Florida CRC to Celebrate the Nations

This Sunday, churches from across Winter Garden, Fla. will gather at Oasis Christian Reformed Church to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr.’s vision of unity for the nations.

Likely to attend are people from many different nationalities and ethnic groups, including Haitians, Koreans, Hispanics and people from various countries in Africa and Asia, says Rev. William Karshima, pastor of Oasis.

“Winter Garden is a very diverse community, and we are hoping and praying that God will use us to touch the city, to open it and its people to other cultures,” says Karshima.

They are titling this  gathering a “Celebration of the Nations.” While he says CRC congregations in Winter Garden and nearby Orlando will likely be represented, Karshima has also invited and heard from various other churches planning to attend.

“We will be celebrating God’s love for all people,” said Karshima of the service that starts at 6 p.m. “We need to be celebrating diversity instead of disagreement. There are so many good things God is doing in the world that we aren’t celebrating.”

They scheduled the event on the evening before the nation celebrates the life and legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. because King’s message was one of harmony and not discord, said Karshima.

“What they are doing with this service is right on target,” says Rev. Robert Price, ethnic leader for the urban ministries team for Christian Reformed Home Missions. Price will be the main speaker at the celebration.

“They are celebrating King and all that he did,” said Price, adding there “are people who don’t realize that King was fighting for the rights of all people.”

Price said Oasis CRC is a good example of a multi-ethnic church that is living out the message King promoted.

Oasis was founded in Orlando in the early 1960s by mainly white Christian Reformed Church members who wintered in the area and then returned home in the summer months.

The church eventually moved from Orlando to Winter Garden and started to become more ethnically diverse.

Today, says Karshima, the leader of the worship team is Brazilian; the prayer coordinator is Puerto Rican; the chair of the church council is Dutch, and Karshima himself is Nigerian. His wife is from California.

Church members come from such other countries as Guatemala, Mexico, Thailand and China.

“We don’t know how far this celebration will go. It is our first year doing this,” says Karshima. “But we know we must gather in unity around the God who loves us and bring us together.”

In Grand Rapids, Millbrook CRC will be holding a "Community Prayer Service for Racial Reconciliation" starting at 7 p.m. at Monday, Jan. 19. For more information, call 616-243-2829.