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Intercultural

“Christians are strangers and aliens within all cultures. Yet the church itself is God’s nation, encompassing people who have come from every tribe and nation. Indeed, its mission is to reconcile differing groups, creating one new humanity and providing a preview of that day when all the nations shall stream to the mountain of the Lord and be at peace.”

-excerpt from Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective, Article 10

Intercultural Team

  • Marta Castillo
  • Jaye Lindo
  • Danilo Sanchez
  • Hendy Matahelemual

Mosaic Mennonite Conference is committed to being a church that goes beyond surface-level diversity toward true racial justice for all people. While our world’s economic and governmental systems present differences among us as threats to be eradicated, we aim to develop multicultural communities of faith that show our broken world a new way of living.

We do not do this by pretending all people are exactly the same.  We acknowledge, own, and celebrate our cultural differences, allowing ourselves to be changed by the relationships we build across cultures.

  • What is “Intercultural”?
  • Intercultural Resources
  • Stories

In 2012, the board of our Conference committed to developing intercultural relationships among communities of faith. Our conference has defined intercultural as

“…living out the mission of God across the cultural, racial, economic, ethnic, and national boundaries that tend to divide and stereotype people, toward the goal of being one reconciled people who are transformed by our relationships as we experience now the vision of Revelation 7:9-12.”

This certainly means we purposely bring people of different cultures and ethnicities alongside one another. We, however, are committed to something deeper than that. We strive for more than just a distant appreciation of one another, or other cultures accommodating to the dominant white culture. An “intercultural” commitment means we nurture “a deep understanding and respect for all cultures.” This means deep relationships, even if this means uncomfortable conversations, where “no one is left unchanged because everyone learns from one another and grows together” (Spring Institute).

What steps are we taking to begin to live out our intercultural commitment?

We are assessing current relationships and communities that have potential to move in an intercultural direction. We are committed to building strong relationships among ministries and congregations generally, strengthening our bonds and our ability to change. We are striving to make sure any cross-cultural relationship-building happens with mutual respect rather than one culture dominant over the other. We have developed an Intercultural Team with two dedicated staff that will help incorporate the conference board rep into the Intercultural team. This work is not easy, nor should it be. With God’s help, we can strive for a more just future for all of us.

Books

  • Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes: Removing Cultural Blinders to Better Understand the Bible by E. Randolph Richards, Brandon J. O’Brien
  • Intercultural Church – A Biblical Vision for an Age of Migration by Safwat Marsouk
  • Intercultural Ministry – Hope for a Changing World  Edited by Grace Ji-Sun Kim and Jann Aldredge-Clanton
  • Dancing with God by Karen Baker-Fletcher
  • Cultural Intelligence by David Livermore
  • White Fragility. Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk about Racism by Robin DiAngelo
  • Anxious to Talk About It – Helping White Christians Talk Faithfully about Racism by Carolyn Heisel
  • Practice Showing Up: A Practice Guide for White People Working for Racial Justice by Jardana Peacock

Articles

  • White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo
  • Dear White Jesus: I’m Breaking Up with You by Dr. Joan Nicole
  • What is Internalized Racism? by Donna K. Bivens
  • Learning Together: PLAN Stories Of Change 2013
  • 10 Ways to Practice Institutional Racism at Your Non-profit Organization by Korbett Mosesly
  • Stop Talking About Racial Reconciliation and Start Talking About White Supremacy by Erna Kim Hackett
  • White Privilege, Fragility and Vulnerability by Liliana Delman
  • White Supremacy Culture by Kenneth Jones and Tema Okun

Videos 

  • Intercultural Competence and Faith Formation
  • “Where are you REALLY from?” Decoded
  • Doctrine of Discovery – in the name of Christ

Podcasts

  • The Element of Inclusion hosted by Dr. Jonathon Ashong-Lamptey

Websites

  • Race Forward
  • Dismantling the Doctrine of Discovery: a movement of Anabaptist People of Faith

Trainings

  • Damascus Road Antiracism Training, Roots of Justice
  • Loss of Turtle Island – Dismantling the Doctrine of Discovery, Indigineous Vision Center,  Mennonite Central Committee Central States
  • Intercultural Development Inventory

Introducing the New Intercultural Committee

We have this intercultural priority: “As human beings made in the image of God, we acknowledge, own, and celebrate our cultural differences, allowing ourselves to be changed by the relationships we build across cultures while we work together for racial justice.”

What is Your Flag?

I believe the blood of Jesus is one “spiritual” flag that can unite us.

What Can We Do?

“If the virus didn’t kill them, hunger would kill them. It was important for the church to ask itself how to help and find ways to do it.”

A Village Boy was Chosen

It sounds like I should already be retired by now but God still gives me the grace to be part of His story.

COVID-19 News & Updates

Resources, information, articles and updates during the COVID-19 crisis.

Waiting for Heaven’s “Green Card”

… my identity is as a citizen of heaven, and every believer in every nation is a co-worker, without being limited by national and political identity.

Finding the God of Justice: My Spiritual Journey

At the tender age of 22, I found myself ushered into a version of the gospel I still find appealing.

Steve Kriss
Through the Valley of Shadows

I am committed to ongoing accompaniment and advocacy for the Asian American members and communities across our Conference: the peace of our land is dependent on the recognition of God’s imprint on each person. 

Let’s Worship Together!

In intercultural worship, we learn to choose to continue to worship God in the styles and languages of others. 

Refleksi aktif / Reflection on Renewing Nations and Generations

… kita percaya dengan komitmen, tekad dan kerjasama kita semua bisa menghilangkan rasisme, dan menjadikan perbedaan sebagai sebuah kekayaan yang bisa gunakan bersama-sama untuk saling bertransformasi menjadi ciptaan baru / … we believe that our commitment, determination and cooperation can eliminate racism, and make diversity a treasure that can be used to transform each other into new creations.

This post is also available in: 繁體中文 (Traditional Chinese) Việt Nam (Vietnamese) Español (Spanish) Indonesia (Indonesian) Kreol ayisyen (Creole)

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