Engage 2016 Seeks to Break Down Racial Barriers

May 4, 2016

The second  in a series of Gatherings sponsored by the Christian Reformed Church, to celebrate and affirm the ministry of the CRC and its people, takes place from June 8-10 at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich.

The first event, the “Canadian Gathering 2016,” is set for May 6-8 in Waterloo, Ontario.

Each of the Gatherings will highlight a particular aspect of the church’s identity and work as a body representing Reformed Christians. A Gathering later this year is proposed on the East Coast of the U.S., and another may convene early next year on the West Coast of the U.S.

Titled “Engage 2016: A Multiethnic Gathering,” the Grand Rapids event in June comes with the tagline “Building bridges of unity in diversity.”

“I hope that this multiethnic conference will engage people of many different ethnic backgrounds,” said Rev. Mark Stephenson, director of the Disability Concerns office and a coordinator of the event.

Rev. Esteban Lugo, director of the Office of Race Relations, is also a coordinator of the event.

“We are hoping for 250 to 300 people, including Christian Reformed members, pastors and others in a variety of roles in church leadership, to attend the Gathering,” said Stephenson.

“Engage 2016” will feature worship, workshops, a chance for participants to interact with one another, and keynote addresses by Christena Cleveland and Anthony Carter, said Stephenson.

Cleveland, a social psychologist, is an associate professor of the practice of reconciliation at Duke University’s Divinity School. She is author of Disunity in Christ: Uncovering the Hidden Forces that Keep Us Apart. Her keynote address, in which she will integrate theology and social psychology research, is titled “Give Me Unity or Give Me Death: A Practical Theology for Diversity in the Church.”

Carter is the lead pastor at East Point Church in East Point, Ga., and the author of many books, including Being Black and Reformed: A New Perspective on the African-American Christian Experience and Blood Work: How the Blood of Christ Accomplishes Our Salvation.

Here are the workshops that have been scheduled so far:

  • Becoming More Hospitable in a Diverse World
  • Better Together: (Part 1) Overcoming Barriers to Unity and (Part 2) Building Bridges to Unity
  • Bridges or Barriers to Racial Reconciliation
  • The Changing Face of Reformed Worship
  • Creation, Evolution, Design, and Human Origins
  • Raising Kingdom Kids
  • Redeeming Radicalized Identities
  • Engaging the Building Blocks of Faith
  • Leading and Practicing Reconciliation on a Multicultural Preaching Team

Stephenson added, “While CRC people and churches have made progress in growing into our vision as God's diverse and unified family, we still have a ways to go.”

Besides being a celebration, he said, the Gathering in June will seek to challenge those who attend to consider their own attitudes toward people who have a different ethnic identity from their own.

“For example, we will invite the public to join us for our worship services,” said Stephenson.

Wednesday evening's worship will focus especially on themes of confession and lament for sins of rejection and racism, and Thursday morning's worship will focus on healing and painting a vision of shalom (“the mountaintop,” to use Dr. King's image). Thursday evening will be a celebration of the people God is making us into (Rev. 7), he said.

“I hope that many church leaders, staff, and volunteers will leave this gathering inspired with a vision for the church that engages people of many different ethnic backgrounds, and more motivated to work for that vision in their own churches and communities,” said Stephenson.

Here's a link to all the information needed about the event, for which registrations ends on Friday, May 20.

Here's a link to an article about “Engage 2016” by Michelle Loyd-Paige.

Chris Meehan