German, the gospel choir by a Ghanaian, and the organ- ist is Indonesian. Coff ee hour is an extended aff air at all three churches,


off ering expatriates a safe space to swap stories about the challenges of international living, make friendships and feel the support of the church community. Ministries are as fl uid as the members who come and


go. Kienberger said American Church in Berlin has “an open door policy—if we can try to fi t you we will!” Its on-premises food pantry attracts people of all ages who volunteer even though they aren’t fl uent in German. And in Oslo, new moms organized a prayer circle. Ministry to other migrants is natural. In Norway,


Stewart attended immigration hearings with members seeking religious asylum to help confi rm the authenticity of their faith. In Berlin the congregation off ers English or German classes for neighbors, primarily Muslim migrants. All three congregations off er prayer and social support for members struggling with visa diffi culties. High turnover means fewer “sacred cows in terms of


programming,” Stewart said. Schmidt agrees, adding that in the Bratislavan church,


too, barriers to innovation by newcomers are lower than in less mobile congregations.


Intentional inclusion Why do these diverse congregations in Europe fl ourish while multicultural congregations are few and far between in a diverse U.S.? Outsider status is one reason. When


everyone is an outsider in some way, a sense of unity prevails. When confl icts


arise, people are more tolerant, in part because there’s no place else to go. T e ability to apologize—which Stewart calls Oslo’s


“greatest strength”—complements a careful attention to the dynamics of language, culture and power. Cultural transgressions happen all the time. “It isn’t easy,” he said. “We all work.” In Bratislava, Schmidt watches as new people are


welcomed and settle in. Will someone from Japan or Indonesia fi nd their place in the congregation as easily as a native English speaker or an American? If not, what response is needed? Money, status and class can separate, as former


refugees and high-level diplomats work side by side in ministry. Roots in a variety of church traditions mean that worshipers have diff erent understandings of steward- ship, service, even relating to the pastor. Challenges do arise. “Working together in a small


group has been a work in cross-cultural pollination and understanding,” Kienberger said. “We talk about false perceptions we have of one another and fi nd some heart- ening things as we unpack.” For Kienberger, the bottom line for these worshiping


communities is to “try to stay Christ-centered and refl ect the diversity of the world church and the vision of the New Jerusalem in Revelations 21.” And, yes, it’s the future of the church. “We are mul-


ticultural and multiethnic and on a daily basis dealing with the reality of people who are not Lutheran and did not grow up that way,” said Stewart, who now serves the International Church of Copenhagen. “It’s messy, it’s chaotic, and it’s intensely beautiful.” 


‘All colors, creeds and languages’ T


he Shepperds are grateful for the beauty, the chaos and the mess. Jana, raised in the Slovak Lutheran Church, and James, an American whose back- ground includes African, Native American, Scottish, Irish and French roots, love worship-


ing among foreigners with transnational lives as complicated as their own. In their 14 years as a couple, James and Jana have taken turns being the misfi t as they have


studied and worked in three countries. Today their two daughters love attending Sunday school with multinational and bicultural classmates. “I love knowing that from their eyes my kids see a commu-


nity that is ideal, an archetype—all colors, creeds and lan- guages,” James said. “To grow up like this is really what I would have wanted for my children no matter where we live.”


Anne Basye


Author bio: Basye, a freelance writer living in the Pacific Northwest, is the author of Sustaining Simplicity: A Journal (ELCA, 2007).


January 2015 33


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