The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

www.oakvillebeaver.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, December 16, 2009 · 18 One faith, two cultures, two languages at one church By Melanie Cummings SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER Come together -- the Bible preaches it, Canada's constitution espouses it and even the Beatles sang about it. With this in mind, Hopedale Presbyterian Church is blazing a trail to become the first ministry of its kind. One that more accurately reflects the Canadian trait of multiculturalism. The English-speaking congregation is strengthening ties with the town's growing Korean community and has hired Rev. Wan Tae Oh to provide services in his native language, as well as help spread the word beyond the Third Line church's doors. One faith. Two cultures. Two languages. According to the 2006 census there is more than double the concentration of Koreans here than across the province. Nearly six per cent of the town's population is of Korean origin while the provincial complement is 2.5 per cent. Oh and his wife, Nam Soon Song were drawn to Canada in 2000 because of its mosaic trait. "It was sad for us to see Koreans segregating themselves from Canadian life. We decided that we didn't come on this adventure to Canada to live just among other Koreans, we wanted to enjoy other cultures, and bring along other Koreans with us," said Song. When the couple moved to Oakville in 2007, they approached Hopedale's Rev. Sean Foster about creating a joint congregation. Foster was a student of Song's while a divinity student at Knox College sem- "We hope our denomination is a model for other faiths, to become more multicultural like the world outside their place of worship." Rev. Sean Foster, Hopedale Presbyterian Church inary at the University of Toronto. "It's the first time an English congregation has reached out to another ethnic community," said Foster, who has been Hopedale's pastor for seven years. It took more than a year of discussion with church elders, congregants and planning to reach this historical moment. "It was a big step," said Foster, who admits there was trepidation over language barriers and cultural misunderstandings. Since making the merge official in September, Foster's congregants welcomed the Korean newcomers by building and installing a temporary sign, translated in their mother tongue, for the front lawn, have upgraded the phone system to allow the Korean-speaking community to reach Oh with ease, and created an office for the new minister as well. Services are held simultaneously, but in different rooms of the church, in Korean and English. Currently about 12 faithful attend Oh's mass and about 100 worshippers fill the pews in Foster's. At least four times a year, they will pray together in a joint mass, especially at Christmas, Easter and Thanksgiving. To further cement bonds, Wednesday coffee time and Thursday quilting sessions are established and there is talk of pairing Korean families with Canadian families to learn more about each other as well as offering English as a second language classes and Korean as a second language classes to help break down the language barriers. Cooking classes are in the works too. Oh is also visiting local Korean businesses spreading the word about Hopedale Presbyterian's groundbreaking joint congregation and to hopefully draw in more worshippers. Rapid growth may come from second generation Koreans. Predominately Korean youths participate in the senior Sunday school class because they speak English, while their parents attend the Korean worship. "We hope our denomination is a model for other faiths, to become more multicultural like the world outside their place of worship," said Foster. ALL YOU CAN EAT! HAVE YOUR NEXT GROUP FUNCTION AT EAST SIDE MARIO'S Group bookings for 10-70 people. Three special all inclusive group menus. Luncheons, dinner or cocktail appetizer parties. Speak to a manager to reserve now. East Side Mario's 905.829.3233 OVER 100 ITEMS ORDER AS MANY TIMES AS YOU WANT! 2 VIP rooms for Company Functions, Christmas & New Year's parties (By the AMC Theatres at Winston Churchill & QEW) 2035 Winston Park Dr. · Oakville 905.815.9888 AMAZING DECOR! X QEW www.eastsidemarios.com East Side Mario's is a registered trade-mark of PRC Trademarks Inc. Used under licence. © 2009 Prime Restaurants of Canada Inc.