Multicultural

It started in May 2024 with an email from Pastor Adam Gless, a former student of Kent’s, inviting us “to come and visit Salem,” in order to provide “material for your research and presentation.” Pastors Gless and Martin, who serve at a bilingual congregation, had heard that Kent and I were giving a plenary address at the Multi-Ethnic Symposium at Concordia Seminary. And so, we came; we traveled to Springdale, Arkansas in February 2025, and as I wrote in a previous post, “During our four-day visit we worshipped with the congregation; broke bread with congregational members; attended Bible studies and faith formation gatherings for adults and for youth and their parents; and interviewed a variety of members” and heard from everyone about their wonderful “Festival of Nations” event. We incorporated this rich material into our presentation at the Symposium.

Two weeks ago, we returned to Salem Lutheran congregation, and wearing the hats of “church consultants,” we reported to various groups in the congregation about their strengths and areas for growth: to the congregational leaders and Anglo people we had interviewed; to the Sunday morning Bible class; and to Hispanic congregational members (with Pastor Brandon serving as translator). Because only the summary of our full report was translated into Spanish, we asked Pastor Brandon to translate the conclusion from the report. Here’s what he read:

 Each interview closed with the question, “Is there anything else you’d like us to know?” One woman responded, “Thank you for coming and helping us to be a better church.” We are confident that, by the power of the Holy Spirit, Salem congregation can become “a better church,” by building on the solid foundation you currently have. A long-time member who has served in a leadership role in the last decade said of past challenges, “We prayed our way through it all; God has blessed us.” And like Abraham, who was blessed by God to be a blessing to “all the families of the earth” (Gen 12:3), Salem congregation is a blessing to the strangers and sojourners in your community. This excerpt from Pastor Martin’s sermon from November 17, 2024, testifies to the blessing you are to your Hispanic members.

Since the election, I have met with many of our Hispanic members.  And you should know, many of these brothers and sisters in Christ are struggling!  Some are overwhelmed with fear. Others live with a heavy anxiety about the increased hatred in our nation. Our president-elect has vowed to deport them, or their hard-working family members, on his first day in office. His rhetoric implies most immigrants are criminals and incites suspicion and hatred toward them. This has only increased the fear, anxiety, and suffering of our own church members.

But one couple told me this: “When we are tempted to believe that all North Americans hate us, and when fear begins to overwhelm us . . . we remember our church.  Here is our family of faith!  Here are people that love us, even though we don’t speak English that well.  Here is a place we belong, where we feel welcome and safe.  Here we are given new strength to trust in Jesus.  We don’t know what the future holds for our family, but we know we can get through it with the support of our church.”

What a blessing Salem congregation is for all its members! Your generous spirit, your faith in Christ, your desire to serve others and be a witness of God’s love shines through in every person we interviewed. 

As Pastor Martin translated his own words from the November 2024 sermon he had preached in English to the Anglo members of Salem, tears welled up in the eyes of two women in the front row; their children, who had been playing quietly in another part of the room, suddenly appeared at their mother’s side, hearing the words and sensing their mothers’ emotional response. After he finished translating, the adults spoke in Spanish to Brandon. When asked by us to translate, he said these or similar words, “They are saying that they had no idea I shared their fears and anxiety with the Anglo members of the congregation; they are grateful that I have done so. To hear the words from this sermon is another way that Salem is for them a place where they feel welcomed and safe.” What a holy moment we shared with these faithful followers of Christ and their beloved pastor! Thanks be to God!

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On Sunday afternoon Kent and I enjoyed the food, fellowship, and festive dancing by a Colombian woman and a couple from Chile at the Festival of Nations. Here, too, we experienced holy moments as people from a myriad of cultures shared with all gathered that day culinary delights from their homelands. Gloria, one of the woman who had attended at the presentation to the Hispanic congregation the previous day, made sure Kent and I each left with a sample of her pupusas.

Photos by Rhoda Schuler, September 2025

To see more photos from the weekend, click here.