Increasing Diversity Will Challenge Church

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (UMNS) -- The changing face of ethnic diversity in the United States will increasingly challenge the justice ministries of the church for years to come.

The Rev. David Ostendorf, a United Church of Christ clergyman and director of the Center for New Community, Oak Park, Ill., predicts the rising number of nonwhite groups in the country will create a backlash of white supremacist activity and injustice toward new immigrants.

Speaking at a United Methodist Appalachian Assembly in Charleston Sept. 20-23, he said immigrants will be exploited by economic interests. "We are ignoring the gross disparities of wealth that are tearing this community apart."

Segments of the white community that feel threatened by increases in minority populations will react, Ostendorf said. Already the white power movement is more active, he said. "The church must confront this movement every step of the way. People need to say 'no' to hate where they live or it will spread."

Bishop William Morris of Nashville, Tenn., said the church and its mission agencies must find new ways to bring justice.

"We’re going to have to be tougher to point out injustice where we are," he said. Morris is the newly elected president of the Appalachian Development Committee, which sponsored the assembly.

The people of Appalachia are known for their sense of compassionate community, Bishop Peter Weaver of Philadelphia observed in a keynote address. "Let us not let the economic forces drive us into competitive autonomy."

There is too much separation in the world, Weaver said, and too often, "We unravel the world God has woven together." He encouraged his audience of clergy and lay rural missioners to use the gifts of the Appalachian community to improve people's lives. "Committed commotion" may be required to bring about justice, he said.

Other issues discussed during the assembly were racism, children and poverty, and the environment.

The Appalachian Development Committee of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries is charged with addressing the region's issues through advocacy, interpretation, networking and resourcing.

*Burger is director of communications for the West Virginia Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church.