California is certainly a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural state. A
visit to a shopping mall, movie theater or public school confirms
this fact. But Sunday mornings are quite the opposite
– still the most segregated time of the week.
California is certainly a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural state. A visit to a shopping mall, movie theater or public school confirms this fact. But Sunday mornings are quite the opposite – still the most segregated time of the week.
Most religious congregations tend to be pretty homogenous. Through tradition or historical accident, most churches, temples, mosques and synagogues seem to lack the diversity of their local communities’ population.
South County Christians are invited to a workshop next weekend focusing on the lack of diversity. “Intersections: Relationships without Walls,” a cultural awareness in ministry workshop, will be offered twice: once Friday evening and again on Saturday morning at the Morgan Hill Bible Church, 15055 Monterey Road in Morgan Hill.
The workshop’s goal is “equipping Christians who are passionate about being salt and light in our communities.” It will teach skills to participants that allow them to “reach people of diverse cultures with the Gospel of Jesus Christ” and to “live missionally in their communities.”
Guest facilitator for the event will be Gail E. Dudly, Stonecroft Cross-Cultural Ministry Director, a certified diversity trainer since 1994. She received her diversity training from the Points of Light Foundation and her diversity trainer certification from the National Multi-Cultural Institute. Dudly has served on diversity panels with such well-known figures as the late attorney Johnnie Cochran and ABC News correspondent Lynn Sherr.
Dudly will offer many creative, biblical suggestions for bridging the cultural divide. Participants will “develop awareness, knowledge and skills to respect different cultural values, beliefs, traditions, customs and norms.”
The training sessions will be “friendly, safe and respectful,” without any hint of the discomfort or confrontation people sometimes expect when the topic of diversity arises.
Teresa Sharp, Regional Administrator of Stonecroft Ministries and organizer of this workshop, invites anyone in South County to attend who wants to meet the ministry needs of our area’s diverse population.
“It made us address our own preconceptions and challenged us to move outside our comfort zone to become bold witnesses for the Lord to bring people who are different from us into God’s Kingdom,” a previous participant of a workshop said.
Stonecroft Ministries started humbly. Helen Duff Baugh lived in San Jose in 1938 and was married to a banker.
Her husband told her about an employee who was struggling with her life because of the recent loss of her mother. They decided to invite her and some other women from the bank to a dinner where Helen “talked about heaven and how to get there.” At the end of the evening, several of the women asked if they could get together again the next week and continue their discussion.
That was the beginning of the Stonecroft Ministries Outreach meetings. Now women meet together in 67 countries around the world to hear the good news of the Gospel in a clear and appealing way.
Stonecroft Ministries has its International Headquarters in Kansas City, Mo., and has a staff of nearly 100. Among the programs offered by the organization are Women’s Connection (formerly called Christian Women’s Clubs), After 5s, Moms on the Run and Stonecroft Couples Clubs.
An especially important aspect of this ministry is Stonecroft Bible Studies where people of different backgrounds can feel accepted and comfortable in a small group study, even if they have never opened a Bible before. These sessions are informal, non-denominational, practical weekly meetings designed for people of all ages. They are an hour long and run from four to 14 weeks.
To learn more about this workshop or reserve a space at lunch, contact Sharp at (408) 472-1234 or te**********@ya***.com or go to www.stonecroftministries.org.
Cultural awareness workshops
– Oct. 2: Registration is at 6:30 p.m., instruction is from 7-9 p.m. The cost is $5 to cover refreshments.
– Oct. 3: Registration is at 9:30 a.m., instruction is from 9:45-11:45 a.m. The cost is $5, plus $10 if optional lunch is purchased. This session will repeat some information of the previous one, with additional facts about the ministry sponsoring this event.
– Oct. 3: From 12:45-3 p.m., Trina Pockett, field director of Stonecroft Ministries for Northern California, Oregon and Nevada, will present new resources provided by Stonecroft Ministries including “10 Smart Things,” “Pray and Play” and Bible studies. There is no charge.
