Taking the Dare (Dispatch from Forbearance Presbyterian Church) by Charlotte Johnstone

When Jane Krueger decided to attend Forbearance’s daylong meeting to explore inclusiveness, race and ethnicity in the church, she did so somewhat reluctantly. These were not topics she was particularly comfortable with, but the growing diversity of her church and community had strangely unsettled her and she wanted to understand why.

Forbearance’s town had grown to be a small city, a source of local pride, to be sure, but with changes that Jane and some of her friends found a bit disconcerting. And Forbearance Church had grown and changed also—change that some members felt was long overdue and that others had been reluctant to embrace. The reality was that Forbearance was no longer just another all-white church, and it was no longer a church where gays and lesbians were reluctant to come for worship. Forbearance was a city church now—a grown-up church with diverse skin colors, accents, social positions and life experiences. Other traditions and priorities were present now and topics that had not been discussed before—race, class, sexual orientation, cultural expectations, bias and deep-seated prejudice—were on the table for examination.

And Jane—a white woman in her 50s, comfortable in her life, a kind woman doing kind things, a good woman wishing harm to no one—had reacted to changes in her town and church. Little by little, things changed for her, too. Downtown seemed more crowded, traffic had increased and it was harder to find a place to park. When she took her daily walk, she saw fewer people she knew. A Muslim family had moved into a house across her street. She no longer drove through a particular section of town. She installed a security system in her home. She stopped going to a nearby mall when many of the shoppers became people of another color. She was dismayed when a homeless man was found on the church steps one Sunday morning, and she found herself quite taken aback when, during a Forbearance service, the infant son of a lesbian couple was baptized. And there were new people in church these days, people with unfamiliar traditions and backgrounds. Change and diversity were upon her and she didn’t quite know what to make of it.

Charlotte Johnstone is a member of Immanuel Presbyterian Church in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She (and the cast of Forbearance Presbyterian Church) welcomes comments. Write to her at Horizons, 100 Witherspoon St., Louisville, KY 40202-1396, or email wjohns4949@aol.com.

Illustration by Catherine Latson

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Will Jane become comfortable with the changes in her church, neighborhood and city? Does her story sound like yours? Learn more about the challenges and blessings of diversity in the September/October 2006 issue.	Taking the Dare by Charlotte Johnstone When Jane Krueger decided to attend Forbearance’s daylong meeting to explore inclusiveness, race and ethnicity in the church, she did so somewhat reluctantly. These were not topics she was particularly comfortable with, but the growing diversity of her church and community had strangely unsettled her and she wanted to understand why. Forbearance’s town had grown to be a small city, a source of local pride, to be sure, but with changes that Jane and some of her friends found a bit disconcerting. And Forbearance Church had grown and changed also—change that some members felt was long overdue and that others had been reluctant to embrace. The reality was that Forbearance was no longer just another all-white church, and it was no longer a church where gays and lesbians were reluctant to come for worship. Forbearance was a city church now—a grown-up church with diverse skin colors, accents, social positions and life experiences. Other traditions and priorities were present now and topics that had not been discussed before—race, class, sexual orientation, cultural expectations, bias and deep-seated prejudice—were on the table for examination. And Jane—a white woman in her 50s, comfortable in her life, a kind woman doing kind things, a good woman wishing harm to no one—had reacted to changes in her town and church. Little by little, things changed for her, too. Downtown seemed more crowded, traffic had increased and it was harder to find a place to park. When she took her daily walk, she saw fewer people she knew. A Muslim family had moved into a house across her street. She no longer drove through a particular section of town. She installed a security system in her home. She stopped going to a nearby mall when many of the shoppers became people of another color. She was dismayed when a homeless man was found on the church steps one Sunday morning, and she found herself quite taken aback when, during a Forbearance service, the infant son of a lesbian couple was baptized. And there were new people in church these days, people with unfamiliar traditions and backgrounds. Change and diversity were upon her and she didn’t quite know what to make of it. Charlotte Johnstone is a member of Immanuel Presbyterian Church in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She (and the cast of Forbearance Presbyterian Church) welcomes comments. Write to her at Horizons, 100 Witherspoon St., Louisville, KY 40202-1396, or email wjohns4949@aol.com. Illustration by Catherine Latson Other Articles Online This Issue Gathering Scrapbook [1st page only] Out of Chaos Community in Diversity Getting to Know Our Global Partners Waking Up the World God's Word—Light for the Journey Joining Together in Love Through an Artist's Eyes Bible study resource Dispatch from Forbearance Presbyterian Church Nurturing Our Faith Supporting Mission Working for Justice and Peace Mosaic	Current Issue SEPT/OCT 2006 About This Issue Features PW Resources Departments FREE Resource Sept/Oct Index How to Use In Our Next Issue Items underlined can be seen in this Web site, all others appear in the September/October 2006 (HZN-06-240) issue of Horizons magazine. to Horizons, call 800/524-2612 or this issue ($4 plus shipping/handling)

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