Lately I’ve been delving into memories from my childhood days at First Presbyterian Church, Altadena, previously known as Pasadena Union Presbyterian Church (and prior to that, Pasadena Japanese Union Church). I’m trying to prepare for a presentation to one of the 50^th Anniversary events for the National Caucus of Korean Presbyterian Churches (NCKPC). The Korean Presbyterian Men met about a week ago in Chicago, and our own Dongwoo Lee was one of the speakers. Due to a mix-up with Steve Yamaguchi (who I think will try to greet them remotely from his current role as pastor of Tokyo Union Church), I will sub for him and go to Denver October 18-20 to meet with the symposium focusing on the future of the Korean-American church. The symposium planners are asking Chinese- and Japanese-Americans to share our experience, as we have been in the US longer.

The NCKPC is the collection of all Korean congregations in the PC(USA). Currently there are 350-400 churches with almost 500,000 members, but many of the church members are 1^st generation, and are moving into retirement age. This question about the Korean-American church’s future has been a source of on-going concern for church leaders, and it is now more critical as the immigration rate from Korea is dropping. US Census reports show that there were 290,000 Korean immigrants in the US in 1980, 1,100,000 in 2010, and the number actually decreased by 2019, to 1,013,000. In 2019, there were an additional 448,700 people identifying as Korean who were born in the United States; they represent 31% of all Koreans in the US.

Anyway, as I have reflected on my childhood in the Japanese Presbyterian church, I remembered this Scripture passage about fitting in, which I remember my uncle preaching on regularly. Yet I have never heard it preached on by anyone else, and I myself have never preached it, and I began preaching regularly on World Communion Sunday 24 years ago. While I didn’t know how big (or small) a concept this was for other Christians, I do remember thinking how it fit in well with the Japanese penchant for conforming to the larger group.

I’ve also thought about this in relation to the intercultural orientation of Minimization, which describes San Gabriel Presbytery as a group and myself as an individual. I’ve become more aware of the ways people rely on areas of commonality when relating to groups they are not totally comfortable with. I’m now wondering whether the prevalence of this strategy reflects where we are in the world: in general, we do not deny or prejudge other cultures, but we are not yet comfortable with “going deep” in connecting with people of different backgrounds. So we can acknowledge that we have diverse backgrounds, but it feels more safe to focus on whatever we have in common, or adjust to the dominant culture, rather than explore what makes us different. Conversely, when I am with people from other cultures with whom I am comfortable, I have no trouble referencing our cultural differences.

As the Reforming Presbytery Practices group continues to meet, we have become more aware that being a truly inclusive presbytery, where we can understand and incorporate the wide range of cultural values and perspectives, takes much more effort than we have chosen in the past. I remember Alhambra True Light, and the work they put into any meeting, which included having everything written so it can be translated in three languages ahead of time, and having simultaneous translators available at every meeting. We have started to streamline things like putting more items in the Consent Agenda, but that’s just the first step. The group has been excellent at looking for ways to find time to deepen our relationships and understanding of each others’ cultures.

I think there has been great progress, in the church and in the world. One subtle shift is for Euro- Americans to recognize that they are a culture too, and there are specific values held in that culture that are not necessarily shared by others. Here’s an example: one cultural value that Elizabeth Gibbs Zehnder mentioned at our Presbytery meeting was staying on time, so she shortened her presentation to keep to the planned schedule. There are many traditional cultures, such as in Latin America or among Pacific Islanders, where people do not cut their activities to fit the clock, but they take as long as they need to in order to finish what they are doing, which may include taking the time to connect with each other on a personal level. And so we have some people who are always on time, and some even get insulted if they have to wait for a latecomer. On the other hand, others are stressed to figure out how to meet the appointed schedule, if there is something or someone who needs their attention, and often end up being “late” to their next event. (I once asked some native Hawaiians how they do it, because they are rarely late—their response was they would not schedule events back to back, and my experience is that they would not try to pack so many events in a day.)

What would it take to allow our diverse members to live and work in a way that works for them, rather than force themselves to fit the current dominant way we do things? We may not accommodate all differences— but it will be great help for us to do some self-examination and prayer time, and to take advantage of our growing number of opportunities to connect with folks you may not know yet. We don’t know how to do it all, but that’s what the prayer is for! Keep your hearts and minds open to God’s leading for all of us.

In the peace of Christ,

Yesterday was an important day in the Presbytery of San Gabriel. In the morning, Arcadia Community Church called Rev. John Scholte to be their new pastor. It was a joyous day, a clear demonstration of God’s grace in bringing together a gifted pastor and a faithful, vibrant church. It was a gift for COM Moderator Cyndie Crowell and me to witness the work of the Pastor Nominating Committee, who represented different parts of the Arcadia church, yet who listened well to each other’s perspectives, and offered their varied skills and priorities in a fruitful manner. Rev. Scholte, who currently has standing with the Reformed Church in America (RCA), should be coming before the Presbytery on November 16^th.

In the afternoon, the Presbytery installed Rev. Lisa Hansen as pastor of Pasadena Presbyterian Church in a beautiful service that marked a hopeful new chapter in PPC’s ministry. Lisa is providing faithful, solid leadership for all of PPC, and though other transitions lay ahead, the Gospel lives through the people of PPC.

You may remember that Lisa also transferred in from the RCA. The RCA is the denomination that is closest to the PC(USA)—one RCA official refers to them as “the Dutch PCUSA.” But the RCA is facing serious internal conflict. My understanding is that they will be making some fundamental decisions about the future of the denomination in their General Synod next month, and I told the clerk of the classis (think stated clerk of the presbytery) in Southern California that I’d ask you to pray for them. Just as we have seen the gracious hand of God in directing these churches in Pasadena and Arcadia, let us pray that all churches and denominations—and their members and pastors—see many reasons to give thanks for God’s providence, especially in times of transition.

In between these two events, the September Camino de San Diego (aka the Virtual Border Trip) concluded by watching the livestream of the Border Church at worship (https://www.facebook.com/BorderChurch), a weekly church service held with people on both sides of the border between Tijuana and San Diego, and our closing reflection on our last few weeks visiting the border. The trip is organized—beautifully—by Via International (https://viainternational.org/), and this virtual approach provides valuable glimpses into not only the crisis of a broken immigration system, the inequalities and trials that cause people to attempt to migrate to the United States, and some really impressive self-determined community development work that is facilitated by Via International and others. I hope that we can offer this again, and more people will be able to experience it.

I have to say that these visits were quite challenging, especially at this particular time when it seems the whole world is being displaced. During these last few weeks of the Border Trip, we also heard about the evacuation and eventual placement of tens of thousands of Afghan refugees, we saw the horrible treatment of Haitian refugees attempting to enter into Texas, and Congress and the Administration continue to stumble in their attempts to resolve multiple problems in the US policies on immigration, even as a Texas federal court ruled that DACA is illegal.

The cumulative effect of so many people trying to enter the relative safety and prosperity of the United States can overwhelm all of us as we try to figure out how to be compassionate and prudent in managing the continuing stream of people trying to find a home in the United States. Continued attempts to close the border bring to mind a large and well-appointed palace housing a relatively small group of people, who are doing everything they can do to block entry into the palace by large groups of needy people trying to get in.

I confess that I am almost paralyzed by the shame of recognizing the injustice in a privileged few withholding resources from so many (and knowing that I am one of those few), and the panic of being overrun by what seems to be a never-ending stream of potential immigrants. What do we do?

We try to manage the situation, to be prudent in finding a feasible approach to the immigration situation. It’s like the challenge faced by affluent Christians (and that includes nearly all of us)—it’s so popular to say we need to take care of ourselves, and make sure we have enough before we can give to others, but what is enough? Do we ever get to the point where we are able to give freely?

Unfortunately, the Bible doesn’t give us any easy answers. The Bible gives answers like:

• Go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor
• Deny yourselves and take up your cross daily and follow
• There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold.

Personally, the question of immigration may be answered by the Psalmist who wrote “The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it.” If we treat everything we try to manage as the Lord’s, and not our own, would we make different decisions? Is it right for us to try to hold onto property and privilege, if we realize that we really don’t own what we have to enjoy?

I share this reflection humbly, knowing that I regularly spoil myself with frivolous luxuries. But if we claim to follow the Bible, we need to think what the Bible is saying about our choices, and the people whose choices we deny. I make no demands; but I would ask that you join me in praying on it.

And in the meantime, may you enjoy the many blessings God has given you—and may we all trust that God will continue to bless us.

In the peace of Christ,

I am part of the Camino de San Diego Virtual Border Trip, which is being offered in conjunction with Via International and the Southern California Presbyterian Immigrant Accompaniment Ministry. Our first stop was Chicano Park in San Diego. I didn’t even know about this wonderful place, a true model of community claiming, defending, and building on their rights!

Two of the artists who work on the amazing murals at Chicano Park spoke with us.  As they live close to the border between Mexico and the United States, they regularly cross back and forth between the nations; about 100,000 people commute regularly between Tijuana and San Ysidro. They are called “fronteriz@s” or borderlanders. They are connected to both nations.

Among many things, I was struck by the discussion of identity. At one level, the artists shared the challenge of their dual identity, not being fully accepted as Mexican in Mexico, or as American in the United States. But they also gain strength from asserting and expressing and celebrating their identity: through their artwork, through revived traditions such as Aztec dances and healing practices, and through storytelling within the community.

I was intrigued by this as an Asian-American. When asked, Asian-Americans speak most passionately about identity. I believe that a key benefit that Asian-Americans have is our ability, for the most part, to trace our ancestry back several generations to our ancestral homeland. Our ancestral identity is relatively intact, which gives us a sense of security from knowledge of our roots. This just happens to be my belief; I am aware that there are Asians who have either lost or rejected their family and cultural heritage. But when I consider the way Africans were ripped away from their roots during the days of the slave trade, or the number of White Americans who do not have a sense of identity, I think of the stories of my ancestors to be a blessing.

Because of this, I had to ponder the words of our guides, who also gained strength from their identity—but their identity was much more complicated than mine. How could people look back on generations of struggle and persecution, and gain strength?

As much as I lean on my sense of identity as a Japanese-American, I also look to the Bible to understand my identity, my spiritual ancestral roots among the people of Israel and followers of Jesus Christ. What is my identity as a Christian?

In our Presbytery meeting this Saturday (have you registered yet?!), we will discuss the results of the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI), which measures our intercultural competence as the Presbytery. One thing that the developers of the IDI recommend to most of us is to learn more about our own culture. Because “culture” is not limited to ethnicity, perhaps it would be helpful for us to explore our cultural identity as Christians—or even as Presbyterians. In a recent conversation after one of our “Reforming Presbytery Practices” group meetings, some young teaching elders shared how they do not feel included in the Presbyterian in-circle, because they did not grow up in Presbyterian families. There are assumptions and values that are shared almost subconsciously among cradle Presbyterians—sometimes people refer to this as “Presbyterian DNA.”

In some ways, our Presbyterian identity is a guide and even a source of pride for many of us. But it is quite possible that elements of that identity can constrain us as a church, especially when we fail to recognize that some of those elements keep us from welcoming and flexing with people from different backgrounds. For instance, our appreciation of traditional Western education and the related attachment to the written word in English can make us develop very rationalistic, word-heavy and complicated approaches to worship and church governance. This has resulted in expectations of church sessions that are daunting to people of nearly every background.

Perhaps it would be helpful for us to consider who we are—as individuals, as Presbyterians, as Christians. And the Bible does give us great insight into our identity, and it’s almost as complicated as our friends at the border. We can look back and remember that Jesus told his followers that they will have the power of the Holy Spirit—but also that the world will reject them, as Jesus was rejected. We are a people who are strengthened by knowledge that we connect with an authority far beyond earthly powers, and that even when we are persecuted, God will protect us and even work through our faithful witness. Like the Fronteriz@s, we can be bold to challenge oppression, because we know what God would want for us and for all marginalized peoples. All we need to do is trust in God, and follow the teachings that Jesus offers for God’s children, teachings that surround the bold statement “you will be children of the Most High”— teachings like humility, love for one’s enemies, and radical forgiveness.

As we consider ways we must change in order to welcome more of God’s children into our shared ministry, it might be compelling to consider what it means to be Presbyterian in a very changed context. And as we consider who we are and whose we are, may we be grateful for and recognize the gifts of our spiritual roots. And may we also be emboldened to do the will of the God who made us and saved us, and got us to this point. May we bearers of the grace that God has offered to us.

See you on Saturday, on Zoom or at San Marino!

Together with you in Christ,