blogONESo there’s been an issue which is somewhat fueling my philosophical/heavy thinker section…
There was a proposition to send Christmas cards to others I might as well use pronouns. A couple days ago I got an email which said we would be sending (ie. DISTRIBUTING) Christmas cards on Christmas eve/day to the neighborhood. By doing this, we would “show the community we exist and let them know we care.”
Hi All,
Just an important reminder: DESIGN CHRISTMAS CARDS!!!We’ll be sending Jaffray-custom made cards to our neighbors on December 24. It would not mean as much if we send some industry-made cards.
I hope you can all consider and participate because we hope to reach out to our neighbors!!!
Well, do you see something wrong with this? I see many things wrong with it.
- Distribution is on CHRISTMAS EVE/DAY
- “We hope to reach out to the neighbors.”
Now, allow me to expand on my two points…let me talk about the distribution. I have nothing wrong with distributing Christmas cards. I have something wrong with giving them on Christmas eve/day though. If these cards were meant to let the neighborhood know we exist, why not give the cards out EARLIER so they may go to Christmas eve service?
the plan isn’t so much to invite them to the 24th, the intention was a no-strings-attached gift, and it’s best to give on Christmas eve / day not weeks ahead. We were hoping to catch them at home, and say hi and dro pthe gift/ card off, if they show, great, if they have plans, it’s okay, its expected.
the hope is to make ourselves known for the future, not just Christmas.
Wait, giving a card in advance means they have to commit to coming to Christmas service? I never knew! Does that mean all those candidates for the elections HAD our vote when they gave us something? Oh, that’s politics…so it’s unrelated.
When Jesus was born, did God tell the Three Wise Men about His birth the day before? Oh snap.
Now, the next point…reaching out to the neighbors. How many times have we had visitors of other ethnicities come to service, and repeatedly come back? A couple of times, yes. What happened afterwards? I don’t see them anymore, and sometimes Mr Hilton comes back. There is an evident cultural difference and isolation whenever a visitor of a different ethnicity comes in through those doors. What do we do to welcome them? What do we do to keep them coming back? What don’t we do to encourage them to leave?
The English congregation isn’t as bad as the Chinese, in terms of multi-culturalism and accepting different ethnic groups. Do you know how many times I’ve heard racial comments made in the Chinese congregation when someone who isn’t yellow, per se, comes in? One too many.
So am I saying that as a Canadian Chinese church we should avoid reaching out to those of different cultures? NO! And if you’ve been reading this post and thinking I was implying that, you do NOT know me. We are called to spread the gospel throughout the nation. However, if we live with the mindset that our culture IS the nation, or if we spread the gospel and do not try to break cultural barriers, WHAT IS THE POINT?
It makes damn sense to have the church renamed to Jaffray Alliance Church if you want the community to go to it.
3 Comments
I suppose you’ve got a pretty good point though I don’t think the thing with Chinese congregation can be changed in a practical way. I mean, it IS a Chinese congregation after all, so its focus should be on Chinese attendees. Of course, the racial remarks thing needs to be stopped, no doubt about that. But yeah, the Chinese side is for Chinese-speaking people. the reason why people of other ethnicities come to the English service is because we speak their language. And ultimately, that’s what counts, approaching people on their terms, on their turf. Good rant though.
There definitely will be changes coming in our methodology and name if we are truly to step out of our Chinese roots and be a missional church that reaches the community nearby with the Gospe of Christ.
It will be interesting to see how this happens. But at the same time, we must ensure that even our methods and way of doing things do not accommodate to the culture. Our goals is to reach out, without selling out.
In relation to the Christmas cards, we definitely need to get them out at least a week before Christmas if we want them to attend any church Christmas events.
And we gotta get rid of the english congregation/chinese congregation jibberish : )