All around us the Episcopal Church continues to change. Its leadership, its liturgy, its music are among the differences from only a few years ago. The church sounds different, and many of its members look different. The incorporation of members of various ethnicities into the body of Christ has enabled the church to claim rightfully the diversity of which it has long boasted. Sudanese refugees are part of the life of a parish in San Diego (p. 10). Relocated Vietnamese persons are integral parts of a Virginia congregation [TLC, May 31]. Somalis, Hmong, Filipinos, Haitians, Mexicans and others have brought new life to stagnant or dying congregations in many dioceses. The Eucharist is being celebrated in 40 or more languages in such dioceses as Olympia and Los Angeles. A recent article traced the growth of Hispanic ministry in the Episcopal Church [TLC, June 14].

Ethnic ministries may hold the key to the possibility of future growth in the Episcopal Church. If it is to live up to its official name, the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society, the church needs to take its role of mission more seriously than it has done in the past. The church must recognize the needs and aspirations of ethnic groups which inhabit our communities and neighborhoods. It must develop a support network for lay and clergy leaders who serve these groups and a strategy for ministering to persons from other cultures. When we open our churches and welcome persons from ethnic groups into our midst, our churches will be changed even further. We will have a glimpse in miniature of what it means to be part of the worldwide Anglican Communion.