Saturday, November 14, 1998

A multi-ethnic church celebrates diversity

By TOM KISKEN

Scripps Howard News Service

OXNARD, Calif. -- The congregation sang in a multilingual chorus, some using the Philippine language of Tagalog, others relying on Japanese, Spanish or English.

The melody was cultural unity.

The first weekend in October brought Rainbow Sunday to St. Paul's United Methodist Church in Oxnard. It's a day when the church celebrates all its hues and voices.

Bible verses were read in four languages. Men and women in Japanese costumes beat on barrel-shaped drums in an ancient art called taiko. Congregants ate from a buffet of collard greens, Japanese rice and the Philippine dish, chicken adobo.

Marilynne Parker, a church member who helped coordinate the event, wore an African print scarf and a necklace from the Philippines. Rainbow Sunday, she said, is about learning.

"The more you have up here," she said, gesturing to her head, "the more open you are to differences. You're ready to be more accepting."

It's not always that way in churches, where congregations often are defined by their heritage, as in Korean Presbyterian or Chinese Christian. In churches where services are conducted in more than one language, the different congregations sometimes stay separate.

People naturally "want to stay the same," said Evelyn Soto, multilingual program leader for the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America. Part of her job is to help change the perception of Lutheran churches as being mostly white. "It's always a threat to have something different than what you've known."

Some say the trend is changing and point to services where an interpreter translates English to Spanish as well as Anglo churches that are reaching out to minority communities.

And they point to St. Paul's and Rainbow Sunday.

St. Paul's leaders pride themselves on cultural diversity. The sanctuary hosts Spanish and Japanese language services on Sundays. A Korean Presbyterian and Philippine United Church of Christ congregation also hold their services at St. Paul's, meaning the sanctuary hosts five languages each week.

Rainbow Sunday is sort of an exclamation point that brings the congregants to one service. Many of the people dressed for the occasion, in kimonos or shirts bearing African designs.

The taiko drum group from a United Methodist Church in Los Angeles wore purple bandannas and matching coats. They danced and chanted while beating out ancient rhythms.

Buddhists use the drums to represent the voice of Buddha, said Brian Kurushima, a computer technician from Los Angeles. It's a newer art form for Japanese Christian congregations and used more for effect than religious meaning.

After the drums, church members deliver greetings to congregants in different languages. The presentations are a way of making all church members feel at home, said the Rev. Al Gorsline. It helps Anglos understand how people who speak a different language feel when they're at an event conducted in a tongue they don't understand.

In a fellowship hall, Rainbow Sunday committee members prepared a multicultural feast on tables decorated with centerpieces featuring paper cut-out hands in different colors.

The display, like the day, symbolizes people coming together.

"If you just stay in your own group, you're isolated," said Parker, the kindergarten teacher who helped piece Rainbow Sunday together. "They don't take the time to learn about each other."

(Tom Kisken writes for the Ventura County Star in California.)