A young woman was getting a large order that included two Box O'Joe containers filled with coffee. An old man sat reading the newspaper. There was a steady stream of customers inside, and cars at the Drive-Thru wound around the building. I ordered a large coffee and waffle sandwich with bacon and egg. Then I sat at a table in the corner, watching people.
Eight employees were working behind the counter, four men and four women. None of them were teenagers -- they all appeared to be between 25 and 40. All of them were lean and attractive, neatly dressed, pleasant and courteous. Four wore headsets.
Only one one young man appeared to be a white American. Three of them (two men and a woman) were Pakistani or Indian. I assumed they might have been related to the owner of the restaurant, since many Dunkin Donuts in our area are owned by Pakistanis or Indians. Two of the young women were ethnically Mexican or Central or South American. Another appeared to be Chinese. The fourth young man was African-American. (My apologies if I have been racially insensitive in this paragraph.)
I marveled at the racial diversity. Everyone seemed upbeat and happy, the women conversing with one another when they had a few moments, smiling and laughing.
The scene says much about life in Frederick, Maryland in 2010. Many other restaurants and businesses would provide similar scenes. We're pretty diverse here. My next-door neighbors are from Sierra Leone and Mexico.
Does the Church reflect this diversity? Well, yes and no.
Our county is home to about 300 churches, and we identify many of them by race or culture -- white, African-American, Korean, Chinese, Mexican, Salvadoran, Burmese, Haitian, etc.
But it is doubtful if more than a handful of local churches are racially integrated (that is, having 20% of their attenders coming from a minority group.) One of the local Catholic parishes comes to mind as a place of significant racial diversity. And one of our large Pentecostal churches is a model of racial integration, with a staff of black and white pastors .
We might all welcome individuals and families of other races into our fellowships, but many of us seem more comfortable with those who are racially and culturally "like us".
Have you seen the bumper stickers that say, "Welcome to USA. Now Learn English"? I wonder if the drivers of those vehicles identify themselves as Christians. I wonder if their immigrant ancestors were welcomed to these shores by American Indians insisting that they learn Iroquois or Huron or Cree.
What does it say about us that our schools and workplaces are racially integrated while most of our Christian churches are not?
Earth is a place of beautiful ethnic diversity. Increasingly, we live in a global village, and the nations of the world are coming to North America.
I want to befriend and worship and work with persons of many races, languages, and cultures. There are joys that we miss by our de facto segregation.
Ethnic diversity is a great start, but what is the limit of our human ability to be diverse? Human nature is a strong force. Put a group of random people in a room and they tend to self-sort over time into smaller groups with similarities. The whole adage "birds of a feather flock together" holds true. Often, when we meet people for the first time, we ask one another a series of questions in an effort to learn about them, yes, but also to establish common ground. We find it a lot more comfortable to be in the presence of like-minds. Diversity is an admirable goal, and one we should definitely aim for. Even when fully diverse and integrated, groups will continue to self-sift into sub-groups based on religious beliefs, vocation, ideology, etc. Instead of four white guys having dinner at the club, the new diverse group will consist of a WASP man, Arab woman, Hindu man and an Eastern European transvestite. Even with all that diversity, the group will not likely continue meeting with one another unless they share some strong common ground. If this is the case, does it mean that we are truly incapable of complete diversity? Can a white conservative Christian factory worker, Asian Buddhist PhD, Hispanic Catholic retail clerk and black Muslim nuclear physicist form a lasting friendship?
ReplyDeleteGood questions, Bonnie. But for those loving Jesus and fully devoted to Him, the bond of family should be extremely strong across racial and cultural lines.
ReplyDeleteThe language barrier is a significant one (as I was just reminded in Guatemala), but, barring that, I find myself having more in common with certain Guatemalan, Nicaraguan and Asian Indian believers than with many Frederick County natives.
Thank you so much for reading and commenting! I'm looking for ways to increase readership, and may begin posting on the Frederick News-Post website as well. Have a wonderful week!
I just don't know how you create ethnic diversity. You can want it, and strive for it, but how do you actually make it happen? Especially if you're a mainstream Protestant church in a predominantly white part of the city? What can you offer that will make someone go outside of their comfort zone, culturally and geographically, and come to your worship service? And what is the ultimate goal? To better serve the people in your congregation, to beter serve God, or to feel better about yourself because your church is ethnically diverse? Friendships like the ones you saw modeled at Dunkin' Donuts are borne of common experience; how is that going to happen at most churches? Our last church in DC had the same goal, and was in a predominantly black neighborhoood; the ethnic mix of the congregation, as a deacon put it, "probably seems diverse if you're white, but doesn't seem very diverse if you're not." If that church couldn't do it, in a large metropolitan area with a huge African-American population and with a pastor who had a real heart for church integration, how do you do it in Frederick?
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