by Cindy Angela
On August 9, Philadelphia (PA) Praise Center (PPC) gathered for its first English Service, welcoming approximately 30 people to worship together in the Upper Hall of the PAX Center. The new service will continue on the 2nd and 4th Sundays of each month at 9:30 a.m., alongside PPC’s Indonesian first service, which worships in the Main Sanctuary of the PAX Center.
The English Service is not an effort to create something separate from PPC. It grew out of a need already present within the church community.
For many years, PPC has welcomed English speakers into its Indonesian service through Indonesian-to-English interpretation. On some fifth Sundays, PPC has also invited an English-speaking preacher. But as the church grew, English-speaking members—mostly second-generation Indonesians who grew up in the United States—expressed a desire for a space to worship and gather in English.
So, they began by listening.
Senior Pastor Aldo Siahaan and myself, as Associate Pastor, surveyed English speakers who were already attending PPC to hear what they hoped Sunday worship could look like. A recurring theme in the responses was that they wanted the familiar worship experience of PPC—the same spirit, songs, and format—but in a service conducted fully in English.
That listening process eventually led to the new English service, which I will lead and organize.
The first gathering included worship, a message, and a time of fellowship over breakfast. The congregation also took time to pray over Mosaic Ambassador Josiah Yoder as he completed his ministry at PPC.
The English Service creates a new space for deeper relationships among English-speaking members, and it remains firmly part of PPC Family. PPC continues to encourage everyone to participate in the broader church community, including through interpretation on the 1st, 3rd, and 5th Sundays and fellowship at PAX Café after worship.
For PPC, the English Service is one way the church is responding to what God is already doing within our community. Anyone is welcome to join the English Service on the 2nd and 4th Sundays at 9:30 a.m. in the Upper Hall of the PAX Center.
Cindy Angela
Cindy Angela is Director of Communication for Mosaic Conference. She is also an Associate Pastor at Philadelphia (PA) Praise Center.
Mosaic values two-way communication and encourages our constituents to respond with feedback, questions, or encouragement. To share your thoughts or send a message to the author, contact her at cangela@mosaicmennonites.org.
The opinions expressed in articles posted on Mosaic’s website are those of the author and may not reflect the official policy of Mosaic Conference. Mosaic is a large conference, crossing ethnicities, geographies, generations, theologies, and politics. Each person can only speak for themselves; no one can represent “the conference.” May God give us the grace to hear what the Spirit is speaking to us through people with whom we disagree and the humility and courage to love one another even when those disagreements can’t be bridged.