The Rev. Francis Acquah. Photo by Mary Beth Coudal.

The World Is My Parish

Pastors embrace diversity as Crusade Scholars

Two clergymen from vastly different cultures are living out their call to be peacemakers with help from the Crusade Scholars program funded through the special offering on World Communion Sunday (Oct. 7, 2007).

The Rev. Francis Acquah of the Methodist Church in Ghana is in his second year as a Crusade Scholarship recipient enrolled in a doctoral program at Hartford Seminary in Connecticut. "Diversity should not divide us," Acquah said. "Diversities are riches that God has given us."

Acquah is studying the impact of traditional African religious and cultural values – community, a sense of belonging, unity and love – on Christian-Muslim relations.

These values are common to several religions, but exclusive doctrinal claims create barriers to harmony, said Acquah, whose family has roots in Christianity, Islam and traditional African religions.

From birth he was trained to accept others. "Religious differences were not seen as a threat – something that ought to divide a people," he said.

Acquah has witnessed a shift from harmony to deep discord in Ghana, but he plans to return there to promote inter-religious dialogue.

"I believe that when people embrace virtues that unite people in spite of our differences, virtues that really speak for justice and peace, I believe there could be hope for our world and our various communities," he said.

The Rev. Kiyul Chung. Photo by Mary Beth Coudal.

The Rev. Kiyul Chung believes his experiences as a United Methodist pastor and scholar are part of a continuing peacemaking process. With the help of Crusade Scholarships in 2003 and 2004, he earned a doctorate degree from Temple University.

Chung grew up in South Korea and became a pastor in the United States in 1984. He was a chaplain at the University of Maryland and then served Timonium (Md.) United Methodist Church and Mt. Vernon Place United Methodist Church in Washington, D.C.

Now he is a visiting scholar at the Center for Regional Security Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing. He lectures about peace and justice, international relations, regional politics and culture. "My role is to harmonize, unite people to see the beauty in diversity," he said.

"We are all in the same human global village," he said. "Cultural diversity is part of the new movement in the 21st century."

Deborah White, associate editor, Interpreter, wrote this story from interviews by Mary Beth Coudal, staff writer for the General Board of Global Ministries.

World Communion Sunday

Offerings on World Communion Sunday (Oct. 7, 2007) provide scholarships for students who are preparing for leadership in the church around the globe.

Fifty percent of the special offering goes to the Crusade Scholarship Program of the General Board of Global Ministries, which helps graduate students outside the U.S. and from ethnic and racial minorities in the U.S. This year there are 14 international and 12 U.S. Crusade Scholars.

Thirty-five percent of the offering supports Ethnic Scholarships for undergraduate students. Fifteen percent funds Ethnic In-Service Training Program scholarships for racial and ethnic minority students seeking second careers in church-related vocations.
Churches unable to celebrate World Communion Sunday on Oct. 7 are asked to receive the offering at another time.

Free resources for World Communion Sunday may be obtained at www.umcgiving.org or by calling (888) 346-3862.

To Learn More
To listen to interviews with the Rev. Francis Acquah and the Rev. Kiyul Chung, visit the Crusade Scholars Web page at resources.gbgm-umc.org/scholars.