| Human
mosaic day During the month of May, churches are invited to celebrate the cultural diversity within their congregations and communities. To request a resource booklet containing hymn suggestions, Sunday School activities, sermon ideas and more, contact Sandy Ferguson at (800) 492-2525, Ext. 431. | Human Mosaic project trains churches to embrace cultural diversity By Kathryn Leight
UMConnection Correspondent 
The goal of the conference Human Mosaic Project is to enable local churches to embrace diversity. Leadership teams from 15 Baltimore-Washington Conference churches are participating in the project. The Rev. Eric Law, author and consultant on the subject of cultural diversity, is leading the first cycle of this three-month training program. Each training includes lessons compiled by Law, as well as practical activities, to apply the teaching. Each team is also expected to complete homework between trainings. It requires a lot of commitment, said the Rev. HiRho Park, chairwoman of the conference Commission on Religion and Race. According to the Rev. Teresa Oyler-Sayles, pastor of Graceland UMC in Baltimore, their community is changing from predominantly EuropeanAmerican to one that is multi-cultural. The Human Mosaic training is helping her team narrow the churchs ministry goals. Until you address the deeper issues, you still wont gain what you are looking for, Oyler-Sayles said. The crucial part of the training is to help teams decide what the concerns are and which they can realistically address in a given time frame. The process of mutual invitation, which provides everyone with an opportunity to share their ideas, is one way to address those concerns. Laws training materials explain that some people will be eager to speak, while others will be reluctant. This, he said, may be due to the distribution of power among those present. According to Law, those who have limited access to education, or are part of the lower economic class, may feel less powerful and need encouragement to share their thoughts. Those perceived as powerful are asked to respectfully give that power to others by inviting them to speak. We think we are communicating with open arms, yet we communicate barriers that we are completely unaware of, said Chuck Conjar, a member of the team from Graceland UMC. According to the Rev. Sheila McCurdy, pastor of Mt. Olive UMC, the skills are easy to learn and easy to teach. The team now plans to introduce a new concept at each church council meeting and will send the council on a training retreat in the fall. From there, they will form small groups to continue the process for change. In the meantime, team members are already taking steps to embrace their diverse community. On April 27, Mt. Olive UMC hosted a multicultural event in which eight churches in the Liberty Corridor Ecumenical Group participated. The event included special performances, games and food from various cultures. Kathy DiGrazia, a member of Mt. Olives leadership team, was involved in planning the event. We all bring different gifts. We have to explore and open up to include everybody, she said. McCurdy agreed, saying, This is a multi-cultural community. The vision of this church is to celebrate that amongst ourselves, as well as being a welcoming place for people in the community. McCurdy feels that the Human Mosaic Project training has given her team practical steps to achieving their goals of inclusiveness. The final Human Mosaic training for this cycle will be held May 18. Those churches that want to participate in the next three-month cycle, beginning this fall, should contact their district superintendent, or call Associate Council Director Sandy Ferguson, at (800) 492-2525, Ext. 431. |
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