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Solidarity and Harmony

Youth Share about Racial Discrimination: Essay Contest Winners Announced

April 14, 2021 by Cindy Angela

Having 20/20 vision is the best vision someone may have.  But during 2020, people around the world had seen so much that they began to question their clear vision: brutality, negligence, discrimination, xenophobia, division, children in cages, and the killing of black men on video. We also witnessed beautiful scenes of whites and Blacks marching together, chanting “Black Lives Matter.” That was very hopeful for many. 

My 11 year-old son disagreed with the slogan, “Black Lives Matter,” asking me, “If people think it’s only Black lives that matter, what about the lives of your white friends, Daddy?”  That interrogation triggered my thinking process. I gathered my friends from Solidarity Christian Community Development Association (SCCDA) to brainstorm around my son’s question.

SCCDA is a not-for-profit organization that exists to bring hope to people in despair through advocacy, immigration support, scholarships, and direct assistance.  In our work, we discover a virus more dreadful than COVID-19. It is hate, discrimination, xenophobia, and bias. No one is exempt. Love is proven to be the only antidote. Yet, love can be a long process. 

In partnership with Mosaic Conference, SCCDA organized a Racial Discrimination Essay Contest, with cash prizes, to offer young people across the Conference a platform to freely express their experiences with racial discrimination in a safe environment. There were submissions from the Asian community, the Black community, and the Hispanic community. One bi-racial person shared her experiences of racial discrimination.  

The judges were electrified by the content, courage, and resiliency of the essayists.  Brilliantly the young people shared their experiences with racial discrimination in a way that elevated the spirit of the judges and made their choices difficult.  The participants wrote maturely of how they see themselves in light of the attacks directed toward them because of their origin, language, and skin colors. They are also observing who will support them and whom to trust.  

Syerafina Himawan was the first price winner of the essay contest. 
Lisa Noel was the 2nd place winner of the essay contest.
Victoria Noel was the 3rd place winner of the essay contest.
Chanelle Arias (left) was the 4th place winner of the essay contest.
Faith Davis (left) was the 5th place winner of the essay contest.

The winners of the Racial Discrimination Contest are: 

  • 1st place ($1,000 prize): Syerafina Himawan from Philadelphia Praise Center 
  • 2nd place ($600 prize): Lisa Noel from Haitian New Testament Church (Philadelphia, PA) 
  • 3rd place ($400 prize): Victoria Noel from First Haitian Baptist Church (Philadelphia, PA)
  • 4th place ($200 prize): Chanelle Zorilla Arias from Centro de Alabanza (Philadelphia, PA)
  • 5th Place ($200 prize): Faith Davis from Nueva Vida Norristown (PA) New Life

The judges were ChiChi Oguekwe, MCC Program Coordinator of Philadelphia, Professor Jill Petty from Chicago, IL, Karen Lyon, a retired teacher from Doylestown, PA and Pastor Bernard Sejour. 

Our takeaway from the contest was clear: Our young people are silently facing racism in schools. They are being influenced by peers; they are so afraid of being different that they accept stereotypes and bullies as if they were normal. Sometimes they can be ashamed of their own heritage in order to embrace the one of the majority. This identity crisis is very present among adolescent immigrants. We hope to continue this contest and these crucial conversations. 

SCCDA believes that it is about time for the church to really represent the historical Jesus. In Him we find the Loving Father, the Compassionate Savior, and the Kind Comforter. We have a hard time understanding the white Jesus that many churches are offering. We are not sure he understands the outsiders’ accents. Should we still sing together in harmony the song that is entitled “Strangers No More?”

Read the Powerful First Place Essay:

“That year was the first time I participated in International Day; I wore my batik clothes for the first time in years. After suppressing my cultural identity for years and idolizing the need to become like my friends, I started to become more proud of being Indonesian.”

– Syerafina Himawan

read now

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: SCCDA, Solidarity and Harmony

Congregational Profile: Solidarity and Harmony Church

July 7, 2020 by Conference Office

by Sue Conrad Howes, Mosaic Communication Associate

Members and friends of Solidarity & Harmony Church, including Pastor Bernard Séjour (third from left) and the late Fred Kauffman (center), gather after worship. Photo credit: Bernard Séjour

Pastor Bernard Séjour grew up in Haiti. While he was studying at Hesston (KS) College, he and his family attended a Mennonite church in the South Central Conference. His family were the only people of color in the congregation. Despite the cultural differences, Séjour felt comfortable in this church. He reflects, “They didn’t necessarily call you “brother and sister” but I was treated as such.” As a result, Séjour felt the need to go back to the Haitian community to show them this new way of loving.

In 2009, he felt called by God to go Philadelphia and work with the Haitian community. Séjour did not necessarily intend to lead or plant a church, but merely to bring another perspective on how to do church. “When I visited Haitian churches in Philadelphia, I knew it would be difficult for me as an ‘outsider’ to make change where change needed to be.” 

For Séjour to pass along what he had learned in Kansas from the Mennonites, he started a Bible Study in a friend’s basement. “I learned from the Mennonites, whenever there is a meeting, there is also eating. So whenever we gathered, we started eating together … to open minds, to create relationships, to study the Bible,” recalls Séjour.  Soon the group began to ask, as they read the Bible, “If Jesus were Haitian, what would Jesus do?” And, Séjour, says, “We let the Bible speak.”

The group spent time getting to know each other, reading the Bible, and reaching out to others.  Soon they moved from the small basement to another member’s larger living room. Eventually, the group outgrew any of their homes and decided to rent a gathering place. 

As the Bible study began to grow, Séjour suggested the movement have a name: “Solidarity & Harmony.” The name was suggested, according to Séjour, because this is the mission of being church, and “this isn’t happening in the Haitian churches …. We need to help each other because we are community and family.”  

Through a connection from Hesston, KS, Séjour met Fred Kauffman, who worked for Mennonite Central Committee (MCC). Kauffman was instrumental in helping Séjour and the church get connected to Eastern District Conference and feeling like a congregation. In fact, Kauffman became Séjour’s “right hand,” not only helping him with church life, but also preaching once a month and being a wonderful friend. Sadly, Kauffman died in December 2019, leaving a significant legacy that the church desires to pass along.

During a typical worship service at Solidarity & Harmony, many languages are used because “God speaks all languages.” Songs are sung in English, Creole, and French. The children’s sermon is given in English. If there are guests, the rest of the service, including the sermon, will continue in English and French. If everyone present is Haitian, then they proceed using Haitian Creole.

Currently the congregation size is between 30-40, but immigrant churches fluctuate greatly, depending on the political situation, the economy, and where the work is.  When members move away to follow work or for other reasons, Séjour works hard to keep them connected through social media groups.

Pastor Séjour and the congregation have a deep desire to celebrate God’s love with all people. “We are a loving people,” he explains. “Get to know someone else before you judge.  Haiti is known for poverty, but do not discriminate against us because we are Haitian. We would like your love, not your money.”

Join with others to pray for these specific requests from the Solidarity & Harmony congregation:

  • For better understanding of discrimination in our personal lives and in our world. Discrimination is not something God wants in the church. Pray for those who are discriminated against and for all those who discriminate.
  • For God to continue to be God to all people.

Filed Under: Congregational Profiles Tagged With: Bernard Sejour, Solidarity and Harmony

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