Crisis or opportunity in Mission - living and witnessing in a multicultural community

1. Living in a Multicultural-
Multinational community-
Opportunity or Crisis!?
Joshva Raja
Queens Foundation
2009 September

2. Blacks
Asians
British
Pacific
Europeans
others

3. Words can mean many things!
When Kentucky Fried Chicken entered the
Chinese market, to their horror they
discovered that their slogan "finger lickin'
good" came out as "eat your fingers off"
An American T-shirt maker in Miami
printed shirts for the Spanish market which
promoted the Pope's visit Instead of "I
Saw the Pope" (el Papa), the shirts read "I
Saw the Potato" (la papa)
I got a mouse

4. Do we recognize Different Cultural Groups within
ourselves? It follows their interest…
High
popular
Mass
Folk/ Traditional
Sub

5. Attitude and culture may vary
A European visitor once asked an
Indonesian about the Balinese funeral
custom of placing fresh fruit on a grave.
"When does your aunt climb out of her
grave to eat the banana?" he asked with a
smirk. "At the same time your uncle comes
up to smell the flowers," was the matter-of-
fact reply.

6. Learning together with diverse age
groups and cultures
YouthChildren
Adults
Women
Outsider

7. Of course when Children make
noise can I study? Part of Queens’
Package of learning?!

8. Some drink and Some Don’t

9. Do we mind each other’s business?
Yes we do sometimes!

10. Learning Theology together
When theological
students come to the
College many of them
regularly pray then?
As the journey begins
many of them are
overloaded with a lot
of theologies and
other stuff some sink!
But you can
still do
Ministry

11. When People cross boundaries?

12. Who often Cross the
Boundaries
A Child who just walks and
does not understand the
difference between the colour
and race or rich and poor…
A Mentally Challenge Person who
is in Chains because he often
crosses the boundaries of caste

13. Encoding
Decoding
EncodingDecoding
Message
Message
Interpreter Interpreter
Negotiation
Rejection
Acceptance
Stuart HallHow do you cross boundaries?

14. MONOCHRONIC PEOPLE POLYCHRONIC PEOPLE
do one thing at a time do many things at once
concentrate on the job
are highly distractable and subject to
interruptions
take time commitments (deadlines,
schedules) seriously
consider an objective to be achieved, if
possible
are low-context and need information
are high-context and already have
information
are committed to the job
are committed to people and human
relationships
adhere religiously to plans change plans often and easily
are concerned about not disturbing
others; follow rules of privacy and
consideration
are more concerned with those who are
closely related (family, friends, close
business associates) than with
privacy
show great respect for private
property; seldom borrow or lend
borrow and lend things often and easily
emphasize promptness base promptness on the relationship

15. Cooperation!
Try to reduce the
use of Stereotypical
words, images…
Less Ethnocentric
value judgements…
avoiding
Categorising others
as a monolithic
groups

16. Making some differences?
Buried for Treatment
in Japan for
treatment
In Australia for fun

17. Offerings are made to a mediator who is buried up to the
neck in sand. He suppresses the sensations of the flesh
while attempting to free his mind through meditation.

18. To send and receive
Transmission
view
To share and participate
Ritual View
To speak
To see
To hear
To taste
To smell
To touch

19. Developing Cross Cultural skills
Willingness to interact
Establishing a
Contact
having Relationship
Trying to Understand
Taking Courage for
mistakes
Risk with Humbleness
to learn
Sharing Kindness
Make Mistakes in the
beginning?!

20. Can I make difference?
Listen to stories
Look at the face
Smile with them
Imagine the context
Observe the acts
Smell the fragrance
Feel the situation
Taste the food
Imagine the mind of the
other

21. Starting points are learning points!
Anything wrong?

22. You never net a fish without getting
wet

23. Cross Cultural starting points
Misunderstanding leads to Understanding
Confusion leads to Fusion of cultures
Unity is not uniformity
Oneness is not sameness
Chaos is starting point of creation

24. Some examples from Bible and
History that crossed the boundaries
and transformed the communities
Egyptian Nurses in Exodus
Peter and Paul in the first Christian
Council in Jerusalem
Francis of Assisi
Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela
Mother Theresa

25. Thank you for Seeing and Listening
In Heaven you can only feed others