Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Heritage Month
“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” -Psalm 139:14
You are His beloved. You are created with intention, held in grace, precious in His sight. We celebrate YOU, our AANHPI brothers and sisters – your God given identity, ancestry and inheritance.
(Artwork: Details of “The Last Supper” by Chen Yuandu, published by Cath. University Press. From Henry Luce Foundation/Boston University. Click here for details)
YOU BELONG HERE
GALLERY EXHIBIT
Located in the E58 Sanctuary.
For generations, the lie of rejection has been deeply rooted in the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander (AANHPI) community. The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 banned Chinese laborers from immigrating to the United States. The Watsonville riots in the 1930s resulted in California prohibiting interracial marriage and explicitly forbade Filipino men from marrying white women. In April 1942, the first group of 82 Japanese Americans were forced to leave their homes and businesses and live at Manzanar, an internment camp and by 1945 over 120,000 Japanese Americans were imprisoned in multiple camps across the west coast. Fast forward to the L.A. Riots of 1992, where raised tensions and violence continued to escalate between Korean and Black communities. By 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a sharp increase in harassment and violence against the AANHPI community.
If not othered, the AANHPI community lived under false assumptions and stereotypes of the "model minority myth." The Learning For Justice Organization explains, "This myth characterizes Asian Americans as a polite, law-abiding group who have achieved a higher level of success than the general population through some combination of innate talent and pull-yourselves-up-by-your-bootstraps immigrant striving." This contributes to the lies they don't belong–they feel rejected, insignificant, and unworthy, and for one to belong, one must earn it.
But the truth is you are accepted, significant, worthy, and above all, loved. In God's Kingdom, we don't earn our belonging. With God, belonging isn't mere affection, camaraderie, or membership in the same club. It is much more. God's son, Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, paid the price for our belonging when He was nailed on the cross. That's why Paul tells us we are "not [our] own" in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20. God loves us so much that He rescued us from the hold of anything else that promises to satisfy us, but won't. Instead, He made us belong to Him alone.
With our identities rooted in God's truth, may we fully know and believe that we belong. We are all ministers of belonging, with joy as our weapon against the generations of oppression, fear, pain, and whatever may try to come against us today—joy is our resistance!
The gallery features individuals from the AANHPI community who have used joy as their resistance. The exhibit will be open for viewing on Sundays after service until May 31st in the E58 Sanctuary.
RESOURCES
Champion and come alongside the AANHPI community through allyship and understanding. We urge you to take action and dive into these resources below: books, articles, podcasts, movies and more.
- America Is In the Heart by Carlos Bulosan
- Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
- Minor Feelings by Cathy Park Hong
- How to Be an Antiracist by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi
- China Men by Maxine Hong Kingston
- America for Americans and The Making of Asian America by Erika Lee
- The Making of Asian America: A History – Erika Lee
- My Grandmother’s Hands by Resmaa Menakem
- So You Want To Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
- Me and White Supremacy by Layla Saad
- Strangers from a Different Shore by Ron Takaki
- Yellow: Race in America Beyond Black and White by Frank Wu
- Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu
- Asian American Dreams by Helen Zia
- Start Here Start Now by Liz Sohyeon Kleinrock
- Healing Resistance by Kazu Haga
- Sit, Walk, Stand by Watchman Nee
- Centering: The Asian American Christian Podcast , Fuller’s Asian + Asian American Christianity podcast
- Erasing Shame, A podcast on the Asian + Asian American experience
- Asian Enough, LA Times podcast interviewing different Asian actors, writers, creatives, and more.
- Self Evident, A podcast that challenges the narratives of where we come from, where we belong, and where we’re going through Asian America’s stories.
- Season 2 of Seeing White, A podcast on the unending racial inequity in schools, housing, criminal justice, and hiring then and now.
‘dreamers.’ by Jeremy Kahng
In honor of AAPI Heritage Month we asked Jeremy Kahng, our Creative Producer to compose a song. He brilliantly came up with this music piece, “dreamers.” which honors his grandfather’s legacy, explores the process of dreaming again and inspires to plunge into the unknown. Jeremy shares, “This composition is my attempt to musically express what it has felt like to dream over the past year. The initial flurry of scattered impressions. The yearning for something new and fresh. The slow but steady solidifying of ideas. The imagination running wild with what is possible. The reminders of past experiences that have been carried thus far. The mind’s attempt to conceptualize and the heart’s attempt to express itself. The uncertainty stemmed from brazen thought. The contrast of deep stirring excitement and overwhelming fear. And the striking pain from what is not yet but the electrifying excitement of what can be.”
You can read more about his experience, process and inspiration behind the song by clicking here.
- Happy Cleaners, a Korean-American Narrative
- A heartfelt story that celebrates the survival of immigrants, the experiences of the Korean American community, and the value of family.
- The Joy Luck Club
- A movie about the relationship between mothers and daughters from different generations and the tensions that come from the high expectations set in pursuit of the American Dream.
- Far East Deep South
- An award-winning documentary feature film that follows the Chiu family on a surprising journey through Mississippi in search of their lost family history. Along the way, they meet a diverse group of local residents and historians, who shed light on the racially complex history of the early Chinese in the segregated South.
- Asian Americans | PBS
- A five-hour film series that delivers a bold, fresh perspective on a history that matters today, more than ever. As America becomes more diverse, and more divided while facing unimaginable challenges, how do we move forward together? Told through intimate personal stories, the series will cast a new lens on U.S. history and the ongoing role that Asian Americans have played.
Far East Deep South
Far East Deep South presents a personal and eye-opening perspective on race, immigration, and American identity. It sheds light on the history of Chinese immigrants living in the American South during the late 1800s to mid-1900s through the emotional journey of Charles Chiu and his family as they travel from California to Mississippi to find answers about his father, K.C. Lou. Along the way, they meet a diverse group of local residents and historians who help them discover how deep their roots run in America. The film also explores the interconnected relationship between the Black and Chinese communities in the Jim Crow era and the generational impact of discriminatory immigration policies, such as the Chinese Exclusion Act.
Jason Chu
Jason Chu is an artist, storyteller, rapper, and Christian, who has become active in making informational videos talking about AANHPI history especially along the lines of our plight for justice, our work with other communities, and how to fight against racist stereotypes.
Article: 'To Bless My Chinese Self' by Naomi K Lu
I don’t know when the lie became embedded in me. It was mysterious. Subtle. A quiet shadow lingering on the edges of my life. I can’t tell you of the first time I dreamed of having blonde hair and blue eyes. Or why all my barbies had European last names. Or how many times I desperately emphasized to anyone who would listen that I was 75 percent Chinese, but 100 percent American! I was too young to even begin to understand that I was Taiwanese too, not to mention fractions and percentages…
Article: 'What Min Jin Lee Wants Us to See'
Book: 'Sit, Walk, Stand' by Watchman Nee
An inspiring look at Ephesians and the believers association with Christ, the world, and Satan written by Watchman Nee, who is remembered for his leadership of an indigenous church movement in China as well as for his books, which continue to enrich Christians throughout the world.
A Poem + Litany: 'Fearfully, Wonderfully' by Erina Kim-Eubanks
“The Poet says
“I praise you
because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Your works are wonderful
I know that full well.”
Yet the gifts of being Asian AND American in these lands we have rarely known…”
ANTI ASIAN VIOLENCE RESOURCES
Stand Against Hatred & Stop AAPI Hate – Resources to report hate incidents.
Right To Be – An organization which facilitates anti-harassment bystander training. You can get trained and learn more from their resources.
Anti-Asian Violence Resources – A database full of resources to help educate individuals and gain tools on how to be an ally to the Asian community.