Becoming the Future Church

Submitted by Paul Hartge on November 3, 2010

In January, I saw Rev. Dr. Soong-Chan Rah speak at Calvin College, my alma matter, as part of our J-term lecture series. He suggested that the concern over the dwindling church in America is misguided and that Christianity in America has a vibrant future, with ethnic and immigrant churches. I think Professor Rah is right, which is why I am excited about the work that I am doing with Christ Church in Waltham and St. Peter’s Anglican Church of Uganda, in Waltham.

Christ Church is a beautiful Episcopal Church and congregation that has been around for 160 years. St. Peter’s is a Ugandan immigrant congregation that meets at Christ Church on Sunday afternoons. My job is to facilitate more fellowship between Christ Church and St. Peter’s. By bringing these two congregations together, they can both represent what the church can look like in an increasingly globalized world.

This goal will not come without difficulties of course. Even though everyone at St. Peter’s speaks English, they have their service in Lugandan. Also, their parishioners come from a wide, twenty mile radius, so many can only make it to Waltham for Sunday service. There are also, of course, the cultural and theological differences between the two congregations that can at times create tension.

We can overcome these difficulties though. In September, the two congregations had a joint potluck. I will admit no one was quite sure how it would turn out until it actually happened. The lunch, however, was quite successful. Both the Americans and the Ugandans enjoyed trying each other’s food. We also sang “What a Friend I have in Jesus” in both English and Ugandan. We are now looking forward to having an Advent party together and doing a joint Bible study. I am also hearing from members of each congregation that they are interested in learning about the other’s culture. In their own way, Christ Church and St. Peter’s are becoming the future of the Church.