News-Record.com

A Montagnard community, worshipping in the Bunong language, met to praise God for the first time in a new setting May 18. The Sedgefield Presbyterian Church invited the congregation to worship in their facilities on Sundays from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m.

This new partnership was a natural evolvement for the church.

Six years ago Lutheran Family Services asked the Sedgefield community to sponsor a refugee family that had fled from Vietnam and had been living for a year in Cambodia. The Sedegefield congregation had a 36-hour notice of their arrival. Church members helped this family of two adults and three young boys move into a two-bedroom apartment in Greensboro.

They were settled into their new home and country, early on June 20, 2002 (which happened to be World Refugee Day). They quickly connected with the Montagnard community in the area. With the help of the Sedgefield community they have found jobs that suits the family and have bought a home that was formerly owned by Sedgefield members. The family has added a little girl to their home and has extended family living in the area.

There are several places of worship for the Montagnard believers in Greensboro. But within the community there are five tribes speaking five languages. The family associated with Sedgefield attended an afternoon worship service at a larger Montagnard church. They now gather to sing and worship together in the language of Bunong with families coming to Greensboro from Asheboro, High Point and Winston Salem. Their initial worship included about 65 children, youth and adults.

The Sedgefield congregation meets for summer worship at 10 a.m. in the sanctuary.

The Montagnard congregation gathers in the fellowship hall for worship at 8 a.m. Members from both communities meet in the kitchen as services begin and end to make or put away coffee refreshments.

The Montagnard congregation hopes it will be able to grow in faith as it worships with familiar language and customs and with its own pastors. Members look forward to the time when they can expand from not only worshipping together, but also to gather in small groups for study.

The Sedgefield community looks forward to encouraging the use of our facilities for additional worship. The church senses the blessing of finding ways to continue the hospitality they initiated by hosting a Montagnard family. When the elders of the church were approached about sponsoring the additional worship service, there was no dissension in the decision. It was apparent that this invitation was good for both of the congregations.

The congregations look forward to considering a joint education program for the children of both churches. Sedgefield will be welcoming the Montagnard community to family events and other events to enjoy and enhance the church grounds.

The congregations of Sedgefield Presbyterian and Bunong speaking Montagnard believers meet at 4216 Wayne Road. The church is near Wayne Road and Groometown (at the Rite-Aid intersection).

The Rev. Tempe Fussell is the pastor at Sedgefield Presbyterian Church, 4216 Wayne Road, Greensboro http://www.sedgepres.org. For more information on the Montagnard service, call the church at 299-4061.