Muslim couple surprises Missouri church

A moment of transformation, the presence of the divine touched a small town church in High Ridge, Mo., Sunday morning, Oct. 11.

Pastor Adrian McLean, who calls himself a Jamaican international pastor, says his fairly conservative congregation got an unexpected visit from two people who identified themselves as Muslims. The couple showed up to worship on Sunday unannounced and a little late, and asked to speak in the 9:30 a.m. service.

“We try to be an extravagant congregation, welcoming to all people and I didn’t know what … [they planned to say],” said McLean. “But I said okay, and gave them a chance to speak.”

The husband and wife, who said they are Pakistani Muslims, had a message of thanks for the UCC, and its general minister and president.

“They said that when they saw the Rev. John Dorhauer has called for an end to bigotry and mistreatment against Muslims in America, they were elated,” said McLean. “They didn’t know of any other denomination to make such a pronouncement. And since the UCC was the only Christian denomination to make such a call, in solidarity they decided to attend St. Martin UCC to share in our act of worship.”

Pastor McLean said they not only stayed the entire service, but they mixed and mingled for 20 minutes with everybody afterward.

“If my people were willing to mix and mingle with that man and his wife, Jesus did not die in vain.”

Not only that, McLean said when he ran into one of his members yesterday, he was told that they asked the visitors to come back.

“I have been there 12 years. My family are the only people of color –– 170 people in congregation. We have learned some new tricks and become a family. God is still speaking.”

Dorhauer, who on Thursday spoke out against planned anti-Islam protests, called on UCC congregations to stand in solidarity with people of the Muslim faith. His words, picked up by news publications and shared in social media, reached nearly 90,000 people on the UCC’s Justice and Witness Facebook page –– a record number. The same graphic on a different page received more than 1,800 likes and 1,600 shares.