Pittsburgh Area Karen Refugee Ministry Begins
Temple Baptist Church, under the leadership of its Pastor, Rev. John Reynolds, has stepped forward as the lead church for the Pittsburgh Area Karen Refugee Ministry. Located in the Mt. Oliver section of Pittsburgh, Temple is the closest PBA church to the largest concentration of Karen in the area in Prospect Park. Altogether there are over 400 Karen living in the Troy Hill, Green Tree, Castle Shannon, and Prospect Park communities, with an estimated 40% of these folks already being Baptist.
After several months of planning, the Karen outreach ministry kicked off on Palm Sunday, April 5. A contracted school bus picks the Karen up in Prospect Park and delivers them back home each week. While at church, the Karen participate in the Sunday School and Morning Worship programs. The largest group of bus riders are children and youth and the Temple Baptist folks are providing both Sunday School classes and a Children's Church program. The children and youth are fluent, or rapidly becoming fluent, in English. There is a need for a Karen speaking person to lead a class for the Karen adults. During worship, all participate together, with the Karen frequently bringing special music in either Karen or English.
The ministry has been growing since the first Sunday. The number of Karen in Week 1 was 23; Week 2 was 38; Week 3 was 38; and Week 4 was 33, for a weekly average of 33. Prior to the initiation of the Karen ministry, the average worship attendance at Temple was 24, so this new outreach has more than doubled the size of their faith community.
There are lots of needs if this ministry is to be maintained over the long term. Anyone is welcome to come to Temple Baptist some Sunday morning to observe and see how they might be of help. Additional volunteers are needed to work with the children and build relationships with the adults in attendance. At Temple, Sunday School begins at 9:45 a.m. and Morning Worship at 11 a.m. Anyone fluent in the Karen language or who has experience working with immigrant and refugee communities would be a special blessing. The commitment would not need to be every Sunday, but might be one Sunday a month, or just for a month at a time.
There is also a substantial cost associated with the contracted bus transportation. This costs $214 per week. To date this has been sustained by special gifts and equal part contributions from the church and PBA. PBA has received a special $2,000 grant toward the costs of the Karen Refugee Ministry but we need to stretch this money as far as we can as we get this ministry established on a firm foundation. We are seeking "partner churches" that would be willing to underwrite the cost of the bus transportation for a week, or a couple of weeks, or a month at a time. This period of "sponsorship" would also be a great opportunity to plan for some of the "sponsor church" members to visit Temple and fellowship with the Karen and the people of the church.
We also need to find a way to transport smaller groups of Karen living in the other communities of residence to and from the church on Sunday morning. One of our churches has offered its 12-person van on permanent loan for this purpose, but a person or persons who could commit to drive one Sunday morning a month, or just for a month at a time would be helpful.
We are looking forward to welcoming Florence Li, ABC/USA Asian Ministries Coordinator, over the weekend of June 6-7 to help us assess our progress and make suggestions as to how we can enhance this ministry and help it to grow even more.
NEED MORE INFORMATION?
Contact Rev. John Reynolds, Temple Baptist Church; 743 Brownsville Road; Pittsburgh, PA 15210; Telephone: 412-481-6164 or
Denise Veselicky, Pittsburgh Baptist Association
Telephone: 412-687-3940 Email: pghbaptist@aol.com
WANT TO HELP SUPPORT THE MINISTRY FINANCIALLY?
Make your check payable to Pittsburgh Baptist Association mail to
PBA; 159 N. Bellefield Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213-2609 – Please note Karen Ministry in the memo section of your check.