The Rev. Winfred Vergara, the Episcopal Church’s missioner for Asiamerica ministries, and Priest in charge of St. Jame's Church Elmhurst, preaches June 20 during
Episcopal Asiamerica Ministry @ 40 gathering’s opening Eucharist.
Fred Vergara’s sermon at Episcopal Asiamerica Ministries gathering
The full text:
ARISE, AFIRE, ATONE
(Message of the Rev. Dr. Winfred B. Vergara,
Missioner for Asiamerica Ministries of The Episcopal Church at the
Opening Eucharist Celebrating the 40th Anniversary and Consultation of the Episcopal Asiamerica Ministries held in San Francisco, California last June 20, 2013)
I welcome you to the Consultation and 40th Anniversary
of Episcopal Asiamerica Ministry. Please turn to the person next to you
and say, “Happy Anniversary!” Thank you. Please be seated.
EAM Consultations always serve as my barometer to measure the mood of
Episcopal Asiamerica Ministries. Nine years ago today, in June 2004, I
was commissioned as the second missioner of EAM, right at this very
hotel (Hyatt Regency in San Francisco.) It was a great and wonderful
day, when then California Bishop Bill Swing, acting on behalf of then
Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold, anointed me for the task. Notably
present on that day and attending the EAM Consultation for the first
time, was then Bishop of Nevada, who two years later, in 2006, would
become the first woman Presiding Bishop and Primate of The Episcopal
Church, the Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori.
As I shared my hopes, visions and dreams, everything looked rosy and
pregnant with possibilities. My wife and I sold our home in San Jose,
California, left our parish and diocese, Holy Child Church in El Camino
Real and moved to the Big Apple. The song I sang was
“Start spreading the news; I’m leaving today, I wan’na be at 815, New York, New York.” (“815” is the insider language of The Episcopal Church Center to refer to its address, 815 Second Avenue, New York City.)
In my first year, I learned that our budget in The Episcopal Church
Center was adequate for holding annual consultations. We also had some
grant moneys to help start-up new missions and strengthen existing
ones. So during the 2005 Consultation in Seattle, Washington, I sang to
the EAM clergy,
“When you’re down and troubled, and you need a helping hand, and nothing, nothing is going right…you just call 815.”
In the succeeding years, we had consultations in Hawaii, in Los
Angeles and for the first time, in Kaohsiung. We had a wonderful time of
transnational networking as we savored the grand hospitality of the
Diocese of Taiwan, the Asian frontier of Province 8. We jumpstarted,
among others, the Korean Center for Mission in Los Angeles, with the
Rev. Aidan Koh as director, which developed a partnership with the
Anglican Church in Korea, through Archbishop Paul Kim, a missionary
exchange in some dioceses.
But in June 2009 Consultation in Florida, as we faced the worsening
economy, the restructuring of The Episcopal Church, the cut in the
budget and the moratorium on church wide conferences, I sang the song
“Lean
on me, when you’re not strong; don’t be afraid, I’ll help you carry on,
for, it won’t be long when I’m gon’na need somebody to lean on.”
We adapted to the situation, cancelled annual consultations and
decided to meet as Ethnic Convocations in order to economize. We also
decided to meet less in person and more in teleconferencing. We altered
the ways we do business, trying to do more with less. In lieu of EAM
consultations, we participated in pan-ethnic and pan-cultural “New
Community” and “Everyone Everywhere” conferences. Our youth participated
more in the Episcopal Youth Event, our young adults in “Why Serve” and
our leaders in various collaborative leadership and ministry training.
But I know, so many of you still long for the EAM Consultation which has not happened in the past three years and so this 40
th anniversary of the EAM provided us with a strong reason to do it.
Yet we know that times have changed and things are different. As the
economy continues to slow down, unemployment continues to rise, and the
church in general has declined, with many parishes and dioceses
struggling, and our budget is too lean and too tight to afford this
Consultation, my song is from the
Beatle’s “Help! I need somebody help! And just anybody… help!”
So now, I pause to thank God for helping make this day possible.
I thank the EAM Council for their partnership in raising funds. For
the first time in history, the EAM Council has ceased simply being the
implementing arm of the Asiamerica Ministry Office at 815, which used to
provide all of the funds. Today, Asiamerica Office and EAM Council have
become full and equal partners in holding this Consultation and I thank
the leadership of its president, Bayani Rico. I’ve never seen him play
golf when he was on earth, but I think it’s nice that one of your
fund-raising is the Winston Ching Golf Tournament.
I thank the Church Pension Group for assisting us with some amount, through the EAM Council.
I thank the Youth & Faith Formation Office for giving us a
partnership grant to help cover our expenses for the EAM youth and Young
Adults program.
I thank Province VIII for providing scholarships to some of its delegates.
I thank the Diocese of California and Grace Cathedral for hosting
this event along with the Dioceses of El Camino Real and Northern
California. I thank the Asian Commission of the Diocese of California
for the legworks they’ve done in logistics and liturgy. I thank the
Church Divinity School of the Pacific for donating giveaways.
I thank my fellow Ethnic Missioners and all my colleagues in The
Episcopal Church Center for sharing their time and expertise to lead
workshops and assist in whatever ways to make this Consultation work.
I thank our overseas guests, especially the primates and bishops from
Asia, for coming. In the past, we had some funds to partially assist in
their travel, but today, we can only offer room and board. So we are
grateful for their share of the burden and we are thankful for their
love and support.
I thank the Presiding Bishop (Bishop Katharine), the President of the
house of Deputies (Gay Jennings), the Chief Operating Officer (Bishop
Stacy), and the Director of Mission (Sam Mc Donald) for their
inspiration, encouragement and support.
I thank you all who are here today. You honor us with your wonderful
presence and remarkable patience in bearing with our logistical
problems. Truly, it takes a whole “Episco-Village” to celebrate the 40
th Anniversary of the Episcopal Asiamerica Ministries!
GOSPEL TEXT: LUKE 11:9-13
In the midst of trials and challenges, not the least being financial,
my mantra has always been: “Where God guides, God provides. God’s work,
done in God’s way, in God’s time will never lack provision.” As people
of faith, we must always believe that God answers our deepest needs,
mends our broken hearts, wipes the tears from our eyes—and leads us to
abundant life. Our gospel today reads: “Ask and it shall be given to
you, seek and you shall find, knock and the door shall be opened unto
you.”
A poor, unmarried and blind man was praying and God said to him. “Ask
of me only one thing and I will give it to you.” The man was torn in
turmoil for he has many needs. If he asks for wealth only, what good
would it be if he were blind and with no wife and children to share it
with. If he asks for wife and children, what good would it be if he were
poor and blind; and if he asks for sight, his heart would only be
broken to see his wife and children wallow in poverty. So he set out
into thinking and in moment of inspiration, he prayed to God: “Lord, I
ask you of only one thing: Give me
THE JOY —of seeing my wife and children eating New York steak on a silver platter!”
Perhaps this was the kind of wise prayer expressed by the eight (8)
Asian priests and one lay woman, who gathered in San Francisco in June
1973: James Pun, vicar of True Sunshine, San Francisco; John Yamasaki,
rector of St. Mary’s, Los Angeles; Winston Ching, vicar of St. John’s,
San Francisco; Lincoln Eng, archdeacon of Diocese of Oregon; Tim
Nakayama , vicar of St. Peter’s, Seattle; Albany To, vicar of Church of
Our Savior, New York; Victor Wei, vicar of Church of Our Saviour,
Oakland; and Robert Tsu, vicar of St. Anselm’s, Lafayette, California
and Betty Lee, a laywoman leader of the Diocese of San Francisco.
The nine disciples gathered for fellowship and decided to ask to ask
of only one thing—a meager fund to develop a Newsletter that would
connect the few Asian churches to one another. There is a Chinese
proverb which says, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with the
first step.” That first step resulted in a resolution which was
presented to the 64
th General Convention held in Louisville,
Kentucky on September 29-October 11, 1973. As the resolution journeyed
to the floor and presented by Convention deputy, John Yamasaki, it was
finally worded as “Resolved, that the 64
th General Convention
calls for the establishment of Episcopal Asiamerica Ministry in order
to deepen and strengthen the existing ministries of the Episcopal Church
involved with Asian and Pacific Island peoples as well as to establish
new ones.”
The response of the General Convention was overwhelming. The
resolution was unanimously adopted with an annual budget of $50,000
which at that time was quite substantial. At the initial organizational
meeting of the EAM, again in San Francisco, Canon James Pun, the prime
mover of the original request said and I quote: “I only asked for a
bicycle; but they gave us a bus and hired a driver!”
The first driver of the EAM bus was the Rev. Dr. Winston Ching. He
stayed in this job for 30 years, working the infrastructure with great
diligence and wisdom. Today, we pause to honor his legacy and that of
the pioneers of Episcopal Asiamerica Ministry. We are, today, standing
on their shoulders.
As the second bus driver, I endeavor not only to preserve the legacy
but to be faithful and continue the vision even amidst the changes and
chances both in American church and society. What began as a gathering
by a handful of clergy forty years ago, has now become a conglomeration
of around 150 churches and missions identified as the “EAM Network.”
Like answer to the prayer of the poor, unmarried and blind man, the
grace of God is beyond what we can ever ask for or imagine. God is able
to do exceedingly, according to the power working in us, even in our
weakness.
And so today, as we celebrate the 40 years of God’s grace and
blessing, we are again asking for wisdom as we gather in God’s name and
in God’s presence. We need the wisdom of the past, the confidence of the
present and the hope of the future. I am happy that the theme of the
Consultation aptly describes my own sentiment: “EAM at 40: Remember,
Celebrate and Re-Envision God’s Mission.” We are not really that old.
Some people even say, “Life begins at 40” So I am confident that EAM
will not only survive but will continue to thrive in the 21
st century and on to the next forty years or more!
I feel in my heart that the best legacy that Winston Ching and other
pioneers of the EAM have left us, more than the foundational
infrastructure of the EAM, is a word, just one word–“Asiamerica.” Nobody
in these United States use the word “Asiamerica” but EAM. In many
circles, the word used is “Asian American,” but for us, we use the word
Asiamerica.
What is the meaning of Asiamerica? In origin, it was meant to be a
two-pronged ministry: ministry to immigrants from Asia and to American
citizens of Asian ancestry. As EAM has evolved in history, it has now
become a three-fold ministry: ministry to Asian immigrants, ministry to
Asian Americans and ministry of building bridges to Asia. It is a
cultural ministry, a cross-cultural ministry, a transcultural ministry.
It is an ethnic ministry, a generational ministry, an ecumenical
ministry. It is an immigrant ministry, a domestic ministry and a global
ministry.
With this in mind, I would like ask, seek and knock for a three-fold
vision. This Trinitarian vision is expressed in three acronyms: ARISE,
AFIRE and ATONE.
1. ARISE –means
“Asiamerica Research in Strategic Evangelization.”
Episcopal Asiamerica ministry historically began not in 1973 but in
1873, (not 40 years ago but 140 years ago), when a Chinese lay worker
named Ah Foo evangelized and built a church among the Chinese railroad
workers in Carson City, Nevada. That self-governing, self-supporting and
self-propagating ministry was cut in the bud when the United States
passed the Anti-Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. Ah Foo and his
congregation were among those who were driven out of this country after
they had built the transcontinental railroad and mined the
“Gam Saan,” the “gold mountain” of California.
I therefore visualize
ARISE to be a major research work of EAM
to discover, analyze and interpret the relationship between hospitality
and evangelism, between racial justice and church growth against the
background of Asiamerica history. I visualize ARISE to unmask the
destructive power of racism and colonialism that hinders the spread of
the kingdom of God from the experience of early Asiamerica Christianity.
One of the living pioneers of the EAM, the Rev. Timothy Nakayama, is
instrumental in bringing to the attention of the Anglican Church of
Canada the injustice done to the Japanese Anglicans when the Diocese of
New Westminster sold two Japanese churches while their congregations
were in Internment camps. The Anglican Church of Canada very recently
acknowledged “the error of our ways” and issued an apology to the
Anglican Japanese Canadians and resolved to make amends and
reconciliation.
I visualize ARISE to make a corrective work on the history of racism
against Asiamerica as embodied in the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, the
Anti-Miscegenation Laws against Filipino farmers in the 1930’s and the
Japanese American Internment in 1940’s.
2. AFIRE – means
Asiamerica Fund for Immigrant Rights and Education.
Our hearts must be is afire for God’s people suffering in the cold and
hiding in the shadows because they are undocumented immigrants. Today,
there is the issue of the comprehensive immigration bill that promises a
path for their legalization and citizenship. Our Presiding Bishop has
spoken many times on this issue but how are we as immigrant churches
involving on this issue of our time? It is estimated there are 12
million undocumented immigrants in this country. The fact that there are
over one million Asians among them is not the only reason why EAM
should get involved. EAM should get involved because our ancestors have
experienced being rebuffed in history and we owe it to their memory to
stand in solidarity with all the marginalized, to be helpful to the
undocumented, to be kind and hospitable to strangers, because we were
once “strangers from different shores,” ourselves.
I visualize AFIRE ministries to be developed in every parish,
partnering with the Episcopal Migrations Ministries, with Public Policy
Network and other agencies in transforming our EAM churches to become
spiritual oases for strangers, and centers advocating for and providing
services on immigrant rights, education and legalization.
3. ATONE – means
Asiamerica Theological Online Network Exchange.
The word “atonement” means in the Old Testament as a “reparation from
sin” and in the New Testament as “reconciliation.” But I like to see the
image of atonement as “at-one-ment” or the character of being of one
mind and one heart, despite our great diversity. I visualize ATONE to be
a continuing dialogue and reconciliation with Asia and the global
diaspora in the area of theology, mission and ministry.
One of the exciting things that happened during my first year as
missioner was when Margaret Larom, the former director of Anglican
Global Relations and I had a conversation that led to the appointment of
my colleague Peter Ng as the first Partnership Officer for Asia and the
Pacific. It has further led to the strengthening of our Asian relations
and the development of Asia-America Theological Exchange Forum. I
visualize ATONE to be a continuation and expansion of this direction,
using the tools of modern technology.
I visualize EAM to develop a virtual Asiamerica Theological Seminary
that will continue to connect EAM with Asia and the Asian diaspora as
well as other cultural and global communities. Isn’t it amazing if EAM
can be of service to its neighbors to develop Anglican “AsiaCanada,”
“AsiaBritania,” “AsiaEuropa” and “Asiaafrica,” ministries with and
among the global Asian diaspora? It is estimated that the diverse and
pluralistic peoples of Asian descent, comprise almost two-thirds of the
world’s population. Don’t we have the mandate to reach the whole world
with the message of the reign of God? Maybe we can do ATONE in
partnership with seminaries like CDSP, EDS or Vancouver School of
Theology—as we have done with our Doctor of Ministry program at
Episcopal Divinity School.
Surely this vision is not as simple as asking for bicycle or a bus.
But let me end from the words of President John F. Kennedy, when he
launched the Space program of the United States on September 23, 1962.
JFK said, “We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other
things, not because they are easy but because they are hard, because
that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies
and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept,
one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win.”
In my flesh, I maybe out of my mind thinking these things I
visualized can be accomplished in my tenure as missioner for Asiamerica
Ministries. But visions and dreams, according to the scriptures, are not
works of the flesh but the language of the Holy Spirit. Yet to calm
your feelings, I still have another quote, from W. Clement Stone, who
said, “Always aim for the moon, that way, even if you miss, you’ll still
be among the stars!”
So ARISE, AFIRE and ATONE. Let this trilogy vision be the defining stars of Episcopal Asiamerica Ministries in the 21
st Century!
Now unto God who is able to do exceedingly more than we can ever
think, hope or imagine, Thine be the glory, forever and ever. Amen.
