We are excited to introduce New Light Christian Church (Senior Pastor: Rev. Nadine Schrodt), Buffalo, NY, which newly joined NAPAD, and thankful that God’s spirit is still at work in the church amid the pandemic. We look forward to sharing beautiful stories together. The message below the photo is from New Light Christian Church.
New Light Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) began in homes on the West Side of Buffalo, New York, in January of 2012. Our congregation is mainly Karen with a small percentage of Anglo. When we began, many in our congregation had only been in the United States for a short time, and we were welcoming newly arrived Karen refugees. Our ministry centered around helping them in the resettlement process and offering them a church family to walk beside them. Now, although we do not have any newly arriving Karen refugees, our ministry to meet the various needs of the Karen community continues.
We are currently leasing space in the upstairs of a former church. On Sunday mornings our church is alive with the sounds of music being practiced for worship, conversation over breakfast, and the children playing. About sixty of us gather for Intergenerational Sunday School in which children through seniors participate together in hands-on learning. Sunday School and worship are done in Karen and English. After Sunday School we transition to worship, most of us sitting on mats, some on chairs, led by our pastor, Rev. Nadine Schrodt.
Rev. Nadine has been with us since we began. She graduated in 2007 from Eden Theological Seminary in St. Louis, and was ordained that same year. Her work with refugees began in seminary when she interned at Journey’s End Refugee Resettlement agency in Buffalo, NY in 2006. Following seminary, she was called to Cleveland Heights Christian Church (Disciples). The church became an active co-sponsor with Journey’s End, working with Karen refugees. From there, she was called to help begin our new church. She currently serves on the board of the Karen Society of Buffalo, and on the Northeastern Region Commission on Ministry.
The joys and the blessings of New Light Christian Church are many and we celebrate all of them. We often have a thanksgiving worship in homes for events such as citizenship, jobs, new homes, new babies, engagements and birthdays. We celebrate baptisms at our annual church picnic. We celebrate various occasions with our brothers and sisters in other Karen churches, and join with the Karen community for the annual New Year and Wrist Tying celebrations. Our Christmas celebration involves our youth who take the message of Christ by caroling to about sixty-five homes.
New Light Christian Church is a gathering of faithful and hopeful people who know that we can do more together than we can do apart from one another. And, in that spirit, we look forward to being a part of the NAPAD.