wfn.org | "God, Rice and Tea" nourishes young Asian-American Episcopalians

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2000-131

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"God, Rice and Tea" nourishes young Asian-American Episcopalians

by Jan Nunley

     (ENS) "God, Rice, and Tea," the first national Episcopal gathering for 
Asian-American young adults, was "a great success," according to organizers of 
the event. The three-day conference, held August 24-27 in San Jose, California, 
was sponsored by the Episcopal Asiamerica Ministry, part of the Congregational 
Ministries office at the Episcopal Church Center.

     "From most participants I talked to, it exceeded their expectation," said 
the Rev. Fred Vergara, chaplain to the conference and vicar of Holy Child, San 
Jose, one of the Bay Area's growing Filipino-American churches. "Asian-American 
young adults had a chance to meet each other in the context of fellowship and 
learning." 

     Vergara led a workshop on time management, aimed at helping participants 
"have a sense of the future and how they wish to order their lives to contribute 
meaningfully to both the church and society." He also introduced the gathering to 
what he called a "Christian-Episcopalian Tai Chi." 

Asian? American? Episcopalian?

     One of the most valuable workshops, said Vergara, was on the thorny question 
of integrating an Asian-American identity with that of a Christian and an 
Episcopalian. "The workshop enabled us to look deeper into our feelings and 
insights on what really constitute our mixed identity," Vergara reported. 
Participants in the workshop were asked to decide where they would place 
themselves on a scale of identity--left side, more American than Asian; right 
side, more Asian than American. 

     "Most of us, including myself, put ourselves in the center, trying to speak, 
act, think and live in the American context but at the same time trying to 
preserve our Asian roots and heritage and culture. Most of us feel that 
'bridging' the two cultural banks is close to the Anglican via media--more 
'both/and,' rather than 'either/or,'" Vergara added.

     "A consistent thread of our workshops and discussions was that we needed to 
identify these identities and really examine and learn more about them simply 
because they are a major part of who we are," said Vivian Lam, a member of the 
conference planning team. "I don't feel that we approached it as identities to 
'maintain' so much as identities to uncover and embrace." 

     Those identities are more varied than many suppose, said Lam, embracing 
cultures as diverse as those of India, China, Japan, Southeast Asia, the 
Philippines, Malaysia, and Hawaii. "The term 'Asian-American' could mean anything 
from a person of Asian heritage whose family has been here for several 
generations, to a new immigrant from Asia who is now living in America," she 
pointed out. "And just the fact that, no matter what your race or ethnic 
background, people are complex individuals who are difficult to pin down. Not to 
mention that 'young' covers an incredibly wide age range of people in different 
life stages."

Multicultural or "market segmentation"?

     At the final night's "YA Forum," Vergara recalled, there was some discomfort 
with a suggestion by a facilitator to talk about issues of sexuality. "Asian-
American youth seem to want to discuss sex outside of a large-group context," he 
observed.

     After a break, the group decided to discuss the question of what makes many 
Asian-American young adults turn away from the church. "There were many 
interesting answers," he said. "Some said that there seems no space for them, 
both physically and culturally." The atmosphere and music in most congregations 
reflects "elderly values." "They also reckoned with the fact that church life 
seems to be similar to work and school," with very little of the entertainment 
value of activities in the secular world. "The incorporation of Asian elements in 
worship was actually touched upon in our opening community activity--a 
demonstration of a traditional Japanese tea ceremony, and some discussion on its 
links to Eucharist and spirituality," reported Lam.

     While looking to multiculturalism as the future of the Church, Vergara 
reported, the group also embraced the idea of "market segmentation: reaching out 
to 'unchurched' Asian-Americans by creating Asian-friendly congregations."

     "This is our first event for Asian-American young adults." said the Rev. 
Winston Ching, the Episcopal Church's officer for Asiamerica Ministry. "We have 
had a very successful program for Asian-American youth and young adults for more 
than 15 years, and felt that something was needed specifically for the older 
group to keep them involved in the church."

     "My hope for future gatherings is simply that the community that was built 
will continue to grow and be strengthened, and that God would continue to be at 
the center of it all!" added Lam.

--The Rev. Jan Nunley is deputy director of the Episcopal Church's Office of News 
and Information.