Mixed Ministry Holiday Resource

Stacked rocks in a river

Caring for Mixed Folks during the Holidays 

Do you know Mixed students going home for Thanksgiving and/or Christmas? Here are some realities, conversation starters, and prayer points you can use when discussing the holidays with Mixed students (and faculty members), whether you live near their campus or in their hometown. 

If you’re monoethnic, hopefully this will give you insight to the Mixed experience. If you’re Mixed, hopefully this will help you strategize as you care for Mixed folks—including yourself!  

Reality: Not everyone goes home to family for the holidays 

Conversation Starters: 

  • Are you going home to be with family? (If no, why not? Where will you go instead?) 
  • Have you thought about being Mixed much before? About your Mixed family? 
  • Are there good parts to being with your family for the holidays? 
  • What do you find challenging about going home? Do you have anyone to pray with? 

Prayer Point: 
Lord, we pray for a sense of safety and belonging. 

Reality: Questions of identity and ethnicity can be uniquely complicated at home 

Conversation Starters: 

  • Which family will you be with? Is one group more honored than another?  
  • Do you have siblings, cousins, etc. that experience the family differently? Do you feel looked down on and/or over-celebrated, because of your appearance? How do you cope with racism from people that love you, especially in a Mixed family?  
  • Do you have any ways in which you express (as a family or self) the joy of being Mixed? (for example: celebrating with a variety of foods, in different languages, various styles of relaxing/playing, etc.)  

Prayer Point: 

Lord, we pray for healthy relationships that come from true repentance and love. 

Reality: Thanksgiving is complicated, and Christmas is tricky 

Conversation Starters: 

  • How does your heritage play into/connect with gospel truths about the holidays? 
  • For Thanksgiving, how do you navigate the complicated aspect of a family-centered holiday that negatively stereotypes Native culture (especially if you’re Native)? 
  • For Christmas, how do you respect other religions that might be part of your family, and/or fight against majority-culture expectations of uniformity? 

Prayer Point: 
Lord, show us how to celebrate your goodness in spirit and in truth. 
 
Download Mixed Ministry Holiday Resource (pdf)

Resource Topic - Primary
Community
Resource Type
Guide

Tags

Audience
Everyone
Chandra Crane headshot

Chandra Crane

Chandra Crane served with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship for 20+ years, working with grad students & faculty at Emory, Georgia Tech, and Mississippi College Law School. She is a founding member of the Mixed Ministry Leadership Team, was Mixed Ministry national coordinator in Multiethnic Initiatives/Creative Labs, and a national resource specialist in the dearly departed Discipleship & Leadership department.

Chandra is a multiethnic/multicultural/transracial adoptee: ethnically Thai and white, with white and Black cultural roots. Growing up in the Southwest and now happily transplanted to the Deep South, she is passionate about diversity and chosen family. She enjoys reading, gathering her receipts, and cheerfully defying stereotypes. Chandra is the author of Mixed Blessing: Embracing the Fullness of Your Multiethnic Identity (IVP 2020) and host of the podcast Mixed Blessing: Breaking Bread at the Multiethnic Table. Follow her at substack.com/@chcrane and other social media @ChandraLCrane.

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Glorianne Wright

Glorianne Wright

Glorianne Wright has been on staff with InterVarsity for nearly 20 years and after years of developing student leaders at Rutgers University, now serves as the National Coordinator for Mixed Ministry and a Creative Resource Specialist with Creative Labs. She helps oversee the creation of Ministry Playbook courses and provides creative and strategic leadership for a variety of initiatives. 

As a mixed white Latina leader, she is passionate about helping students and staff explore ethnic identity, belonging, and discipleship in multicultural contexts. 

Glorianne holds a degree in Psychology from Drew University and loves creating meaningful experiences—whether through InterVarsity training courses, conferences, or her kids' birthday parties. 

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