One day I realised I felt the same. I Matter.
Here is something I wrote called 'I Matter.'
I MATTER
Points that need to be made about diversity in the church whether the congregation is black , white, or any other colour. If I was sky blue pink I would feel the same.
Please don’t think this doesn’t matter. What I have to say here matters very much. It needs to be said to the churches.
Please don’t assume this is for a church of any colour, culture, denomination or social background. This booklet is written for the Christian church at large. We are all one big family if we are in Jesus but sometimes some of us feel like we are orphans rather than adopted sons. Let’s make the family the family that is really different from the world. We are all joint heirs of the Kingdom.
CHURCH
1. My colour matters. My race matters. My cultural background matters. I matter.
I have equal rights to salvation and my church setting is as good as yours if the Holy Spirit is present.
2. My service is as anointed as your service if the Holy Spirit is present whether it is quiet or noisy.
3. How I teach or preach or how I get taught or preached at may not be how you teach or preach or get taught or preached at, but it is the power of God in the message that is the important thing not how loudly or quietly I deliver the message. I have (hopefully,) put as much prayer and as much preparation in as you have. My Pastor put as much prayer and preparation in as yours did. Anointing does not come in a proportion to how loudly or quietly we deliver what we have been given to deliver. We do not get saved or changed according to how loud or quiet the message is. The Word of God does not return void.
4. Please do not assume I will not do what you do, enjoy what you enjoy, or not want to be part of your group in church.
Please make me welcome whoever I am and make sure I am not left out of things because I am younger/older/fatter/thinner/able/disabled/not your race or culture/not your social status/don’t look like you/have a different situation to you/dress different to you. Like you, I want to be included in the family!
COUNTRY
My colour matters. My race matters. My cultural background matters. I matter.
1. I love my country as much as you love your country. Please do not insult my country by running it down in front of me. There are things wrong with all countries and I feel like you do when I insult your country and race when you insult my country and my race. Don’t you know we are all sinners saved by grace?
2. My language matters. It is as important as your language. When you speak in your language in front of me and I am in my own country I will think you are talking about me and hiding things from me. It tells me I am less important than you are. The polite way is to speak in the language that is common to all when there is one common language. If I come to your country and know your language that is what I should use.
HOME
Where and how I live matters.
Just because I don’t have a house like your house please do not assume I am not as good as you. Jesus was born in a stable and probably lived in a house made of mud and it was good enough for him. God will never judge us on the size or type of house we own.
FAMILY
My colour matters. My race matters. My cultural background matters. I matter.
1. My family matters. Please don’t make disparaging comments about how people treat their family in my culture because all cultures are different and don’t you know that a family is itself a culture and I may not behave like you are implying I behave.
2. My marriage matters. My marriage is as good as your marriage whatever country I got married in. Please don’t tell me my marriage is not as good as your marriage because of the customs of my country. I am married to my husband/wife if I have one, in the sight of God.
3. My children matter and God loves them as much as yours and I am trying to do the right thing to bring them up as Christians just as you are so please don’t assume mine are less good than yours because of what you do in your culture. Children misbehave and behave in all cultures.
FEELINGS
My colour matters. My race matters. My cultural background matters. I matter.
1. My feelings matter. How I express my feelings, happy or sad is as important and as right as how you express your feelings. Your culture keeps them in and mine keeps them out or my culture keeps them in and yours lets them out. God knows the heart and will sort us all out so don’t tell me my way is less Godly than your way. Don’t assume I am less spiritual than you are because of how I express my feelings. Anyway, we are all individuals and I might not be the same as you think everyone else in my culture is.
2. What happened to me affected me as it affected me. I deal with it how my culture deals with it and please don’t assume God will heal me by the same process God healed you. Some of us need to talk more and some less. Some need lots of prayer and some a little. God treats us as individuals. God will sort us both out.
PHYSICAL APPEARANCES
My colour matters. My race matters. My cultural background matters. I matter.
1. I feel upset when I am not represented in the church picture. It tells me how unimportant to God you think I am.
2. When you present that picture with people who are not like me and are all like you on the church poster it tells me I am not welcome where you are.
3. When you show me a picture where there is one of me and a lot of you it tells me I am the odd one out. This is called tokenism and it is NOT ‘multicultural.’
4. How I look is important to me. I may have an older face, less limbs than you have or what you term a physical imperfection. God made me and loves me how I am. Why should I be more hidden than you are just because I am not like you?
ENJOYING LIFE
My colour matters. My race matters. My cultural background matters. I matter.
1. My music and what music I like whatever my colour is as important as your music whatever colour you are. I would like my kind of music played in church and not just your kind of music even if I am the only person in church of my race or colour. Why should all the worship in church be your kind of worship?
2. How I dress, whatever my race or colour, is as important as your kind of dress. My hair is as important as your hair. My make up is as important as your make up.
3. What I eat is as nice as what you eat and if I like it seasoned well then I do and if I don’t I don’t and please do not throw away what I cook because it is not what the rest of the church would cook or eat, and vice versa. My taste is as important as your taste. Please remember my taste as well as yours at church functions. I get hungry too!
I AM NOT TELLING YOU WHAT RACE OR COLOUR OR CULTURE I AM BECAUSE THEN YOU WILL THINK I HAVE ISSUES. MY ONLY ISSUE IS THAT I AM TREATED AS YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE TREATED IN MY CHURCH AND THAT YOU ARE TREATED AS I WOULD LIKE TO BE TREATED IN YOUR CHURCH.
Minister Jacky is at home in a lot of places and actually came up as being black on one qestionnaire despite her white skin! She will gladly talk on diversity issues to any church. She has been teaching diversity issues in childcare for most of her working life.
I MATTER
Points that need to be made about diversity in the church whether the congregation is black , white, or any other colour. If I was sky blue pink I would feel the same.
Please don’t think this doesn’t matter. What I have to say here matters very much. It needs to be said to the churches.
Please don’t assume this is for a church of any colour, culture, denomination or social background. This booklet is written for the Christian church at large. We are all one big family if we are in Jesus but sometimes some of us feel like we are orphans rather than adopted sons. Let’s make the family the family that is really different from the world. We are all joint heirs of the Kingdom.
CHURCH
1. My colour matters. My race matters. My cultural background matters. I matter.
I have equal rights to salvation and my church setting is as good as yours if the Holy Spirit is present.
2. My service is as anointed as your service if the Holy Spirit is present whether it is quiet or noisy.
3. How I teach or preach or how I get taught or preached at may not be how you teach or preach or get taught or preached at, but it is the power of God in the message that is the important thing not how loudly or quietly I deliver the message. I have (hopefully,) put as much prayer and as much preparation in as you have. My Pastor put as much prayer and preparation in as yours did. Anointing does not come in a proportion to how loudly or quietly we deliver what we have been given to deliver. We do not get saved or changed according to how loud or quiet the message is. The Word of God does not return void.
4. Please do not assume I will not do what you do, enjoy what you enjoy, or not want to be part of your group in church.
Please make me welcome whoever I am and make sure I am not left out of things because I am younger/older/fatter/thinner/able/disabled/not your race or culture/not your social status/don’t look like you/have a different situation to you/dress different to you. Like you, I want to be included in the family!
COUNTRY
My colour matters. My race matters. My cultural background matters. I matter.
1. I love my country as much as you love your country. Please do not insult my country by running it down in front of me. There are things wrong with all countries and I feel like you do when I insult your country and race when you insult my country and my race. Don’t you know we are all sinners saved by grace?
2. My language matters. It is as important as your language. When you speak in your language in front of me and I am in my own country I will think you are talking about me and hiding things from me. It tells me I am less important than you are. The polite way is to speak in the language that is common to all when there is one common language. If I come to your country and know your language that is what I should use.
HOME
Where and how I live matters.
Just because I don’t have a house like your house please do not assume I am not as good as you. Jesus was born in a stable and probably lived in a house made of mud and it was good enough for him. God will never judge us on the size or type of house we own.
FAMILY
My colour matters. My race matters. My cultural background matters. I matter.
1. My family matters. Please don’t make disparaging comments about how people treat their family in my culture because all cultures are different and don’t you know that a family is itself a culture and I may not behave like you are implying I behave.
2. My marriage matters. My marriage is as good as your marriage whatever country I got married in. Please don’t tell me my marriage is not as good as your marriage because of the customs of my country. I am married to my husband/wife if I have one, in the sight of God.
3. My children matter and God loves them as much as yours and I am trying to do the right thing to bring them up as Christians just as you are so please don’t assume mine are less good than yours because of what you do in your culture. Children misbehave and behave in all cultures.
FEELINGS
My colour matters. My race matters. My cultural background matters. I matter.
1. My feelings matter. How I express my feelings, happy or sad is as important and as right as how you express your feelings. Your culture keeps them in and mine keeps them out or my culture keeps them in and yours lets them out. God knows the heart and will sort us all out so don’t tell me my way is less Godly than your way. Don’t assume I am less spiritual than you are because of how I express my feelings. Anyway, we are all individuals and I might not be the same as you think everyone else in my culture is.
2. What happened to me affected me as it affected me. I deal with it how my culture deals with it and please don’t assume God will heal me by the same process God healed you. Some of us need to talk more and some less. Some need lots of prayer and some a little. God treats us as individuals. God will sort us both out.
PHYSICAL APPEARANCES
My colour matters. My race matters. My cultural background matters. I matter.
1. I feel upset when I am not represented in the church picture. It tells me how unimportant to God you think I am.
2. When you present that picture with people who are not like me and are all like you on the church poster it tells me I am not welcome where you are.
3. When you show me a picture where there is one of me and a lot of you it tells me I am the odd one out. This is called tokenism and it is NOT ‘multicultural.’
4. How I look is important to me. I may have an older face, less limbs than you have or what you term a physical imperfection. God made me and loves me how I am. Why should I be more hidden than you are just because I am not like you?
ENJOYING LIFE
My colour matters. My race matters. My cultural background matters. I matter.
1. My music and what music I like whatever my colour is as important as your music whatever colour you are. I would like my kind of music played in church and not just your kind of music even if I am the only person in church of my race or colour. Why should all the worship in church be your kind of worship?
2. How I dress, whatever my race or colour, is as important as your kind of dress. My hair is as important as your hair. My make up is as important as your make up.
3. What I eat is as nice as what you eat and if I like it seasoned well then I do and if I don’t I don’t and please do not throw away what I cook because it is not what the rest of the church would cook or eat, and vice versa. My taste is as important as your taste. Please remember my taste as well as yours at church functions. I get hungry too!
I AM NOT TELLING YOU WHAT RACE OR COLOUR OR CULTURE I AM BECAUSE THEN YOU WILL THINK I HAVE ISSUES. MY ONLY ISSUE IS THAT I AM TREATED AS YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE TREATED IN MY CHURCH AND THAT YOU ARE TREATED AS I WOULD LIKE TO BE TREATED IN YOUR CHURCH.
Minister Jacky is at home in a lot of places and actually came up as being black on one qestionnaire despite her white skin! She will gladly talk on diversity issues to any church. She has been teaching diversity issues in childcare for most of her working life.
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