Grace emerging in the Appalachian Mountains: Churches form relationships across the state and beyond among immigrant communities

Sheldon C. Good, SalfordAt first glance, these churches share similar addresses: Philadelphia Praise Center, 1701 McKean St. and Gospel Alliance Church, 627 McKean Ave.But more importantly, PPC and Gospel, which is located south of Pittsburgh have been assisting Grace Community Church (Charleroi, Pa.), an emerging congregation, with worship since August 2008.Although PPC is now an established member congregation of Franconia Mennonite Conference, the church was once an emerging congregation in search of connections like Grace. “We know how to help because we’ve been through this ourselves,” said Aldo Siahaan, pastor of PPC. “What they need are relationships.”PPC has helped with church leadership at Grace since its inception last year. Three out of every four Sundays per month (worship on the fourth Sunday is held at Gospel Alliance), small teams from PPC trek five hours west on the Interstate 76 Pennsylvania Turnpike to lead worship in an upstairs apartment.A young family there, the Tionos, originally offered their house as a place for friends to eat together. “I wanted to create a space for people who are looking for God,” said hostess Ms. Tiono with a comforting voice that parallels her gift of hospitality. “[My coworkers] were hungry.”Most persons at Grace are middle-aged and work for the same meat packaging factory in Charleroi – a borough of similar size to my hometown of Telford – that hugs the southern side of the Monongahela River, about 25 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.With the help of Siahaan and others from PPC, the weekly gatherings for food in Tiono’s living room have turned into more formal worship, though informal fellowship around God’s table is still an integral part of gathering.Worship with Grace is basic, a direct parallel to the simplicity of Tiono’s house of worship: a square white room with barenaked walls except a wooden image of the crucifixion of Christ that hangs over the doorway to the kitchen – the same kitchen where the church was conceived.The Sunday evening service commences whenever the team from PPC arrives. Shoes are disposed at Tiono’s doorstep. Bulletins – the same ones from the PPC morning service – are distributed. Eyes glaze over the text with reverent curiosity. (The bulletin notes that PPC has planned a summer gathering in Lancaster, Grace is invited.)Tiono’s living room is small, the size of a typical college dorm. Around 30 persons are gathered in a circle around the room’s square perimeter walls. Some persons relax comfortably on worn-in, 1980s-style couches while others sit cross-legged on the carpet. A few are out of sight, on the kitchen floor. The front door is ajar. A motorcycle revs its engine and proceeds down the alleyway. Grace is in the heart of downtown Charleroi.But the exterior exhaust is stale in comparison to smells of sticky rice and spicy soup wafting from Tiono’s living room. The congregation stands to sing. The staccato Bahasa Indonesia language blends freely over the four chord progressions of praise and worship songs. “Because of your will, everything has been created for God’s glory” they sing. Some eyes are closed; others peer into a single sheet of music.After congregational singing, most return to their seats. But Melky Tirtasaputra of PPC remains standing (along with an infant girl who roams the communal circle). “Our destination is the same, though our way to get there is different” Tirtasaputra says. In his exhortation, Tirtasaputra describes God as our divine Global Positioning System. “Like a GPS, God let’s us make mistakes.”“Recalculating. Recalculating. God won’t tell us, ‘you’re on our own,’” Tirtasaputra says. “God is looking for people who are looking for God.”The persons of Grace are searching for God, among each other and through connections with PPC.But they’re not the only ones. With the help of PPC and Nation’s Worship Center (also located on McKean St., one block west of PPC), three additional congregations similar to Grace are emerging in urban areas throughout the eastern United States, including New York City, Atlanta, and Washington, D.C.Siahaan and PPC also help lead worship once a month at the congregation in New York. According to Siahaan, the church in New York heard about PPC from friends and wanted to connect with churches near Philadelphia. “They don’t feel a part of the churches in New York City,” Siahaan said.Pastor Beny Krisbianto and persons from Nations Worship Center assist the emerging churches in Washington and Atlanta. The church in Atlanta recently called Krisbianto in search of a new pastor. A plan has been developed for someone from Philadelphia to move to Atlanta and pastor the church there.The congregation in Washington is only beginning but is also linked with communities in South Philadelphia.“These churches don’t have anyone covering them,” Siahaan said of the relationships between the various emerging congregations and their local communities. “They live in community together, but only as small, immigrant communities.” Siahaan wants to grow with the emerging congregations, as communities that span the geographical boundaries of the Appalachian Mountains.In a testimony to the deepening partnership between PPC and Grace, Siahaan said, “The people of Charleroi asked us recently, ‘please, can you bring us rice and noodles?’ And so we did.”For Siahaan and others, extending grace ultimately means more than leading worship. “This is not about organization,” Siahaan said. “We are here to build bridges between our communities.”