May 25th

Passing Along Seeds of Welcome

Chin Christian Church welcomes Shalom Worship and Healing Centre

The building fills with people worshipping and praising God in Tigrinya. The band plays, the preacher preaches, the people respond with words of Hallelujah and Amen. The building fills with people worshipping and praising God in Hakha - Chin. The band plays, the preacher preaches, the people respond with words of Hallelujah and Amen. Different languages, but the same God. Welcome to Sunday worship on Victoria Street in Kitchener for Chin Christian Church and Shalom Worship and Healing Centre.

“We don’t have the words to express our thanks,” says Pastor Daniel Tela from Shalom Worship and Healing Centre. “Chin Christian Church gave us welcome. They said, ‘This is your home – come and worship here.’”

"We see the heart of Christ in the people of Chin Christian Church." - Pastor Daniel Tela

Shalom Christian Worship and Healing Centre met at First Mennonite Church for the past ten years. Because of the pandemic everything shut down, including places of worship. The Shalom congregation no longer had a place to gather. “We were homeless,” says Pastor Daniel. “First Mennonite is our mother church. We have a great heart and respect for them and they for us. They lifted us to help us come to this new place and continue to support us in many ways.”

As Shalom was searching for a new place to worship, they shared their need with Norm Dyck, MCEC Mission Minister. “It was Pastor Norm who told us that Shalom was looking for a place to worship,” says Pastor Jehu Lian, co-pastor at Chin Christian Church. “We met as church leaders and agreed to open our doors for them to worship here.”

"Just like the Hmong congregation loved us, we also want to love Shalom." - Pastor Joseph Raltong

This is a familiar story for the Chin Christian Church. In 2004 they too were homeless, without a place to worship. They met in people’s homes and in temporary places as they searched for a permanent worship space. In a conversation at work, someone from the Chin congregation shared of their struggle with a compassionate co-worker. The co-worker attended First Hmong Mennonite Church and immediately went to her congregational leaders. First Hmong opened their doors for the Chin congregation who worshipped there for seven years. In 2014 Chin Christian Church was able to purchase their current worship building on Victoria Street in Kitchener.

“We believed that this was our great chance to open our church to our brothers and sisters at Shalom,” says Pastor Joseph Raltong, co-pastor at Chin Christian Church. “Just like the Hmong congregation loved us, we also want to love Shalom.”

Since October 2021, Shalom has been worshipping at the Chin Christian Church. Shalom is a congregation of 400 adults plus children. The size of the worship space allows for the adults to gather, but not the children. Often one parent is at home with the children one week and the next week the other parent stays home. Covid restrictions have also reduced the number of people who can be in the building. “We still don’t have enough space here for all our members and our children. We need for our children to come to church,” explains Pastor Daniel. “We are trusting God for a place of our own.”

While Shalom continues to look for a new worship space that will accommodate all of their people, they are grateful for the generosity of the Chin Christian Church. “They are supporting us in prayer and have opened their doors to us until we find a bigger place,” says Pastor Daniel. “We see the heart of Christ in the people of Chin Christian Church. They have a shown us Christ’s love.”