Remembering God’s Faithfulness
In 2000, conversations stirred about creating a new worship service at HP Pres for people who had immigrated to the U.S. and longed to connect with others from similar cultures. With the support of the rest of the church leadership, Rev. Cyprian Guchienda was tasked with laying the foundation for this new worship service.
Over the next few months, prayers and preparation began for the f irst All Nations worship service. Rev. Cyprian Guchienda reached out to the immigrant community with which he was most familiar – people who had immigrated from various parts of Africa and had connections with Presbyterian churches in their home countries. In 2001, the very first All Nations worship service was held between seven members, representing six different countries.
They continued to meet faithfully every Sunday in a small room in the former Hunt Building. Each of the founding members invited others to join them, growing their numbers until they would no longer fit in the small room and moved to meeting in Wynne Chapel each week. One of the founding members, Wangechi Ndei, shares, “the worship service has continued to grow from a modest fellowship group to becoming an integral part of HP Pres.”
The draw of experiencing worship in a way that was familiar to how they had experienced it in their home countries appealed to people from all across the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. Wangechi shares, “A large part of what makes All Nations so unique is the culture embedded into the services from members of the congregation; it is not unusual to hear music in different African languages. It reminds them of the churches they left behind when they immigrated to the U.S.”
In their 25 years, All Nations has never forgotten their heritage or God’s faithfulness. We all have the chance to look at the past for a reminder that God did not bring us this far to abandon us now. He is always at work in our world.
As we celebrate 25 years of All Nations, we invite you to reflect on your own life. How have you seen God’s faithfulness at work through the years?
