Three churches come together for spirited multicultural worship
The three churches came together to worship as part of their “Truth Café.”
Sunday, July 7, was a special day of worship for three churches located in Clemmons and Winston-Salem. Alianza Cristiana y Misionera de Clemmons, located at 4995 Hampton Road and Centenary United Methodist Church, located at 5280 Hampton Road, both in Clemmons, and Brooks Temple United Methodist Church, 136 Ralph Craver Road in Winston-Salem, came together to worship as part of their “Truth Cafe” experience. The collaboration is made up of three churches – one predominantly Hispanic, one predominantly African American, and one predominantly white. Truth Cafe is an initiative of the Yadkin Valley District of the United Methodist Church.
Since late summer of 2018, the three churches have been part of the Truth Café initiative led by Boundless Impact and Yadkin Valley District of the United Methodist Church. Truth Cafe’ is a platform for crucial conversations that seeks to “break down boundaries, speak truth to power and privilege around racism, bias and demographic differences, while at the same time share the Gospel of love and social justice. It is an opportunity to reconcile our differences through spiritual transformation and building trusting right relationships,” says Cindy Thompson, Executive Director of Boundless Impact.
The three churches have been meeting on a monthly basis – both laity and clergy – for dialogue and to plan how they can work together toward racial equity. It was through these meetings that members of the three churches proposed a joint worship experience that focused on our common faith, and at the same time, share each other’s culture. Rev. Moises Flores de Valgaz of the Alianza Church said, “It is important that we see each other as family in the house of God.”
Former Brooks Temple pastor, Dr. Nathan Harris, emphasized that “our three-church alliance through Truth Cafe expresses the Church’s mission to embody the kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven.”
The worship service began at 10:45 a.m. and was held at Centenary United Methodist Church. The sanctuary was filled with almost 200 worshipers from the three congregations. As Rev. Dr. Vincent Howell said at the beginning of worship, “When we all get together, what a day of rejoicing it will be.”
Worship included diverse music styles with each choir singing. All of the service was multilingual – scriptures were read in Spanish and English, music was in both languages, and preaching was delivered by Rev. Moises Flores de Valgaz of the Alianza Church (Spanish) and Rev. Mary Dow, pastor of Brooks Temple United Methodist Church (English). Pastor Dow reminded the worshipers “when everyone comes together, there is a blessing, no matter what culture, and God is still working.”
As Rev. Dr. Vincent Howell, pastor at Centenary Clemmons says, “Coming together in worship, celebrating Holy Communion, sharing a meal together, planning future activities and fellowship is important as we build strong relationships in our diverse community.”
After worship, everyone gathered for a community meal that also shared the diverse cultures of our churches.
Boundless Impact is a Greensboro-based nonprofit driving inclusive leadership and innovation initiatives across commerce, education, civic and faith networks to unleash prosperity for all communities. For more information, visit www.boundlessimpact.org.
