Cultural Diversity

Birgitta Johnson on Praise and 91ÁÔÆæ Music

Praise and worship music can lift worshipers¡¯ hearts to God and unite people across culture, religious tradition, and background. But the genre is not meant to be the only kind of music in a congregation¡¯s repertoire.

January 7, 2019 | 7 min read
Birgitta Johnson on New African American Ecumenical Hymnal

One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism is a new Protestant hymnal compiled by a core committee of worship arts ministers and scholars. It goes deep and wide into the multiple streams of black Christian music and worship.

January 7, 2019 | 6 min read
Rosa C¨¢ndida Ram¨ªrez y Analisse Reyes comentan sobre cantar coritos

Cantar coritos - cantos breves - en espa?ol e ingl¨¦s en el culto ofrece hospitalidad y facilita que la congregaci¨®n aprenda nuevos conceptos sobre qui¨¦n es Dios.

December 4, 2018 | 8 min read

Duane Kelderman on the Challenge of Preaching in a Fragile Europe

A Dominican preaching colloquium addresses the challenge of preaching in contemporary Europe, where secularism, individualism, and a lack of cultural consensus have given rise to fear, division, and xenophobia.

November 16, 2018 | 7 min read
Four Types of Advent and Christmas Eve Services: Which Have You Tried?

Experimenting with a different Advent or Christmas Eve worship format may help worshipers connect with the joy and wonder of Christ¡¯s birth. Blue Christmas, Christmas pageants, Las Posadas, or lessons and carols make room for emotions, movement, culture, and people¡¯s gifts.

November 15, 2018 | 11 min read
Rosa C¨¢ndida Ram¨ªrez and Analisse Reyes on Singing Coritos

Singing coritos {short songs} in Spanish and English is hospitable in worship. It also opens up worshipers to new understandings of God.

October 23, 2018 | 7 min read

The Role of a Peer Learning Group in My Preaching Journey

God¡¯s message of inclusiveness reaches past the walls that divide us, says Deborah Jungmi Kang, a Korean pastor serving a largely Anglo-American church in Illinois. As Kang develops her preaching voice, a peer learning group provides support.

October 2, 2018 | 4 min read
Emmett G. Price III on Studying Black Christian Experience

¡°If we don¡¯t see each other in the Bible, we get stuck in social perplexities that cause us to not be a good witness,¡± says Emmett G. Price III.

September 25, 2018 | 6 min read

Emmett G. Price III on Racial Reconciliation Resources for Congregations

Learning about diversity among Christians is a good way to embrace the ministry of reconciliation entrusted to us by God.

September 25, 2018 | 5 min read