: Multiracial Congregations in the United States. This book is one of a handful of studies of multiracial, multiethnic congregations in publication. While the book seeks to be descriptive and not prescriptive, it offers some insight into the common life of St. James’ as we seek to join with God’s mission in this place.
Despite a world in which racial and ethnic separation is the norm in communities of worship, about 7% of religious congregations in the United States are multiracial or multiethnic, meaning that no one racial or ethnic group comprises 80 percent or more of the people. By this definition, St. James’ became a multiracial congregation during the tenure of The Rev. Bill Miller in the 1990s, although some of the groundwork for this change was laid prior to his coming to St. James’. The shift was bolstered by the reversal of white flight in the 1990s and re-urbanization, a trend common to many US cities.
Since this shift, St. James’ has been known for choosing inclusion and multiculturalism, while nurturing a space in which African American identity and the liberationist theology of the black church is honored. This is a difficult dance, because, in some ways, the core values of a specific African American heritage and diversity will always be in tension with each other. And yet, from St. James’ African American heritage and history emerges a theology of participation in God’s greater welcome that motivates and gives life to the value of diversity. We welcome because those who founded this community experienced the pain of alienation. We “welcome one another, just as Christ has welcomed [us], for the glory of God” (Rom 15:7).
The history of St. James’ shows that this community flourishes when we are paying attention to this dance of heritage and diversity in our common life. Emerson indicates that multiracial and multiethnic congregations tend to flourish in their diversity when: 1) a clear mission and vision for multicultural community is shared throughout a congregation and its ministries; 2) variety in worship meets diverse needs and offers newcomers a potential for belonging that they can feel; 3) small groups create space for relationship-building across difference; 4) people throughout the community feel equipped for evangelism; and 5) the congregation invests in the lives of the next generations.
This list raises some questions and offers some areas of focus, as we do the difficult dance of attending to heritage and diversity. This summer, we will take several concrete steps:
- The music advisory committee, formed at the end of 2018, will expand its membership and become a Liturgical Committee, charged with attending to the difficult dance of heritage and diversity in our worship life.
- We will build out a church database, reflective of patterns in participation in worship, ministries, and small group life. This will help us see gaps in our practices of welcome, invitation into ministry, and pastoral care. It will also facilitate experiments in building community in the far-flung places where St. James’ is present where you live and move and have your being.
- Even as we seek a part-time Director of Family Ministries, we will do some family and youth gatherings in different parts of town, and our monthly Children’s Service at the 5:30 pm service will continue through the summer.
- We will gather a group to begin some discernment work about the relationship between Proyecto Santiago and the larger St. James’ community. How can we strengthen the ties that bind and our practices of welcome, while honoring culture?
These steps will help set a stronger foundation for the future. If you are excited about the mission of St. James’, I urge you to stay engaged this summer as we continue the work of building relationships that strengthen and transform us for God’s mission in the world.
The Rev. Eileen O’Brien, Rector
