By Rev. Dick Magnus
Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
1 Peter 2:10
I love this reminder that we are the people of God, richly blessed with God’s mercy and richly gifted to be God’s hands and hearts in our world!
At the beginning of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in 1988, the church set a goal that in 10 years ten percent of the membership would be people of color and language other than English. Today we remain one of the whitest denominations in the country. So, we admittedly haven’t done as well as hoped on our goal. Why can’t we do better?
How are we doing with this goal in the Minneapolis Area Synod? Well, we have much to celebrate and much to build on.
MN Swahili Christian Congregation, sharing a building with Holy Trinity in Minneapolis, continues to do great ministry with Kenyans, Tanzanians, and other Swahili speakers from central Africa.
Christ the River of Life Lutheran has a vibrant ministry with Liberians.
Redeemer Lutheran on the Northside has a dynamic ministry with African Americans, spawning the incredible ministry of the Redeemer Center for Life.
Our Redeemer Oromo Lutheran Church shared a building for many years with Bethany Lutheran in South Minneapolis, but has had its own sanctuary for more than a decade. This congregation is deeply committed to the synod and the ELCA, and takes significant leadership within the Oromo community.
Northside Center for Leadership and Neighborhood Engagement is a new venture arising this year which seeks to assist congregations in appropriately reaching out to the diversity in their neighborhoods.
Lao Evangelical, worshipping at Elim Lutheran in Robbinsdale, reaches into the Lao community in Minnesota, a community that often doesn’t receive much attention. Lao Evangelical is seeking partner congregations.
“I hope you are excited about these ministries, claim them as your own, and look for ways to support them.”
Amazing Grace, worshipping at St. Philip Lutheran in Fridley, is a strong and growing congregation for Hmong siblings. A partner congregation would be well-received by the leaders of Amazing Grace.
St. Paul’s Lutheran on the Southside continues to reach Hispanic families along with their Anglo members. They have developed the creative La Semilla Center which has provided mosaics throughout their neighborhood.
Tapestry in Richfield continues to reach Hispanic families through English-as-second-language and Spanish classes, food ministry, and justice seeking work for Hispanics in its area and beyond.
Trinity Lutheran in Riverside enjoys a multicultural membership including Africans, especially Amharic-speking Ethiopians, and African Americans. They also have a deep relationship with a Somali Mosque in their neighborhood.
Cristo Obrero in Shakopee is creating a growing ministry in trailer parks with Latino families. They often begin with youth involvement in soccer and proceed into culturally relevant experiences of the faith.
All Nations Indian Church, a congregation in partnership with the United Church of Christ, is deeply involved in support of the church’s deep involvement with our urban American Indian population by working for health, justice and peace. Members of the congregation are significant leaders in the surrounding Indian community.
I hope I didn’t leave anyone out, but I want all members of synod congregations to know that we have good work going on. I hope you are excited about these ministries, claim them as your own, and look for ways to support them.
One of the extra ways we support several of these ministries in this time of COVID-19 and the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd, is through grants from the ELCA COVID-19 Special Appeal. Our synod has received $17,500 to help mitigate some of the losses experienced.
I believe so strongly that, along with these ministries and our siblings of color and language, we can be a force to heal divisions and more and more reflect the vision of God’s people living together in peace and love. We are God’s people richly blessed with God’s gifts of mercy, love, and grace. And yes, in the Minneapolis Area Synod we can do better than 10% people of color and language!
I know we can!