COMING THIS SUMMER: A four-week resource to support churches to be joyfully intercultural!
Birmingham is a vibrant multi-cultural city with a young dynamic population. Although the population is second in size to London, Birmingham is more ethnically and culturally diverse than the capital.
As a result, what it means to be a Christ-centred, outward-facing community of believers that welcomes everyone, is central to our mission in the city.
This summer a resource written by two national intercultural thinkers, Harvey Kwiyani and Nigel Rooms, will be launched. It is called "Two-Way Street" and aims to help every church that takes part to become more intercultural.
They write that, "Intercultural Church is where everyone is changed by the encounter in worship and mission across cultures, while still retaining their own identity and culture."
Harvey Kwiyani (one of the authors of these materials) describes what the “Two-way Street” looks like in his book Multicultural Kingdom;
“God is building a kingdom in which people of many national, tribal, or linguistic identities belong together. It is not a monocultural kingdom: all cultures are invited and all cultures are needed. It is not a monoracial kingdom: all races are welcome. It is not a colour-blind kingdom. It does not see one human race but sees us all as who we really are: Africans, Asians, Europeans, everybody” (2020:5).
The resource includes videos of local churches who have made steps to being more intercultural, and key thinkers sharing their ideas. It involves a meal, lots of discussion, dwelling in the Word, and the opportunity to let everyone know we are intercultural and proud of it! It will be launched at the Bishop's study day in June.
As Christians we look to be the most joyfully diverse and just communities on the planet. This requires culture change. This resource aims for that to happen, as does our training in Unconcious Bias & Inclusion through the Pathways training resource.
If you have any questions, please email Guy Donegan-Cross.