Church home for ‘hybrid’ kids
LONDON, ON—More than half of the people who attend Mosaic Intercultural Church are under 20 years old. Many of them are the children of refugees and speak English as well as their native tongue. Some know a third or fourth language, depending on what countries their families lived in temporarily before coming to Canada. Not completely Canadian, but not able to fully identify with their home countries, these hybrid kids are a bridge between cultures.
David Cottril, director of community outreach at North Park Community Church in London, began reaching out to these kids and their families in 2004 through the church's Life Resource Centre. At the centre, the church distributes necessities, teaches life skills classes for newcomers and runs programs for children and youth.
While working at the centre, Cottril noticed that most of the children's parents attended churches in their native language. But the kids themselves had no spiritual home.
"We started to focus on youth and young adults who were unconnected to a church," Cottril explains. "We felt a responsibility to give them a place to feel welcome."
In November 2010, a group from North Park launched Mosaic to give these youth a place to belong. Some of the youth attend church without their parents, while others come with their whole families.
"They are the core of our intercultural church," says Cottril.
The church meets at Sir George Ross Secondary School. About three quarters of the congregation's 80 members walk to church. Many of their lives intersect during the week at school, work or Life Resource Centre programs.
The church includes people from many African nations (including Burma, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Congo), as well as some from South and Central American countries. In an effort to adapt to some members' flexible view of time, the service has a "soft start." It begins with an informal coffee time, moves into a few songs and then progresses to a facilitated small group time. People join the activities as they arrive.
"The service starts when the church arrives," Cottril says.
Youth and older members attend the service together, although there is a separate room for very young children. Cottril, who does most of the teaching, is mindful of the variety of ages and language abilities as he prepares his sermons.
Multicultural elements are found throughout the service. Since many French-speaking Africans and French Canadians belong to the church, French scripture readings and music are regularly included. The sermon is not translated because it would be difficult to choose which language to translate it into. Children or friends translate for members with rudimentary English skills.
The service also features a testimony time, when people share prayer requests, meaningful songs or Scriptures and personal life experiences.
"We risk a lot by allowing people to participate that have not necessarily been raised in a church culture," says Cottril. "They don't know church rules. That can be hard on people who have grown up in a traditional evangelical church. But the focus on relationships allows you to forgive and to put up with differences."
The congregation also reaches out to their Muslim neighbours and have helped many Muslim families with their settlement process. Some Muslims attend worship services, come to the lunch and gym time after the service or request prayer.
"Our church community is known in the neighbourhood as a church that cares for people," says Cottril.
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