DIVIDED METHODISTS

from Midwest Conservative Journal by The Editor

In Brooklyn, two Methodist congregations share a building and nothing else:

The United Methodist church in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, is anything but united.

Two pastors preach from the same pulpit and live in the same parsonage next door, but they are barely on speaking terms and openly criticize each other’s approach to the faith.

In the church’s social hall, two camps eye each other suspiciously as one finishes its meal of rice and beans while the other prepares steaming pans of chicken lo mein.

Two very different congregations share the soaring brick building on Fourth Avenue: a small cadre of about 30 Spanish-speaking people who have worshiped there for decades and a fledgling throng of more than 1,000 Chinese immigrants that expands week by week — the fastest-growing Methodist congregation in [Brooklyn].

Why is the Hispanic congregation dying out while the Chinese congregation is growing? The New York Timesreporter buries the lede, as they say.

Mr. Laporta, 55, hails from a church tradition of social action. He attends rallies for rent control and calls for immigration reform in his sermons. He says Mr. Peng ignores the plight of the illegal immigrants in his congregation.

Mr. Peng, 48, focuses more tightly on Scripture. “The people need the Word,” he said. He contends that Mr. Laporta has left his members spiritually hungry. “If the congregation needs to learn the policy, they can read the newspaper,” Mr. Peng said. “That’s why their congregation doesn’t grow.”

And that’s not all.

Chinese parishioners receive certificates of appreciation for every 12 new members they recruit. Most are immigrants from Fujian Province, under age 35 and living alone. On Sunday afternoons, after the Hispanic parishioners clear out, the social hall has the buzz of a lively mixer.

The Chinese parishioners work up to six days a week, often in restaurant kitchens. Many came to the church in search of community, and only afterward found Christianity, said an active member, Roy Ouyang. “It’s like a family,” said Mr. Ouyang, 26, a wedding photographer who arrived in this country five years ago. “I make new friends here. Maybe I can find a girlfriend, too.”

Let’s see. One congregation stresses this or that liberal cause and is dying. The other focuses on the Word of God, puts a premium on evangelism and is thriving. What could possibly be the reason for the difference between the two of them? Think, think, think.