The Glen Waverley Uniting Church PSALTER
Preliminary Report on visit to GMIM (Christian Evangelical Church in Minahasa) in North Sulawesi, Indonesia, May 15 - 23
WHO?
Seven members of our congregation attended: VidaFoo, SusanChan, Rev NeilPeters, LuckyKalonta (formerly from Riedell congregation, Tondano), and Wille and Yoke Cornelis (formerly Maranatha congregation) and GlynHowells as well as LinaLiu.
Very warm welcome and generous hospitality from Moderator of GMIM, clergy, deacons and elders and ordinary members along with governments.
WHERE?
Visited perhaps half a dozen churches and attended worship in a number of homes (kolums) and churches. Most time spent with Riedell church members. Visited an orphanage and shared with the Moderator, a Church Council (Manado) a prison chaplain, youth workers, superintendent of orphanage and many ministers, parishioners and deacons and elders.
Visited towns of Manado (international airport), Tondano (where we mostly stayed), Tomohon (GMIM Synod Headquarters) and Bitung (port city). Had meetings with mayors of Tomohon and Bitung.
OUTCOMES AND INSIGHTS
- GMIM and its churches are central institutions in North Sulawesi. There is a very strong faith community.
- Their level and depth of organization reflect this centrality.
- Nearly 1,000 congregations, 2300 pastors (majority women); 26,000 deacons and elders (37 in Riedell).
- Kolum = arguably foundation of church life: 15 – 25 families in a neighbourhood make up a kolum (cell group) with one deacon and one elder to lead.
- People of all ages attend including children.
- Meet weekly in a home for worship/ pastoral/community/ supper.
- Women, men, youth from kolum meet separately each week.
- Worship: singing and music central – different kolums sing in turn week by week + everyone over 60/65 sing, women sing, men sing separately = mass participation.
- Every person in church shook our hands after service.
- Strong links with governments (provincial and local).
- Pastors take weekly services in government offices, hospitals, businesses.
- Like us and the UCA they have challenges.
- They are a well-resourced and independent church keen to work together with the UCA, us at GWUC and with other UCA congregations and local organisations.
- We were privileged to be the first UCA visitors since the MOU was signed in February. Leaders from our Indonesian Fellowship (Lucky, Willie and Yoke) along with those who had visited us from GMIM over recent years were wonderful ambassadors linking us closely to the local community. Our group worked well as a team and reflected some of the diversity of GWUC.
ACTION + the future
- Special thank you for Vida Foo for never shirking the difficult task of translating, especially Neil’s sermons.
- We can look forward to visits from the GMIM moderator and other ministers and to developing our relationship further.
- A follow up visit will be needed and we might think about having a group to focus on this relationship involving those who might visit in future, etc.
- This relationship needs to be part of CC’s strategic review and goal-setting.
- After Neil’s return we will need to follow up the things we have agreed to do.
- How do we share the experience back into the congregation?
Links
https://beritamanado.com/tindaklanjut-mou-the-uniting-church-australia-kunjungi-tomohon/
https://www.oikoumene.org/en/member-churches/christian-evangelical-church-in-minahasa
Report by GlynHowells