| Multilingual Church Seeks to Unite People in Faith | ||||||||||||
|
by Elliott Wright |
 |
|||||||||||
Evanston, Illinois, August 2, 2009--Emmanuel United Methodist Church, Evanston, Illinois, has housed a succession of ethnic congregations, including Scandinavian and Caribbean, since it was built in the city north of Chicago on Lake Michigan more than 110 years ago. Today it is the main worship and educational center for a vital multiethnic, multilingual church composed primarily of people of South Asian, notably Indian, heritages. It seeks to respect cultural differences and unite people in faith. Emmanuel offers worship and a range of ministries in three languages, Hindi, Gujarati, and English, and is the largest predominantly Indian United Methodist congregation in the United States. Emmanuel was selected as one of several "teaching churches" for the 2009 School of Congregational Development, held in Evanston July 29 to August 2. The choice was obvious after a group of 12 people from the school attended worship and spent several hours with the pastor and lay leaders on Sunday, August 2. Emmanuel has a great many lessons to teach about faith, hope, and love in and beyond the church. Connecting with God and Community "Our mission is to help people connect with God, to grow in faith, and live out their faith in the community," said Scort Christy, a young banker who chairs the church council. "We work to nurture children and youth to grow in Christ, and we reach out in mission to children in India." Emmanuel draws from the growing South Asian population in the Chicago metropolitan area. Average worship attendance can equal its formal membership of 215 and far surpass it on special occasions, such as Christmas and other holidays. Participants currently come from a 60-mile radius, and the long distances have led to the start of a satellite fellowship in the western suburb of Bolingbrook. "We hope the Bolingbrook ministry will become a new congregation within five years," said Mr. Christy. The pastor, the Rev. Timothy Rathod, spends a great deal of time on the road, visiting current and prospective members and leading Friday-night Bible studies, one each week in one of the four geographical areas into which his huge parish is divided. The studies meet in homes, usually include dinner, and help to facilitate the sharing of information. Each area has a volunteer coordinator. Developing lay leadership is a visible priority of Rev. Rathod. The presentation on the church's history, ministries, and vision was done by laity, notably Mr. Christy, Richard Mackwan, an engineer who is the congregation's historian, and Varsha Parmar, who explained how worship is planned and carried out. The congregation engages in active outreach to immigrants from India regardless of religious affiliation or cultural distinctions. The objective, said Mr. Christy, is to help newcomers get settled by providing hospitality and services. "We help with the paperwork involved in immigration and provide places to sleep if necessary." Linguistic Diversity Rev. Rathod has no doubt that the use of Hindi and Gujarati are major factors in making Emmanuel attractive to adults of South Asian backgrounds. On three Sundays every month, worship services are held in each language. On the first Sunday of each month, when Holy Communion is celebrated, the worship is in English, as it is on special occasions. Cultural and linguistic differences among Indian people is acknowledged and celebrated at Emmanuel. The pastor became involved in Emmanuel in 1985, while he was a student at Garrett Theological Seminary in Evanston, working with one of the language fellowships. He was appointed as the pastor in 1997. Rev. Rathod ministered for 10 years in Mumbai prior to coming to the US. His brother, the Rev. John Rathod, began a Gujarati fellowship at Emmanuel in 1976, invited to do so after he visited the church seeking support for his congregation in India. He was invited to stay; later, a second clergyman was engaged to work in the Hindi language. There is a broad age range in the present congregation. Children and teenagers are numerous, as are young adults, middle-aged couples, and grandparents. A strong family orientation is obvious yet with a warmth and openness toward strangers. Given its appreciation of diversity, the congregation welcomes all people, and it has immediate neighborhood participants who are Anglo and Caribbean. Pastor Rathod also ministers to elderly non-Indian members who are in health-care facilities in the area. Worship at Emmanuel follows a traditional Methodist liturgy, including cultural components brought from India. In the August 2 Communion Service, the most traditional English order (#IV in The United Methodist Hymnal) was followed, using some English responses and hymns and others in Hindi or Gujarati, for which Indian musical instruments, accompanied by clapping, were used. Lectionary Scripture readings were done, one each in Hindi, Gujarati, and English. Lectionary readings for each Sunday are included in a newsletter sent widely to the Indian United Methodists in the US. Emmanuel hopes to be able to become economically self-sufficient in the near future--it currently receives a subsidy from the Northern Illinois Annual Conference. Within five years, it aims at having an associate pastor, particularly to work with young people, and is praying that in that time at least one person from its ranks will enter the United Methodist ministry. Rich History, Historical Facilities Emmanuel United Methodist Church was originally a mission of the First United Methodist Church, a tall-steeple church in Evanston. It was built in 1891-92 from a design by the noted architect John Wellborn Root. The construction is in the English Parish style, or neo-Gothic, built of Lake Superior sandstone and fitted with amber windows. Original skylights and a steeple have been removed, but otherwise the building remains much as it was built, including an original 16-rank, two-manual, pneumatic-action pedal organ built by Frank Roosevelt. The musical instrument was adjusted in the 1960s but is basically as it was built, and is featured in Pipe Organs of Chicago, Volume II. The current congregation shows both appreciation and reverence for the building and the Methodists who inhabited it in times past. It was sold to a Swedish Methodist congregation in 1913 and named Emmanuel at that time. Various other Scandinavian congregations merged into that congregation over the years. By the 1970s, the Scandinavian population was in decline; membership began to shift toward persons from the Caribbean, and gradually the South Asian presence grew. A Mission Statement Emmanuel's mission statement sums up its faith and its expectations:
The School of Congregational Development is sponsored annually by the United Methodist General Boards of Discipleship and Global Ministries. It was hosted this year by the Northern Illinois Annual Conference and drew more than 600 participants. Go to School of Congregational Development for more news and features. Elliott Wright is the information officer of the General Board of Global Ministries.
Date posted: Aug 03, 2009 |
||||||||||||
