The Pluralism Project at Harvard University

The research was conducted by The University of Michigan-Dearborn Pluralism Project.

Description

The Korean Seventh-Day Adventist Church is located in Livonia, a middle-class suburb west of Detroit. The church's location is on a main road that is lined with restaurants and shops, but behind it is a middle-class residential neighborhood. The congregation started out in Detroit, but purchased the present building in 1985 from another Seventh-Day Adventist Church (Metropolitan) without any serious obstacles from the community. The building includes a sanctuary, kitchen, pastor's study, an open area in the basement that is used for youth worship area, and aromm for Sabbath school and Bible study.

Membership

The church has a membership of approximately 140 individuals, and has had steady growth over the past few years. There are about 50 youth members in the church. The majority of the members are Koreans, with the exception of a few who are Latino Americans. On Saturday, Sabbath school begins at 9:30 a.m. The Sabbath service is spit along language lines. There is one service held in the sanctuary for the Korean speakers and one in the church basement for the members who speak English. The services are carried out in the same manner, following the Adventist pattern. After the service, there is a weekly potluck.

Informal conversation is in Korean among adults and in English among young people. Language has been a major issue since many of the older people in the church have placed a high priority on maintaining Korean language and cultural values, while many of the young people have not learned the language.

Activities and Celebrations

During the week, the church offers Bible study sessions and Friday vespers. Special services during the year include the first Sabbath of the New Year, when people wear traditional Korean dress to church, an infant's 100th day party, and Korean Independence Day (August 15). To celebrate Korean Independence day, members of the Seventh-Day Adventist church come together with Koreans from other centers, including Presbyterian, Methodist, Full Gospel, and Roman Catholic, to perform tradition dances, participate in inter-church sports events, and demonstrate martial arts. During the year, the church also sponsors retreats, youth rallies, camping trips, health seminars, and cooking classes.

In the Community

The Korean Seventh-Day Adventist Church is involved in the Adopt-a-Highway program sponsored by the Michigan Department of Transportation. Through the Dorcas Program, the church helps needy families by holding food drives, collecting clothing, and visiting nursing homes. They also sponsor events to raise funds to support missionaries.