Send email inquires to: info@oursaviorny.org
7/5/12
The Rev. Dr. Winston Wyman Ching died suddenly on July 3
[Episcopal News Service – Indianapolis- July 5]
By The Rev. Pat McCaughan
Friends and colleagues remembered the Rev. Dr. Winston Wyman Ching as a trailblazer, a trusted friend, and a legendary mentor.
Ching, who died suddenly July 3, had enjoyed a long and distinguished career as staff officer of the Episcopal Church Asiamerica Ministry, including developing the ministry in 1973 and coining the term “Asiamerican” to include all Episcopalians of Asian descent.
The news of his death while traveling from Hong Kong to Hawaii sent shock waves through the church community at the start of the 77th General Convention of the Episcopal Church at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis.
“I can’t believe it,” said the Rev. Winfred Vergara, Episcopal Church EAM missioner. “We had hoped to honor him for his contributions next year at our 40th anniversary of EAM.
“He (Ching) was the first missioner for Episcopal Asiamerica ministries and served under four presiding bishops — (John) Hines, (John) Allin, (Edmond) Browning and (Frank) Griswold,” Vergara said. “He continued to serve as my de facto consultant and advisor and friend and mentor.”
After his retirement from the Episcopal Church Center in 2002, Ching served as interim pastor at the Church of the Good Shepherd in New York City.
In October of 2009 Winston moved to Hong Kong to accept the responsibilities of chaplain, academic tutor in psychology, and student counselor at St. John’s College at the University of Hong Kong.
He also taught pastoral counseling and practical theology as an adjunct lecturer at Ming Hua Theological College (Anglican) in Hong Kong.
A cause of death was not immediately clear. Apparently he died in Guam while traveling from Hong Kong to Hawaii, Vergara said.
“His only brother, Jonathan, is on his way to Guam Memorial Hospital” to handle arrangements, Vergara added.
The Rev. Canon Brian Grieves, retired peace and justice officer for the Episcopal Church, said he was “just devastated” to learn of Ching’s death.
“It’s hard to believe his gentle and thoughtful presence is gone from us,” he said via email. “His ministry to Episcopal Asian Ministries is legendary for the many networks he created which supported local congregations across the United States. He leaves us with a more vibrant church because of his extraordinary ministry among us.”
The Rev. Eric Law, founder and executive director of the Kaleidoscope Institute, said Ching was instrumental in nurturing seminarians and youth ministries throughout the church.
“He was wonderfully supportive of Asian youth and young adults; he was 100 percent behind them,” he said.
Law had once observed that the “EAM network is very unique, it is very strong and one of the most organized Pan Asian organizations in any denomination” largely due to Ching’s facilitation and organization.
“When the Rev. Winston Ching gathered Asian leaders back in the 1970s, it was the first time Japanese Americans had a real conversation with Chinese Americans, because back in Asia we were enemies,” Law had said. “But in the United States, we were in a different context. It was the first time many of them had encountered other Asian groups. Asian-American became an identity that did not exist before.”
EAM was created after the 1973 General Convention and began organizing consultations the following year.
The Rev. Keith Yamamoto, rector of St. Mark’s Church in Upland, California, credited both Ching’s and EAM’s support with “giving me a sense of identity about who I am, as a Christian and as an Asian American, a Japanese American.
“He helped me form an Episcopal identity, and broadened my horizons to give me a bigger picture of the church as a place of fellowship, as well as a bigger picture of myself in it,” he said.
“There were lots of great friendships that were made through EAM’s influence. They were foundational in helping me see myself as a leader in the Episcopal Church and, eventually, as an ordained person in the church,” he said.
“Winston Ching was a very humble person, he had a very profound spirituality,” Yamamoto added. “He had the ability to raise up leaders for both lay and ordained ministry. He helped organize and facilitate and network people in amazing ways.”
Ching was ordained to the diaconate May 10, 1968 and to the priesthood Dec. 21, 1968 in the Diocese of Hawaii.
In 1970, Ching was appointed vicar of St. John the Evangelist Episcopal Church in San Francisco, where he founded St. John’s Educational Thresholds Center, a tutoring and language-training program geared toward the children of the neighborhood that later became a separate nonprofit.
Funeral arrangements are pending.
By The Rev. Pat McCaughan
Friends and colleagues remembered the Rev. Dr. Winston Wyman Ching as a trailblazer, a trusted friend, and a legendary mentor.
Ching, who died suddenly July 3, had enjoyed a long and distinguished career as staff officer of the Episcopal Church Asiamerica Ministry, including developing the ministry in 1973 and coining the term “Asiamerican” to include all Episcopalians of Asian descent.
The news of his death while traveling from Hong Kong to Hawaii sent shock waves through the church community at the start of the 77th General Convention of the Episcopal Church at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis.
“I can’t believe it,” said the Rev. Winfred Vergara, Episcopal Church EAM missioner. “We had hoped to honor him for his contributions next year at our 40th anniversary of EAM.
“He (Ching) was the first missioner for Episcopal Asiamerica ministries and served under four presiding bishops — (John) Hines, (John) Allin, (Edmond) Browning and (Frank) Griswold,” Vergara said. “He continued to serve as my de facto consultant and advisor and friend and mentor.”
After his retirement from the Episcopal Church Center in 2002, Ching served as interim pastor at the Church of the Good Shepherd in New York City.
In October of 2009 Winston moved to Hong Kong to accept the responsibilities of chaplain, academic tutor in psychology, and student counselor at St. John’s College at the University of Hong Kong.
He also taught pastoral counseling and practical theology as an adjunct lecturer at Ming Hua Theological College (Anglican) in Hong Kong.
A cause of death was not immediately clear. Apparently he died in Guam while traveling from Hong Kong to Hawaii, Vergara said.
“His only brother, Jonathan, is on his way to Guam Memorial Hospital” to handle arrangements, Vergara added.
The Rev. Canon Brian Grieves, retired peace and justice officer for the Episcopal Church, said he was “just devastated” to learn of Ching’s death.
“It’s hard to believe his gentle and thoughtful presence is gone from us,” he said via email. “His ministry to Episcopal Asian Ministries is legendary for the many networks he created which supported local congregations across the United States. He leaves us with a more vibrant church because of his extraordinary ministry among us.”
The Rev. Eric Law, founder and executive director of the Kaleidoscope Institute, said Ching was instrumental in nurturing seminarians and youth ministries throughout the church.
“He was wonderfully supportive of Asian youth and young adults; he was 100 percent behind them,” he said.
Law had once observed that the “EAM network is very unique, it is very strong and one of the most organized Pan Asian organizations in any denomination” largely due to Ching’s facilitation and organization.
“When the Rev. Winston Ching gathered Asian leaders back in the 1970s, it was the first time Japanese Americans had a real conversation with Chinese Americans, because back in Asia we were enemies,” Law had said. “But in the United States, we were in a different context. It was the first time many of them had encountered other Asian groups. Asian-American became an identity that did not exist before.”
EAM was created after the 1973 General Convention and began organizing consultations the following year.
The Rev. Keith Yamamoto, rector of St. Mark’s Church in Upland, California, credited both Ching’s and EAM’s support with “giving me a sense of identity about who I am, as a Christian and as an Asian American, a Japanese American.
“He helped me form an Episcopal identity, and broadened my horizons to give me a bigger picture of the church as a place of fellowship, as well as a bigger picture of myself in it,” he said.
“There were lots of great friendships that were made through EAM’s influence. They were foundational in helping me see myself as a leader in the Episcopal Church and, eventually, as an ordained person in the church,” he said.
“Winston Ching was a very humble person, he had a very profound spirituality,” Yamamoto added. “He had the ability to raise up leaders for both lay and ordained ministry. He helped organize and facilitate and network people in amazing ways.”
Ching was ordained to the diaconate May 10, 1968 and to the priesthood Dec. 21, 1968 in the Diocese of Hawaii.
In 1970, Ching was appointed vicar of St. John the Evangelist Episcopal Church in San Francisco, where he founded St. John’s Educational Thresholds Center, a tutoring and language-training program geared toward the children of the neighborhood that later became a separate nonprofit.
Funeral arrangements are pending.
— The Rev. Pat McCaughan is a member of the Episcopal News Service team at General Convention.
6/28/12
Episcopal Divinity School partnership with EAM for DMin programn
[Episcopal Divinity School] Earlier this month the Rev. Thomas Eoyang, Jr. and the Rev.
Ada Wong Nagata joined the Episcopal Divinity School community as students in the Doctor of Ministry degree
program through a new partnership with Episcopal Asiamerican Ministries (EAM).
Professors Partrick S. Cheng (far left) and Professor Gale
Yee (far right) welcome the Rev. Thomas Eoyang, Jr. and the Rev. Ada Wong
Nagata to Episcopal Divinity School. Photo/EDS
This project is the result of several years of consultation
between EAM and EDS to develop a contextual, creative, and cost-effective
program in advanced pastoral studies and theological education that addresses
the needs of Episcopal Asian clergy serving in the United States, Episcopal Asian
American clergy, and clergy belonging to the Concordat and ecumenical partners
of the Episcopal Church. The program provides continuing theological education
that equips these individuals for effective leadership ministry through their
participation in the EDS DMin degree program.
EAM will help to recruit students to the program-who will apply through the regular admissions process-and both EAM and EDS will provide scholarships to support qualifying participants in the program.
According to the Rev. Dr. Winfred B. Vergara, missioner at the Episcopal Asiamerica Ministry (EAM) Office of the Episcopal Church, “The greatest challenge is the raising up of leadership for the next generation. Both Peter Ng from the Partnership Office for Asia and the Pacific and I are passionate about developing advanced pastoral studies which help Asian clergy and lay leaders to become well-rounded working theologians in Asian American churches and in the larger community. We want them to reconnect to Asian cultural values and at the same time to minister in the context of multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, multi-racial America. We want them to become role models and mentors of the leaders for the next generation.”
The Very Rev. Katherine Ragsdale, president and dean of EDS, has made partnerships a centerpiece of her administration and strongly advocated for this collaboration through which EDS is able to help meet some very specific needs of the Episcopal Church.
“We are honored to have this opportunity to work with our friends at Episcopal Asiamerica Ministries to provide relevant, effective, and thoughtful theological education for today’s challenges,” said Ragsdale. “We welcome Thomas and Ada to EDS and look forward to new students joining our community through this partnership.”
One of the important attributes of the EDS DMin program is that students do not need to leave their communities in order to enroll in the program since it is built around two intensive residential terms, in January and June, with online simulcast participation in fall and spring courses. EDS is a leader in hybrid learning-integrating residential intensive studies with online participation in ongoing courses offered on campus.
Dr. Kwok Pui Lan, William F. Cole Professor of Christian Theology and Spirituality at EDS, and one of the principal architects of the partnership shared her excitement that “[t]he EAM partnership enables Episcopal Divinity School to explore ministry to the fastest growing racial group in the United States and learn the rich cultures and vibrant church life of the Asian American community. It will also help generate literature and research that are culturally relevant and future-oriented for the upcoming generation of Episcopal Asian American clergy and lay leaders.”
The Rev. Thomas Eoyang, Jr., who received his MDiv at EDS in 2003, was born in New York City as the youngest and only US-born child of a family that had emigrated from China five years before his birth. He is currently rector at Grace Epiphany Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and has a very clear goal for his studies in the DMin program.
“I am interested in taking advantage of the exciting opportunity offered by the partnership of the Episcopal Asiamerica Ministries and Episcopal Divinity School to explore the cultural, spiritual, and organizational experience of people of Chinese descent in the Episcopal Church in the United States.”
And why EDS? Vergara replied, “We considered various Episcopal seminaries to have this pilot project and decided on EDS because of its sterling record on anti-racism training and because they have at least four Asian faculty members. Asians are relational with regards to the educational process and we think the presence of Asian faculty members help ensure deeper reflection and ease in relationship. EDS is also well-equipped with technology facilities for distance and distributive learning.”
“There is a deep spiritual yearning all over the church to explore the heights and depths of diversity in all its protean forms and by having a Doctor of Ministry course that welcomes and affirms Asian contributions to American theological and pastoral life is a step in that direction. We look forward to reading the dissertations of our EAM students in the context of cross-cultural and intercultural studies,” Vergara added.
After the June term concluded, EDS Assistant Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology the Rev. Dr. Patrick S. Cheng, said the following: “It was a privilege to spend time with Ada and Thomas, our EAM doctoral students, during the June term in the classroom, at worship in the chapel, over dim sum in Boston’s Chinatown, and at the Episcopal Boston Chinese Ministry. For me, the EAM partnership makes sense in light of EDS’s long-standing commitment to racial justice and reconciliation, as well as to cutting-edge theological and ethical reflection with respect to communities of color. As one of the four Asian and Asian American faculty members at EDS, I am delighted to have this opportunity to work with the national leadership of EAM as well as Asian American Episcopal clergy in the coming years.”
For information about this program, contact the admissions office at admissions@eds.edu or The Rev. Dr. Winfred B. Vergara at EAM at wvergara@episcopalchurch.org.
Episcopal Divinity School is a respected and progressive center for study and spiritual formation for lay and ordained leaders located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Committed to a mission of social justice and inclusive education and grounded in the Anglican tradition, EDS balances a respect for the past with an orientation of innovation.
4/19/12
New website to be launched for GEM - the Great Neck Episcopal Ministry
The Great Neck Episcopal Ministry, a mission initiative of two congregations in the Episcopal Diocese of Long Island, will launch a new website on Sunday, April 22, during a GEM Council Meeting.
The website is focused on sharing information with the many and diverse commnunities in and around Great Neck, NY, and to invite website visitors to church services and community programs and events. Parish and community activities are offered both at the church location as well as at St. Paul's Ministry Center, which is a nearby facility that is also part of GEM.
The congreations that are collaborating in GEM are All Saints' and St. Joseph's. The GEM clergy missioners are the Rev. Constance Lorenz, Deacon, and the Rev. Joseph Sanghoon Pae, Priest.
St. Joseph's Church, which shares church facilities with All Saints' Church, is a predominantly Korean church and the only Korean Episcopal Church in New York State.
The website address is: http://www.greatneckepiscopal.org/
The website was produced for GEM by JARdigitalworks of New Jersey, specialists in web communication and online publishing for churches.
.
Gnanadeebam J. Manuel - Rest in Peace
Mrs. Gnanadeebam J. Manuel, mother of the Rev. Anandsekar J. Manuel, Priest-in-Charge at St. Paul's Church, Woodside, died in India on Friday, April 13th, 2012, at the age of 80.
Fr. Manuel is leaving for India to be present for the funeral and will be returning on Tuesday, May 1st.
Condolensces may be sent to him care of:
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
3904 61st Street
Woodside, NY 11377
.
Fr. Manuel is leaving for India to be present for the funeral and will be returning on Tuesday, May 1st.
Condolensces may be sent to him care of:
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
3904 61st Street
Woodside, NY 11377
.
4/5/12
WSJ: "Chinese Applicants Flood U.S. Graduate Schools"
Excerpt from April 3, 2012 Wall Street Journal article by Melissa Korn
More than ever, Chinese students have their sights set on U.S. graduate schools.
Application volume from that country rose 18% for U.S. master's and doctoral programs starting this fall, according to a new report from the Council of Graduate Schools that provides a preliminary measure of application trends. Specific programs of interest include engineering, business and earth sciences.
That is on top of a 21% jump last year and a 20% rise in 2010—and is the seventh consecutive year of double-digit gains from China, according to the graduate-school industry group. Applications from China now comprise nearly half of all international applications to U.S. graduate programs.
China's expanding middle class has fueled an interest in expensive U.S. schools, as has corporations' interest in hiring local talent with Western exposure. As the quality of undergraduate institutions in China improves, more young people are also finding U.S. programs within reach. And as more Chinese students attend U.S. schools,burgeoning they encourage friends and colleagues to apply in what is called a "multiplier effect."
Not only is China the largest country of origin for international graduate students in the U.S., but its rate of growth is far outpacing all other countries and regions in the survey, including South Korea and India. Overall, international application volume rose 9% this year, according to preliminary results.
More than ever, Chinese students have their sights set on U.S. graduate schools.
Application volume from that country rose 18% for U.S. master's and doctoral programs starting this fall, according to a new report from the Council of Graduate Schools that provides a preliminary measure of application trends. Specific programs of interest include engineering, business and earth sciences.
That is on top of a 21% jump last year and a 20% rise in 2010—and is the seventh consecutive year of double-digit gains from China, according to the graduate-school industry group. Applications from China now comprise nearly half of all international applications to U.S. graduate programs.
China's expanding middle class has fueled an interest in expensive U.S. schools, as has corporations' interest in hiring local talent with Western exposure. As the quality of undergraduate institutions in China improves, more young people are also finding U.S. programs within reach. And as more Chinese students attend U.S. schools,burgeoning they encourage friends and colleagues to apply in what is called a "multiplier effect."
Not only is China the largest country of origin for international graduate students in the U.S., but its rate of growth is far outpacing all other countries and regions in the survey, including South Korea and India. Overall, international application volume rose 9% this year, according to preliminary results.
.
4/1/12
Definition of "Asian"
From the Sunday New York Times, April 1, 2012,
Sunday Styles section, Page 12:
"The term Asian, as defined by the Census Bureau, encompasses a broad group of people who trace their origins to the Far East, Southeast Asia or the Indian subcontinent, including countries like Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, the Philippine Islands and Vietnam.
(The Pew Research Center also includes Pacific Islanders.)
.
Sunday Styles section, Page 12:
"The term Asian, as defined by the Census Bureau, encompasses a broad group of people who trace their origins to the Far East, Southeast Asia or the Indian subcontinent, including countries like Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, the Philippine Islands and Vietnam.
(The Pew Research Center also includes Pacific Islanders.)
.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)