From a Moment to a Movement: National Rally to Stand for AAPI Lives and Dignity

By Raymond Chang and Jessica Min Chang

T

hroughout history, tragic moments rooted in systemic injustices have at times sparked major movements, leading to widespread illumination and social change.

From Rosa Parks’ arrest and the Civil Rights movement to the death of George Floyd following the murders of Trayvon Martin, Botham Jean, Tamir Rice, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and many others leading to the Black Lives Matter movement, moments emerging from long histories of systemic ills have often catalyzed a new or resurging movement toward societal progress. 

On March 16, 2021, a white man professing to be Christian took out his frustrations with sexual temptation against Asian women, murdering six Asian American women as well as two more people. Situated in a period of overt anti-Asian hate and violence from the scapegoating of Asians during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Atlanta shootings seem to be the tragic moment and tipping point through which many Asian Americans are rising to declare that enough is enough. We must refuse to live in fear and should not wait for permission to proclaim that we belong. 

As the shootings devastated the families and friends of the loved ones who were killed, the shocking incident also unlocked the deep collective trauma that the broader Asian American community had suppressed for too long. 

In reflecting upon this, Jessica expressed that for some of us, it is perhaps the first time we feel we’ve been allowed to be sad and angry about the anti-Asian racism we have endured throughout the centuries of Asian American history. I (Raymond) witnessed this reality firsthand among the Asian American students I serve as a campus minister at Wheaton College. I also walked through this experience with friends, family, and numerous others across the nation reeling as they searched for guidance in processing and finding a way forward. Moreover, the shootings released the tears I, too, had held back throughout my decades of surviving and persisting as a perceived foreigner born in this country. 

A Statement from Asian American Christian Collaborative

In response to the shootings, we wrote a “Statement on the Atlanta Massacre” to take a collective stand against the anti-Asian American hate. This statement garnered nearly 4,000 signatures in the first two weeks and is still available to sign and share. 

Then, in a conversation with Atlanta-area pastors, it was clear that some in the Asian American Christian community in Atlanta wanted to facilitate a response. At their invitation, I participated in a call with other leaders in the Atlanta area that had already been scheduled, offering to provide support wherever they might find helpful. At the end of the call, we agreed to move forward with a March 28th date to initiate a gathering. 

As we started to share about what might take place in Atlanta, leaders in other cities began to reach out or agree to facilitate a gathering at the same time as the Atlanta event. The momentum developed rapidly in the course of a week as our gathering in Atlanta grew into prayer rallies, marches, and events in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco, Houston, Maryland, Washington, D.C., Detroit, Seattle, Austin, Dallas, Boston, and Minneapolis.

Standing Together on Palm Sunday 2021

On Palm Sunday, March 28, 2021, around 5,000 Asian American Christians and friends of our communities convened in the 14 different cities across the country at 4pm EST. We met to mourn the eight lives taken in the Atlanta-area shootings. We rallied to proclaim that these lives deserved to be regarded with respect and that they mattered simply because they were. Together, we stood against the anti-Asian racism that has spanned the centuries of Asian American history and resisted its perpetuation into our reality today. 

This was a new moment in the history of the Asian American church.

As Asian American women and men organized, planned, gathered, shared, prayed, worshipped, and sought unity, the rallies became spaces where people could express lament, as well as experience hope, before God and with others. It was encouraging to hear about the ways that many people, in particular Asian American women, shared that they could express the grief, anger, and deep pain they had held within their bodies for so long. Asian American men also publicly acknowledged the ways they had failed to address – and even perpetuated – misogyny, chauvinism, and mistreatment against sisters in the body of Christ. 

AACC Vice President Michelle Ami Reyes and we participated in the Atlanta rally. Michelle offered a moving overview of anti-Asian hate and violence throughout history. Many powerful speakers from the Atlanta area shared, including Andrea Cole, Irene Wong, Sam Kang, Jennifer Fero, David Park, and Peter Lim. Hannah An led us in worship. Latasha Morrison of Be The Bridge and Justin Giboney of AND Campaign, who have been friends of AACC from our inception, also participated in the program as a demonstration of solidarity.

Personally, for me (Raymond), the most powerful moment was having the privilege of sharing the stage with my wife Jessica. As her husband, it was profoundly moving to listen to her share with passionate conviction the ways that God has seen the many experiences of many Asian American women, as well as Asian Americans more broadly, and the ways in which we can move forward together. As with many of the other rallies, we concluded our time with the hope that the Asian American Christian community would more actively exercise our voices for the sake of the church and society. 

As we dared to feel a glimmer of hopefulness, news broke the next day about a 65-year-old Asian American woman who was assaulted by an attacker as he yelled, “F*** you! You don’t belong here,” while stomping her head multiple times. We also witnessed three people, including a security guard, watch idly from inside a building and then close the door on her as she crawled to safety instead of immediately intervening. To make a devastating incident even worse, it had occurred in the same city where one of our rallies took place.

Our hearts sank. 

Soon after, we saw the news of the Sikhs – a population of Asians who have faced significant discrimination and racism in the United States – who were killed in the Indianapolis shootings.

We had hoped that the statement AACC released in 2020 would have helped to curb some of the violence we anticipated would rise due to anti-Asian sentiments in the midst of the pandemic. We also hoped the many articles, podcasts, and resources AACC developed would help people to grow in awareness and understanding around racism directed towards Asian Americans – a racism that people often fail to acknowledge because it doesn’t fit within the Black-White binary paradigm. As we see the violence continuing to occur, it’s clear that there is a lot more work to do. 

It is good to pause and praise God for what we saw on March 28, 2021, as Asian American Christians and churches throughout the country responded to the Atlanta area shootings. And it is important to note that this event has been in tandem with the efforts many are making across the country and world right now; we are not alone in this endeavor. However, we must continue the work to generate a movement for the sake of facilitating a kingdom reality that celebrates Asian American lives and dignity to the fullest extent. 

The National Rally for AAPI Lives and Dignity should serve as a spark for more intentionality, prayerful activism, and thoughtful engagement as we move forward.

In addition to the AACC National Calls to Action shared at the recent rallies, Asian American Christians ought to do four things as we move forward:

• Engage in advocacy and activism that disrupt patterns of excluding or aggressing against Asian Americans and constructively cultivates Asian American Christian presence including through civic, political, and public engagement.

• Deepen local involvement and partnership with Christian as well as non-Christian groups for the sake of the common good.

• Cultivate galvanizing momentum online by posting and sharing resources, events, and other opportunities for shared growth.

• Continue leading with prayer and working together to strengthen our collective voice.

IT’S JUST TO LOVE OUR NEIGHBORS

The work of pursuing justice is an arduous and often unseen work. Yes, it certainly occurs when we organize and rally – and we certainly need to continue to do so. However, this is just one of the many ways we work to promote justice. Justice is enacted in the many sacred conversations and support efforts with individuals who have been crushed by unjust systems and structures. Justice is pursued as we dismantle bigotry within ourselves (Rom. 12), sacrifice our privileges (Phil. 2), work in solidarity with those who are marginalized and oppressed (Micah 6:8), and seek to live grounded in love and truth (Eph. 4:15). We can also advance justice by doing the slow and long work of discipling people into all of God’s truth, in love, so that they might more fully embody the kingdom of God in this world.

The National Rally to Stand for AAPI Lives and Dignity was a meaningful shared moment in the midst of tragedy. But as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. raised many decades ago, we must consider the question of, “Where will we go from here?” We invite you to partner with us at AACC so we can help transform this moment into a movement that honors God and those whom God calls our neighbors. 

---

Pastor Raymond Chang is the president of the Asian American Christian Collaborative, a pastor, and writer. He regularly preaches God’s Word and speaks throughout the country on issues pertaining to Christianity and culture, race and faith. He has lived throughout the world (Korea, Guatemala, Panama, Spain, China), traveled to nearly 50 countries, and currently lives in Chicagoland, serving as a campus minister at Wheaton College. He is currently pursuing his PhD. He is married to Jessica Chang, who serves as the chief advancement and partnerships officer of the Field School.

AACC Houston Prayer Rally Recap

By Phuong Marquez

I

will forever remember the feeling when the news first broke. My thoughts immediately went to my aunts and uncles that work in nail salons. I know them as my family, hard-working and extremely kind people. They work over twelve hours and still go home to cook family dinners and take care of their children. I wonder who could possibly have a heart to do such a thing, to go and kill in cold blood the women who are like my aunts: hardworking, kind, and family-oriented.

As time passed and more details came to light, I had to constantly tell myself to feel the emotions I was feeling: anger, because he was supposed to be a brother-in-Christ; sadness, in seeing members of our community attacked in such a way; and realization that I have lived with this reality for the past year and my whole life. Over the next couple of days, memories flooded back. Some when I was younger – a name was called. Some when I was an adolescent – a cat-call here, a look there. Some more recent – people looking at me with contempt and avoiding my path in the stores. There are countless more moments…

I remember the first time I realized that I might be in trouble when the “China Flu” and “Kung Flu” terms were coined, and a man changed his table in a hotel lobby in March of 2020 when I had coughed. Within a few weeks, I would hear the story of the family that was stabbed at a Sam’s Club in a city not too far from where I live in Houston. The story never made the local news. I would go to the Chinatown of my city, a place I frequented often as a child, and see how business dwindled and places I knew since childhood quickly closed doors or even had their windows smashed.

I go back to the events of Mar. 16, and I hear the police giving the statement saying that this killer had a “bad day” and that “he was at the end of his rope.” It made me angry. It was a moment that I could literally feel my skin. The next couple days after that, I went online, expressed my grief and sorrow with little response. It wasn’t until days later that I recalled my past experiences of racism and misogynistic abuse that people started reacting. Worse yet, I looked around at the local churches and didn’t see a statement. I noticed people who I consider anchors of the faith in my community stay silent on an issue that tore so deeply in my soul. And it hurt. I despaired in the world. I despaired in the church. 

There are no words I could say to fully describe the magnitude of this event in my life. I still come to tears remembering when I looked out into the room and saw so many faces, some that I identified with and some that I didn’t know carried all the emotions that I had felt. I sang songs; I prayed in my mother language albeit not well; and before I prayed, I introduced myself to a room full of brothers and sister in Christ as the first-born American in my family. To share an identity that I had borne with so much weight, anguish, and confusion through this time – and it be understood – was a feeling that was indescribably fulfilling to me. I heard different pastors preach to me: an Asian American pastor who addressed the inherent racist natures in us as someone who is married to an African American woman; a Caucasian Christian leader who expressed his grief and pain for coming from an establishment that had oppressed the minority groups present; and an African American pastor who was not afraid to point out the strife between our communities, but that together in love, we can rise above this.

All words I so desperately needed to hear, because those were truly all the struggles that I have faced my whole life. I am blessed to have Asian American sisters in Christ who I could talk to after the event, and sink in the peace of knowing that God is so mighty in this moment and through this opportunity. We were convicted, realizing that we didn’t need to wait for the church to respond. We can be the church wherever we are and speak up against these injustices happening in our world. I loved that there were fourteen cities that met at once; it was a great image of the church on Earth coming together to call on the name of Jesus. The images I chose to focus on after the rally were not of the killer, but of the people I knew in other cities that attended an AACC prayer rally.

The most beautiful part was that there were people of different backgrounds, skin colors, and ages all united in this movement. I want to thank you, AACC, for the courage and resilience to rise to this moment, and for giving us the ability and freedom to mobilize and speak our hearts and minds to each other, to the people who needed to hear this message, and most importantly to God. I know that there unfortunately will be more that needs to be done, but may we all rise to the moment when it comes to each of us. God bless and Godspeed.

First photo by Jason Leung on Unsplash

---

My name is Phuong Marquez and I’m from Houston. I work with one of the collaborators, Julee Chang, for this event in Houston. We operate a small business bakery. I’m currently a Master’s student pursuing a degree in Curriculum & Instruction, and formerly was a teacher. I go to Neartown Church in Houston.

AACC Los Angeles Prayer Rally Recap

By Dustin Lang

P

rocess. Pray. Practice. Proclaim.

These were the four reasons that believers from the Asian American and Pacific Islander community gathered at the Los Angeles Call for Solidarity. If you looked out into the sea of 450 faces on March 28th, it would never cross your mind that this grassroots event was put together in six days.

In six days, numerous churches across Los Angeles and Orange County were mobilized. In six days, fifteen highly sought-after speakers and presenters joined the lineup. In six days, permits were acquired so that a mass gathering could be held at Seoul International Park in the heart of Koreatown. And in six days, all logistics—including banner and shirt printing, acquiring a portable stage, securing a thirteen-member volunteer team, and everything else it takes to hold a rally—were carried out.

It could be easy to attribute this outcome purely to sacrifice. After all, team members put in countless work hours to plan this out, attendees were willing to travel to Koreatown to sit in hot 87 degree weather for two hours, and speakers made time to prepare and deliver well-crafted presentations. NewStory Church, the host church of this event, even pushed its service time up two hours to accommodate for the rally.

But to attribute this outcome solely to human sacrifice would be short-sighted. Yes, Moses sacrificed his comfort to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. But it was God who parted the Red Sea. Yes, Paul sacrificed his physical safety to continue preaching the gospel. But it was God who kept him alive. Even ten of the eleven disciples sacrificed their very lives for Christ. But it was God who used their testimonies to radically transform our world.

The invisible but inevitable truth was that in the planning, behind the favorable outcomes, and over the course of the rally itself, the Spirit of God was at work.

God paved the way for hundreds of believers to gather in solidarity. God orchestrated events so that this day would be covered by KTLA, ABC, Fox, CGNTV, and the Associated Press so that millions would hear about the cause. And it was God who worked powerfully through each moment of the event.

The rally started with the praise song “Shout to the Lord” led by Pauline Park. The lyrics couldn’t have been more fitting as we declared that even “mountains bow down and the seas will roar” at the sound of Jesus’ name.

Heidi Kwon, Liturgist at Ekko Church, led us in a time of silent prayer. For eight minutes (one for each victim), we held the families and friends of the victims in the light of Christ. In this time of silence, the hearts of all attendees were knit together as we grieved in unison.

Rev. Tom Kang, lead pastor of NewStory Church, gave opening remarks. He reminded us of the purpose for our gathering: to stand for the lives and dignity of the AAPI community. When explaining in more detail his own personal involvement, he said, “I’m here standing on behalf of my immigrant parents because they just couldn’t. I’m also here for my three Asian American daughters in the hopes that one day they wouldn’t have to either.” This statement reminded us of a key value of Christianity and Asian American culture—that community matters. The rally wasn’t only for ourselves. It was also for our aunts, uncles, parents, grandparents, children, and future generations.

The next portion of the rally included four charges led by female Asian American Christian leaders Hyepin Im, Rev. Dr. Sharon Kim, Anh Lin, and Rev. Dr. Janette Ok. Each of these was followed by four corresponding prayers led by Rev. Guillermo Torres, Bishop Kenneth Ulmer, Jason Nettles, and Elder Anthony Davis.

Hyepin Im reminded us that the time for the AAPI community to be in the public spotlight had come. And though we were lamenting our current racism-filled reality, we could find hope knowing that God brings joy in the morning.

Rev. Dr. Sharon Kim discussed the three ways we find healing—through sharing our stories, forgiving others, and remembering our shared identity and mission in Christ.

Anh Lin called us to repentance on a personal level. This included turning away from both the sins of denying our God-given ethnicities and also idolizing them.

Rev. Dr. Janette Ok brought the perspective that declaring the dignity of AAPI lives is gospel work because Jesus restores all things—including our voices, our bodies, and our names.

In light of the Atlanta shooting, seeing four Asian American women filled with such boldness to speak on stage was a reminder that God was with us and would use all things for His glory.

Rev. Dr. David Kim shared a poem called “Heal Our Land.” Jason Chu, rapper and activist, also performed a song called “Honor” that was written to restore dignity to Asian people.

We then heard two remarks of solidarity from Controller Ron Galperin and Rev. Peter Watts, friends of the AAPI community.

Afterwards, Rev. Harold Kim read the seven action items of Asian American Christian Collaborative and reminded us that we are called to not only share the gospel but to show the gospel. Our time ended with the song “What a Beautiful Name” and a benediction from Rev. Tom Kang.

The hundreds who came, millions who saw, and countless lives that were impacted testified that God was with us.

This rally was a strong reminder of the words of Gamaliel in Acts 5, verses 38 and 39: “For if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them.”

God is with us. And we will not be overthrown.

Photos by Dave Kim

---

Dustin Lang is happily married to the love of his life Jennifer. He leads the College and Young Adult Ministries of NewStory LA, a church in downtown Los Angeles. He is the Founder and Vision Caster for Revival LA, a movement to build gospel-centered culture in Los Angeles. Dustin enjoys teaching the Bible as well as writing and speaking about a diverse range of topics from urban ministry to ministry leadership.

The Church, Allyship, and Silence (AACC MN Rally Reflection)

By Kong Mong Yang

"I

'm going!" I said to my wife as I saw a tweet about the possibility of a rally coming to my state. I couldn't drive my family to Chicago, which was the closest confirmed state at the time. It just wasn't feasible. I saw city after city commit to being a base for this important conversation and I was envious that I couldn't be there in person. I figured the next best thing was to attend the virtual rally. Even though Zoom fatigue is real, thank goodness for technology.

Then, within a few hours, another tweet came that said Minneapolis was a confirmed rally site. I was ecstatic! I quickly posted on Facebook for those who wanted to join in to show up. You see, the reason for my joy (I'm not sure of another way to express this, as the reasons for this whole ordeal is rather heartbreaking) that a rally would be happening in Minnesota was because my Christian circle has been absolutely mute. Sadly, they've been mute about the various events prior to the Atlanta shooting. This silence, as I've grown to know unfortunately, consistently evades the hard questions about the relationship between the church and the world, minimizes the hurt and pain of those suffering, and ignores the church's role to be a light in a world full of darkness. This is where I sat. The silence grew and ate away at me. This is the context for why I'm able to call the Stand for AAPI Lives Rally “joyous.” Finally, I can see with my own eyes and hear with my ears Christian sisters and brothers that would speak up and speak boldly.

As the rally began, I looked around to see many allies. The cold wind kept us all bundled up and our masks obscured our faces, but these were allies through and through. I wish to have recorded all of the rally, but in that moment, I felt the place was sacred. I managed to take one lousy picture so as to timestamp my place in history. But, my resolve was to soak it all in and that I did. Leader after leader spoke about the injustices against AAPI lives. Osheta Moore’s speech hit me the most in the midst of the many powerful words spoken. She recalled that during her time of sorrow and hurt, she had Asian allies who stood beside her. George Floyd’s death was a breaking point for many, but those hurt the most were the Black community. She noted that her friend, Der Lor, would stand and take heat for simply being an ally. She stated that she would, in turn, be an ally for AAPI because people, like Der, stood up for her and her community. This was a true resolve to unite against the powers that divide us, not a simple transaction of goodwill. Dismantling these powers requires us to be allies. In fact, I’d like to believe that it requires us to be sisters and brothers.

When I reflect on this powerful illustration of allyship, I think of the church. Church people are to be people who stand with the poor, the broken, the ill-forgotten, and the outcasts. Church people are to stand for justice, for peacemaking, for a love that casts out fear and hate. Church people are to be the ultimate ally. I’m glad for the organizations and the churches that shouted, from all over the country, that AAPI hate is sinful and detestable. They model for us what caring for the hurt and downtrodden mean — to be the voice for those who are unable to speak.

I left the rally wondering, what will happen next? I went home feeling affirmation and pride, but also felt a glaring sense of disappointment. A few days after the Atlanta shooting, there was a Twitter poll conducted by Timothy Isaiah Cho that asked, “Today did your church mention anti-Asian racism and the Atlanta shooting?” 371 people responded and 53.9% responded “No.” In a similar Twitter poll by Raymond Chang, one that had 492 respondents, 45.9% reported “No” to addressing anti-Asian hate during church service that weekend. By no means are these scientific polls, but the point is rather clear. This disappointment that I noted earlier is front and center to many within the church. My church also falls into this category of “No.” No to discussions about George Floyd and the roles of race; No to discussions about anti-Asian hate crimes; No to the discussion about the church’s role in all of this. The church isn’t explicitly saying “No,” but the silence is a loud and clear “No.” Disappointment has led me to frustration.

If the church is to be the great ally of the oppressed, the church must call out against the injustices happening outside her doors. The church is supposed to be the overflow and abundance of justice, love, and mercy. These are not to be hoarded. The outpouring of goodness should invade the streets of the city. But it’s hard for this outpouring to occur when the church denies, with it’s silence, that life simply goes on or that nothing is to be said about the egregious acts of violence toward our sisters and brothers. Yes, silence is indeed a virtue. This is especially true of Asian cultures. What these rallies prove, however, is that silence is not always golden. No, silence in a time such as this, reveals the church’s lack of courage and conviction. Now is not a time for silence. Now is not the time for the church to be “too heavenly minded, and no earthly good.” The church is on full display for the world to see.

What the rallies across the States revealed to me is that the church, when united, can create change. I saw some amazing local churches creating inroads for a gospel message that not only worries about where one goes when one dies, but worries about how one is to be treated today, and tomorrow, and the days to come. I’m hoping not only for a “movement,” but a real reckoning on what the church is to be. When the church becomes what it was always meant to be — a glimpse of the coming kingdom, the abundance of justice, love, mercy, and peace — the world will be drawn to change. I’m hopeful that we’re drawing ever closer to that image because of the work of the Spirit. I’m also hopeful that my zeal to go to rallies will cease and in turn will become a zeal to attend church. “I’m going!” perhaps, is what I should be saying about attending church. Until then, it seems we still have much work to do.

Photo by Nagesh Badu on Unsplash

---

Kong Mong is the Web Services Coordinator at the Berntsen Library at the University of Northwestern St. Paul. He graduated from Bethel University with a BA in Biblical and Theological Studies. He lives in MN with his wife and four children.

AACC San Francisco Prayer Rally Recap

By Jessica Gracewski

S

an Francisco is home. I love watching how God makes His way present in this city. The collective community of believers desire to see renewal in our beloved city, and we acknowledge the ways in which God works often are unseen and unknowing, including the AACC prayer rally on Sunday, March 28th. This particular journey with God and others in the AAPI community was nothing less than God working masterfully. The experience at the rally helped embody and experience how I imagine heaven to be like - multi-generational and muliti-ethnic believers gathered together for a common hope to restore dignity.

One of the first things that came to mind as I experienced the prayer rally on Sunday is how God already has big things in store. God can turn these seemingly small hopes into a grand idea and it can lead to something larger like a group of ideas that somehow turns into large teams of people. The body of Christ is fascinating. He can take small inklings and inspire large invitations and opportunities for other voices calling others out, up and forward and then poof - a rally (or 14) is born! This was an incredible thing to watch and take part in. God inspires others to exhort one another upwards together to Christ, and I was honored to witness each speaker bring their unique beauty and story of what God is doing on behalf of our shared AAPI heritage. 

Personally, I am still in awe as God used His creative ways to make a space and stage for my story and my voice with the invitation to speak. 

The pastoral staff of Sunset Church called me with an intentional invitation to hear my story, my thoughts and to intentionally highlight voices from AAPI Christian women in our community. This was a collective posture of unity and solidarity from many co-host organizations that included: Sunset Church, Mobilize Love, and Stop AAPI Hate. This invitation embodied the power of the Holy Spirit through faith, action and empowerment of others. It was a powerful display of the church in action. This was an act of love, unity and solidarity to ask and desire to highlight voices outside of their own church communities. The speakers also highlighted our unique voices and interconnectedness through different and diverse perspectives and voices that included Joey Chen (Pastor, Sunset Church), Lauren Gee (Journalist), Russell Jeung (Professor, SF State, Stop AAPI Hate co-founder), Jane Lam (Pastor, Social worker), Jeannie Lee (Children’s ministry director, Great Exchange Covenant Church), Teresa Young (SF Native, Public sector leader), Gerald Mann (Pastor, Sunset Ministry Church), Drew Yamamoto (Pastor, Trinity Church), and Francis Chan (Pastor, Crazy Love).

For me, being part of a larger story of what God was doing in our community really inspired me. I knew that this invitation and honor was a posture to show others that listening, hearing, and giving voice to AAPI Christian women mattered. During the event, listening to various generations of Asian American women was insightful and impactful because we got to see and experience how women’s unique stories and perspectives were important, valued, and needed to be heard. The platform and invitation was not one I agreed to lightly. I knew my story and my voice carried an invitation for other women to be known, heard, seen, and embodied. To be totally transparent, saying “my” story and “my” voice causes my entire inside to cringe. Saying “yes” was a leap of faith and the process I experienced in taking this step was a way I felt convicted to show others how we can use our unique voices, individuality, perspectives, and the specific way we were each created to embody the fullness of the Gospel and family of God. It was to show how our created beings can be a powerful move of solidarity. 

I shared at the rally, “We NEED our voices, we need our minds, our beings, our complexities and specifically our AAPI heritage. We are light and image bearers of God and it is necessary to embody the fullness of God and the good news of the gospel.”

I also spoke from my unique perspective as an Asian American woman, minister, and spiritual director who identifies with many cultural and mixed ethnic spaces. I am a Korean Japanese American transracial adoptee. My family culture is a mix of Polish, Scotch, Irish, and German heritages, and extended family of fellow adoptees, ethnicities, and expansive cultures. I would say my journey to find my voice has often been shadowed by a lot of complex emotions, shame, confusion, and lies that made me believe that my Asian heritage did not have a major role to play. I felt like it disqualified me because of the complexity of how Jesus has redefined family, ethnicity, culture, and identity. I have experienced that feeling of not quite “Asian” enough, but just “Asian” enough to be a target for racist remarks, jokes, bullying, and discrimination. I also recognize that as an Asian American woman, there is a particular kind of weight that comes with speaking out against sexualizing our AAPI sisters, misogyny, demanding a stop to hurtful and hateful slurs and actively speaking up to protect our elderly and children. It is weighty because I can relate in many ways and it has been deeply personal. 

I encouraged those listening, “Speaking out and processing pain must be a journey with God and with one another. They are weighty because they are personal. Our activism MUST be our own. This work requires more than just words - it requires lament, grief, listening, and engaging. We must not fear, because we do not go through this alone.”

I also added, “Specifically, I want to speak and encourage the Asian American Community of Christians to actively engage using our unique voices, individuality, perspectives, and the specific way we were each created. These are an incredible way that the fullness of the Gospel and family of God must be embodied and experienced. We must use our voices to be a powerful move of solidarity in the way to grieve, lament, and engage in our churches and communities as a unique reflection of the ways in which God can work. We must be light and image bearers that can instill hope and dignity wherever we are.”

It has been a complex thing to untangle, but stepping out in faith on that stage continues to be a reminder that steps of faith are worth it and that the good news of the Gospel is that God is not deterred by our pain or complexity, rather He joins us and empowers us. I am also continually reminded that God deeply cares about our individual stories and continues to renew and redeem all of our stories as beautiful masterful reflections of his character, dignity, and intention for the collective Church. 

The public words and demonstrations of remembrance, processing pain, prayers for healing, call to repentance, and proclaiming dignity and sacredness of specifically AAPI life was powerful beyond words. And yet, we have an even deeper invitation to encourage our AAPI community to not only come alongside our fellow Asian Americans, but to be in solidarity with all of our Black, Brown, and fellow indigenous brothers and sisters that experience any kind of racist violent attacks and opposition to restoration of dignity as human beings.  

This is a journey with God and with others and we must love sincerely. We must not fear, because we do not go through this alone. Lord, have mercy. 

Photos by Anjelica Dumanovsky.

---

Jessica is an Asian American Transracial Adoptee, Spiritual Director and Minister at Reality SF Church in San Francisco, CA.

AACC Detroit Prayer Rally Recap

By Jonathan Kwon

T

he long forgotten racist and untold legacy of Detroit remains fresh in the minds of the events collaborators and hosts. We’ve just met face to face for the first time since the onset of COVID and have recently visited the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History together to learn how people of all colors can unite together to fight against systematic racism in our city. On Wednesday evening (3/24), Andrew Kim, Samuel An, Peng-Li Liu, Jimmy Yang, Nathan Cole, Jonathan Kwon, got a call, “Hey. Do you want to join other cities across the nation to ask God for healing on Sunday afternoon?” Of course the answer was “yes!” But how? There was an unequivocal silence on the phone, undoubtedly because all of us knew we would have to act swiftly and nobody had the time to run the logistics for it. We had to do this well. We had to do this safely given the dramatic rise in COVID-19 cases in our area. We also had to do it collaboratively.

Friday morning (3/26), 10am: a plan is in motion. Logistics are ready to roll, materials have been procured, a social media strategy is in place, and a program is to follow suit. Leaders of the event represented men and women from City on a Hill Church, InterVarsity USA, Kensington Church, Metro Detroit Chinese Christian & Missionary Alliance Church, New Hope Church, and Woodside Bible Church.  

Sunday morning (3/28), 8am: the forecast is forbidding. There are high winds and lots of freezing rain. Some doubt sets in. Will anybody besides the collaborators and their families come? We push that fear to the said. “It doesn’t matter. We have to continue.” So we all attend and lead our respective community church services that morning and then head over to our rally location at Kensington Church in Troy, MI. 

Sunday afternoon, 3pm: We arrive at Kensington Church’s west parking lot and set up. Meanwhile both the winds and rain dissipate. I begin to think, “maybe God is shining on us and this rally.” We then pray together, beseeching God to do his will here on earth as it is in heaven. We ask God to forgive our own racism and racist hearts and minds. We ask God to move mightily in the hearts of the people across the nation to do something that the leaders of this nation can’t: change the hearts of people who are far from him. 

Sunday afternoon, 3:40pm: the winds pick up and the freezing rain starts to fall from the sky. Will the people of God come to pray? Slowly but, steadily, one car after another enters the parking lot. The people of God have heard the call to pray and so they come, not alone, but with their families, and their friends. It’s not just Asian Americans. It’s people of all colors and all walks of life. They come together in the freezing rain to stand united with cities across the nation. 

Sunday afternoon, 4pm: about 80 people have gathered so far. We start passing out flyers and digital programs, and singing corporately. We initiate the livestream. Then the weather gets worse. The weather must be mirroring our troubled hearts because we pause and take a moment of silence, to pray for the victims of racism against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders across our nation, and you can feel the winds whipping the microphones left and right in anguish, sorrow, and sympathy for the victims in the Atlanta massacre. The hard pelting of freezing rain confirms the tempest groaning within our souls for all of the victims of racist attacks during COVID. What a day for lament!

Sunday afternoon, 4:30pm about 40 more people have arrived. The weather is still relentless, but we continue praying. We are using Psalm 13 as our guide to lament and pray corporately. We pray in English, Hmong, Chinese, and Korean. Native speakers hear and respond in their languages as a call to lament. It’s a true Acts 2 moment. People prayed and were cut to the heart, but their faith in God was also reconfirmed and their minds refreshed. 

The prayer rally in Metro Detroit was a mixed gathering of diaspora Asian Americans, unifying on the basis of their Christian faith. Jesus was at the center of our rally. The world he created, however, rejected him. He was rejected by his own people. If our savior was rejected by his own people, then that gives us hope here in Detroit and across the United States. It gives us hope because Jesus knew that he’d be received into his kingdom by his father. That’s our hope. We, as Asian American Christians, are not second class citizens. We are not marginalized. We are not irrelevant. We are heirs of the living God! That’s the Good News for all Christians, regardless of race. 

We close our prayer rally with this thought from Jeremiah 29:4-7 (ESV): “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.”

Sunday afternoon, 5pm: we close the rally with prayer and disperse back to our communities to act in accordance to our calling as Christ followers in a corrupt and broken world. Faith without works is dead. So we must act. We committed to  pray  and care for the welfare of our cities and our people, Asian and non-Asian alike, because we are God’s people. 

---

Jonathan Kwon is an Executive Pastor at Woodside Bible Church in Royal Oak, MI. Jonathan moonlights as a government and corporate consultant in his free time. Previously, he spent 15 years serving as a bi-vocational pastor working in government and then as a management consultant. Jonathan is passionate about proclaiming the Gospel through community development, social justice, preaching, and empowering churches.

AACC Dallas Prayer Rally Recap

By Young-Sam Won

L

ike so many, the news of the Atlanta massacre hit hard. I saw the names and faces of victims that felt so familiar to me. Combined with the ongoing news of violence against Asian victims, I felt a deep sense of lament and anger. But as the days passed, I became aware of silence. Silence is not always obvious to us because we are inundated by noise in today’s world, and yet, the silence became loud. Many Asian American voices were mourning, lamenting, and expressing anger, but not all. As I grieved, I became acutely aware of who had reached out, who had spoken out, and who said nothing.

I was heartened to see that the Asian American Christian Collaborative was actively addressing the tragedy. I was not surprised to see plans for an event in Atlanta. Then I started to see that other cities would be joining the AACC event and I sensed something different, something new happening. It was around that time that Raymond Chang, the President of AACC, reached out to see if I could organize a similar event in Dallas. My immediate reaction was, “Yes! Let’s do something here and show our solidarity, our participation in a growing wave of public action.”

I began to look for a site since this was an essential first step. I contacted the city offices, and I reached out to the leadership of the church where we rent our worship space. I was met with indifference from city officials, but I was most hurt by the response from the church that hosts our majority Asian American multi-ethnic church. They informed me that they were not comfortable with the idea of hosting a “political” event on their grounds. This did not surprise me, but it was the additional note that was like a gut punch. The representative then added that the Atlanta tragedy was not a racist incident since the police had already said so. In fact, he added that it was the media that was making this a racialized incident. I sat with this and grieved. For context, this church is a conservative Evangelical church that has been quite generous and welcoming to our church. However, this response felt like more than a “no.” It felt like a gratuitous shot across the bow warning us that we should stick to the gospel and not get involved in matters of racism or injustice. I felt broken and even contacted Raymond to let him know that Dallas probably wouldn’t happen.

A few days later, Rich Lee reached out and told me that Houston and Austin were on board and with tongue-partly-in-cheek, asked where Dallas was. I was discouraged and related to him what had happened as I looked for a site. Rich was gracious in acknowledging that we were up against some challenging factors here. Spurred on, I reached out to my boss and a colleague at Dallas Seminary who are both Asian American to see if they had any ideas. This was Thursday evening, two days before the event. It was a Hail Mary.

I got a text from my director Dipa Hart at 1am, Friday. She apologized for missing my earlier text but wanted me to reach out to a pastor she knew at Chase Oaks Church, a large Evangelical church in the north suburbs. Friday morning, while juggling student appointments, I made the cold call and heard back with an encouraging response. I was contacted by Stanley Wang, who helps consult with the church leadership on matters of diversity and cross-cultural outreach. Stanley immediately understood what AACC was seeking to do, and we realized we were like-minded collaborators. Stanley got it and he quickly sought to get Chase Oaks on board with hosting. By Friday afternoon, Stanley not only secured us a wonderful site, but brought Peter Park, one of the campus pastors, on board. We were in business, but now I had to try and put together a group to help lead this event from the front.  It was in this process that I could sense God’s favor and his movement.

I reached out to Judy Dominick who had moved to Dallas a little over a year ago and was so excited when she agreed to take part. I knew Judy would be the perfect person to help us remember the victims and reflect on this tragedy. Dipa Hart agreed to take part and speak on lament. As an Indian American woman in leadership at a large seminary, Dipa understood the pain and challenges of racism and misogyny. Stanley then suggested having his wife, Jenny Wang, a licensed therapist, speak on trauma. I was amazed at this group of Asian American women who would be leading us. Then on Sunday afternoon, I found out that Garland Dunlap, an African American pastor and respected leader, would be able to participate. We were able to put together a simple but meaningful event plan over the course of two days due to the participation of  outstanding individuals speaking with expertise and insight.

As I stood in the afternoon Sunday sun, I marveled at the turnout and the way people responded to our speakers. God was moving. We had about 150-200 people, which was remarkable considering we only had 48 hours to announce our event and get the word out. People from Chase Oaks church, from my own church, The Bridge, joined in to take care of the logistics ranging from setting up to taking photos and video. It was beautiful to see so many people, who did not even know each other, joining together to make this event happen. God was moving. Despite having only met to go over our program fifteen minutes before the event, Judy, Dipa, and Jenny led us in remembrance, lament, and reflection on trauma in such a powerful and moving way. God was moving. As we shared the AACC call to action, voices in the crowd called out in affirmation. God was moving. As we closed with a time of prayer, I was moved by the way Garland Dunlap, Voltaire Cacal, Peter Park, Judy, and Dipa led us to the Lord. God was moving.

Afterwards, we all basked in God’s presence. People came up to tell us how much this event meant to them. Asian American people shared how this was a time of healing because they had been surrounded by so much silence in the wake of Atlanta. God was moving. I then saw the news coming in from around the country and saw how the various other events had gone and I knew that we were seeing a new work, a new movement rising. God is moving.

Photo by Jason Leung on Unsplash

---

Young-Sam (Sam) Won is currently the Associate Director of Ministry Formation at Dallas Theological Seminary and an adjunct professor in the Old Testament department (Ph.D. OT Studies, Dallas Seminary, '17). Sam currently serves as an elder at The Bridge Church in Dallas. After finishing his Th.M. at Dallas Seminary, Sam and his family served in Russia doing student ministry for three years. Sam also has a background in pharmacy (PharmD, UofM '94) and has most recently worked as a coverage pharmacist for Texas Oncology. You can follow him on Twitter: @SamObiWon

AACC Minneapolis Prayer Rally Recap

By Khanh Nguyễn and Rev. Mary Chung March

O

n March 28th, 2021, Minneapolis joined with thirteen other cities from Los Angeles to New York to Atlanta to lament and protest anti-AAPI violence and racism. As the movement started by the Asian American Christian Collaborative gained traction across the nation, the AAPI community in Minneapolis could not sit this one out. Within 24 hours Rev. Mary Chung March, Covenant Asian Pastors Association President and the Mosaic Commission Chair of the ECC, banned together twelve diverse speakers and more volunteers to participate in this first-ever nationwide rally to “Stand for AAPI Lives and Dignity.” Between 70- 100 people came out to show their support and solidarity for the event and the AAPI community.

Rev. Mary Chung March spoke of the rise in Anti-Asian hate incidents and declared, “We are resolved to be silent no longer and we will stand up and speak for AAPI lives and dignity. We will raise our voices because oppression, racism, and hate crimes will not have the final say.”

Rev. Cecilia Williams, CEO and President of the CCDA (Christian Community Development Association), followed with a passionate prayer of unity. Then we held a moment of silence for the eight victims of the Atlanta shootings.

Carla Vernón, Amazon.com VP, and Dr. Sarah Park Dahlen, Ph.D. Associate Professor at St. Catherine University, read a Litany of Lament provided by Dr. Russell Jeung (StopAAPIHate.org) and used it with permission. They alternated reading the hate incidents that Asian elders had experienced in the past year. It was a somber moment hearing the suffering and racism that AAPI people have been facing.

Rev. Hollis Kim, Director of Pastoral Care & Development for the Northwest Conference, then spoke on behalf of Asian Elders: “I’m here because God has been ambushing me, as an older half-Korean, half-Okinawan man. I formerly would keep my head down and be silent. But God has brought me to sobs and tears, unexpectedly sometimes uncontrollably... So I’m here because these are MY people, Asian American Pacific Islanders, and I stand with my people.”

Rev. Luke Swanson of Community Covenant Church led the crowd in a time of communal call and response lament and confession. He confessed that “The sin of racism must be named and actively dismantled. Justice begins in confession. As a white leader, I confess my sin that has blinded me to the trauma of my brothers and sisters... Lord Jesus, as you wept over Jerusalem, so we weep and mourn today over our cities and our land. We weep for our sin of silence in the face of injustice and violence and blood-shed…”

Rev. Paul Robinson, Executive Minister of Love Mercy Do Justice of the ECC, acknowledged that we are guests on indigenous and native lands and that native and indigenous people know well the oppression, genocide, and marginalization. He said, “I’m here today because I am a brother to my brothers and sisters in the AAPI community and I’m also here because the blood of my ancestors called me to stand for justice, for freedom, and to fight oppression.” He also reiterated that the current incidents of anti-Asian racism are not new and recounted the history of US anti-Asian racism such as the concept of Yellow Peril, the Page Act, the Chinese Exclusion Act, the Japanese American Mass Incarceration during WWII, the murder of Vincent Chin, and many other government-sanctioned laws and policy that “othered” Asian Americans. He proclaimed, “Enough is enough! Enough is enough! We can’t be silent when members of our family are attacked, murdered, and afraid, and made to feel unwelcome. I’m here to invite people of the African American community and Asian communities to seize this moment. This is yet another opportunity for us to stand together against systemic racism, against xenophobia, against anti-Asian sentiment, and violence against women in general that continues to plague this nation. I ought to get an ‘Amen.’ We’ve been fighting hundreds of years...and I want you to know, I’m not tired yet!”

Rev. Osheta Moore, Pastor, Author, Speaker, and Everyday Peacemaker, lamented that “anti-Asian racism has been minimized, even with the Atlanta mass shooting, the first flood of articles centered on the humanity of the murderer, not the Asian women who were murdered. Asian American Sisters, we are heartbroken with you.”

Khanh Nguyễn, Founder and President of C3: Cultural Competency Consulting, was grateful as a Vietnamese boat person/refugee that their sponsoring church introduced her family to Jesus. But she also called out the history of the American Empire that has led to the lies painting Asians as either the model minority or the perpetual foreigner.

Nguyễn said, “I am thankful for the good in America, but the American dream has become the American Idolatry... I for one did not escape one empire to come worship at the footstool of another, for our kingdom is not of any nation on Earth but our kingdom is one where Jesus’ love, mercy, and justice reign. To my Asian Family. I believe this is our George Floyd moment. We can no longer remain silent. It’s time to rock the boat!”

Pastor Der Lor of Roseville Covenant Church explained how for Asian Pacific Islander women, racism hits in multiple ways along with misogyny and sexism. He condemned a culture that objectifies and sexualizes them and declared, “They are not your comfort women or submissive co-workers. They are sisters, daughters, mothers, aunties, pastors, teachers, CEOs, doctors...people, not objects. They are human...They are the embodied Imago Dei...They belong.”

Rev. Jennifer Ikoma-Motzko and her five-year-old daughter stepped up to pray for the AAPI community. Jennifer first shared that Kazuko Kay Ige (her grandmother and an American citizen), was a teenager sent to a US WWII internment camp and that she spoke out against the xenophobia, racism, and trauma that her family and 120,000 Japanese Americans experienced behind those barbed wires. Her grandma helped organize the Redress Movement to obtain restitution of civil rights, an apology, and/or monetary compensation from the U.S. government during the six decades that followed the Japanese American Mass Incarceration during WWII. Her grandmother even testified before the US congress against those atrocities.

Jennifer concluded her prayer with, “We pray for strength, courage, and unwavering companionship on the journey. イエス, Iesu-sama – may your light and love guide us.” 

Then in a “scene-stealing” moment, her five-year-old daughter prayed powerfully out of the “mouth of babes:”

Dear God, I have no idea why people have ideas and make rules based on the color of people’s skin... It’s silly to hurt someone because you are afraid of them. I hope one day there will be none of these silly rules and ideas. I don’t just want them to end in the United States, I want them to end all over. I want there to be peace in all planets. Even the ones that aren’t earth, like Mars. I pray that Asian American people, especially girls, do not get hurt anymore. I pray that you will protect them... that you give them courage when they are scared to walk down the street. Why do people hurt people? I think this should not happen anymore! I think non-Asian people and Asian people should speak up and stand up to the people who are hurting them. Kind of like Martin Luther King Jr. He stood up so that his children wouldn’t be judged by the color of their skin. If anyone treats me ... by the color of my skin or because I am a girl, I’m going to stand up and say that’s not right. Thank you, God, for spreading peace and love. Amen.”

Rev. Stephanie O’Brien Williams, lead pastor at Mill City Church, and Rev. T.C. Moore, lead pastor at Roots Covenant Church, stood in solidarity with our AAPI community as white pastors, and they spoke of their resolve to stand, speak, and fight for the AAPI community as they read out the Call to Actions from the AACC Statement on the Atlanta Massacre. 

Rev. Stephanie O’Brien Williams said, “My family is hurting. When I see my Asian American Pacific Islander brothers and sisters hurting, I say they are a part of my family. And when some of our family is hurting, all of our family is hurting. I want to stand with them but I also want to fight for them and honor them as leaders. I want to follow [them].... You are leaders absolutely worth following and your courage is an inspiration to us all.”  

Rev. Mary Chung March finished the Minneapolis rally, thanking everyone for coming and standing in 40-degree MN weather to stand with the AAPI community. She invited people to visit local Asian restaurants and businesses, to join the prayer vigil at the Capitol later that evening, and to continue to raise their voices together. We closed the rally acknowledging we belong to each other and prayed together by raising our voices as the family of God, praying the Lord’s prayer as Jesus taught us in one voice. 

Even though this gathering was pieced together in a 48-hour period the Minneapolis AACC hour-long rally flowed so smoothly, so powerfully and so full of the Holy Spirit. We are so grateful that Minneapolis Christian faith leaders did not sit this one out, showed up, and stood together for AAPI lives and dignity. It will be a day we will remember. Praise God!

The Minneapolis AACC Rally on March 28, 2021 link: https://youtu.be/nPy1n8vIfC0

---

Mary, a New Jersey native, grew up in a Korean immigrant church plant in NJ where her parents were the founding pastors. As a pastor’s kid, she grew up in the church and lived the highs and lows of church planting and pastoral ministry through my parents. From that experience, she is passionate about soul care for pastors and leaders. She graduated from University of Michigan with a B.A. in History and Psychology and from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary with a M. Div. and a Masters in Counseling specializing in Marriage and Family Therapy. She has worked as a youth pastor (Staten Island, NY), a children’s pastor (Manchester, CT), a co-college pastor at Highrock Church (Boston, MA), and a family and youth counselor at the Bridge for Youth (Minneapolis, MN). She is the co-founding and co-lead pastor at New City Covenant Church, was ordained in the ECC, the daughter of two ordained senior pastors, the wife to her co-lead pastor and husband, John, and the mother to four beloved children between the ages of 6 and 15. She serves as the Chair of the Mosaic (Ethnic) Commission of the ECC and President of the Covenant Asian Pastors Association of the ECC.

Khanh Nguyễn's family escaped as refugees from the war in Vietnam and was sponsored by a church that introduced them to the gospel of Jesus. She is married to David and has 2 delightful children, My Linh and Khoa. They go to a Chinese immersion school and like to speak behind their parents back in Chinese Her experiences as a missionary, multi-ethnic church leader, walking alongside African refugees, and instructor in a Christian university teaching courses on race, culture and ministry has led her to start her own consulting ministry, C3: Cultural Competency Consulting. She trains churches and organizations in areas of cultural competency, Anti-racism education, immigration & refugee advocacy and Asian American topics.

From a Black Woman’s Perspective: Here’s What I Saw When I Attended the Atlanta Rally for AAPI Lives

By Dr. Lee Davenport

"W

ere you the only Black person there?” asked a Black friend (almost as an accusation) after I showed him the pictures from the Atlanta Rally for AAPI (Asian American Pacific Islander) Lives hosted by the Asian American Christian Collaborative (AACC).

“No, not at all!” I responded proudly as I reflected across both the crowd and speakers (hello, Latasha Morrison and Justin Giboney!). 

But, my friend’s question made me pause. Although there were Black folks present, where were we, really? Why could I probably have easily and quickly counted my “skin folk” present without it being a daunting, time-consuming task? Frankly, it was because there were so few Black people in attendance. Keep in mind, this was the Rally for AAPI Lives for Atlanta, where Black people are the growing racial majority. Plus, the rally was at a convenient location just 10 miles outside of Atlanta on a spring, “easy like Sunday morning” because it was Sunday, day.

Let’s Back Up: What Brought Me to the Rally

The Abridged “Good Samaritan” Parable NIV

Luke 10:27: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 

Verse 36: “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” 

Verse 37: The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

“It takes a village…” – African proverb

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.” – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Letter from the Birmingham Jail

“Be the bridge.” – Latasha Morrison

“We must affirm human dignity.” – Compassion & Conviction: the AND Campaign’s guide to faithful civic engagement by Justin Giboney, Michael Wear and Chris Butler

I believe these statements. And, I try to live by them. Professionally, I speak up and out when I see others wronged even at the risk of my own career and income. Personally, I have broken up with Bumble dates that made it clear they cared only about the well-being of their own children but no other child in the community. These dad dates sadly personified “us four and no more” but that’s a story for a different blog, ha. 

So when my fellow Buckhead Church Be the Bridge small group co-leader, Kim, shared the event with our group, I knew I had to be there despite my hectic schedule.

The Rally

It was a busy and significant Palm/Passion Sunday for many reasons including this rally for AAPI lives. As the start of the rally neared, I hopped into my car. As I traveled down Buford Highway, the proud home to many Asian American businesses, I noticed the dancing, late March, spring sun retreat. As I pulled into the parking lot, the sober event seemed to give way instantly to an overcast day.

After parking, Kim and her son found me and we stood. 

We stood with the families gathered. 

We stood with the leaders who spoke. 

We stood with the children that were able to make friends and entertain themselves, not understanding the gravity of this gathering. 

We stood with tears. 

We stood with the laments. 

We stood with the rallying cry to support our Asian-A-M-E-R-I-C-A-N (not perpetual “foreigners”) neighbors. 

We stood with and for AAPI lives. 

As allies, the rally charge to us was to:

1.  support local Asian American businesses (and we did not have to go far with Buford Highway being replete with Asian American entrepreneurs), 

2. build relationships, 

3. learn more about Asian American history and the collective pain, 

4. help amplify Asian American voices, 

5. speak to legislators, 

6. support the families of those murdered during the spa mass shootings and 

7. unite as Christians. 

My heart was heavy but I left the rally with new intentionality – commit to these efforts and get more of my “corner of the world” to stand with our Asian friends too. 

What the Rally and My Friend’s Question Helped Me to See

Anyone that is a fan of the 1980s and American pop culture may readily sing Janet Jackson’s chorus, “what have you done for me lately? Ooh, ooh, ooh, yeah,” along with doing the accompanying eye and neck roll with as much sass as you can muster. As much as I love throwbacks to the 1980s, I believe it is time out for siding with a trite “thoughts and prayers” or worse, silence and complicity in the tune of “what have you, Asian American neighbor, done for me lately?” This is true whether you are Black, Latinx, Indigenous or white. 

I believe we have reached a critical moment of demarcation. Our Asian American neighbors are literally rallying and crying out for more “good Samaritans,” which is Christian-speak for authentic allyship from different out-groups. Yet, the question remains, will we align with Christ, be like the “good Samaritan” and proactively extend mercy (no matter our individual racial experiences or collectively complicated US racialized entanglement) without a need for quid pro quo? 

Or, will we be the tares that resemble Christ (the Wheat) but are actually weeds that do not allow others to grow, taking nutrients only for ourselves and our in-group with no concern for the wellbeing of those around us? Jesus’ tares analogy (Matthew 13:24-30) puts me in mind of the modern-day metaphor of “crabs in a barrel.” In either scenario, genuine Christ-followers get beyond singing, “me me me me meeeee” and emulate Jesus Christ’s real-life examples of centering those of different groups that reach out for help (c.f. blind Bartimaeus [Mark 10:46-52], the Canaanite woman with a demon-possessed daughter [Matthew 15:22-29], the centurion on behalf of his ill servant [Luke 7:1-10] and the woman with the issue of blood [Mark 5:25-34] to just name a few).

Dr. Michelle Reyes is the vice president of AACC and summed up this critical moment with these words:

The prayer rally in Atlanta and in other cities around the country was an invitation for everyone — both Asian American Christians and friends of the community — to enter into the collective pain of the Asian American community. See the world through our eyes and our realities of racism, marginalization, and erasure. Hear our voices. Listen to our stories. Mourn with us. We want to work together toward a more just and equitable future for all, and Sunday’s national prayer rallies felt like a powerful step in that direction.

In my “corner of the world,” this rally and my friend’s question have shown me the urgency to (continue to) work to be genuine wheat – that blooms with, and not at the detriment of, others. And, just as importantly, to recruit more wheat and to be committed to removing weeds, impediments to the dignity and growth of others. I hope you see it too and will commit to doing the same with me as allies for AAPI lives.

This article was originally published on March 31, 2021, by Thrive Global.

Photo by Jason Leung on Unsplash

---

Dr. Lee, a former writer with HuffPost, has a monthly column in the real estate industry’s gold-standard for news, Inman News, on race and real estate. Dr. Lee’s race and real estate column has sparked provocative conversations and been a catalyst for inclusive change at numerous real estate firms and associations. Download (no fee), read and share her latest book, How to Be an Anti-Racist Real Estate Pro.

AACC Atlanta Prayer Rally Recap

By Dr. Michelle Ami Reyes

O

n a cold and windy day in Atlanta, on March 28, 2021, a crowd of between 600-1,000 people joined together in an abandoned K-Mart parking lot to Stand Together for AAPI Lives and Dignity. Despite the chill in the air, there was a sense of wonder throughout the diverse crowd forming. Many of the attendees had never seen so many Asian American Christians in one gathering before. Nor had many ever experienced a communal space to grieve and lament the pains of anti-Asian racism.

Organized in partnership between AACC, local organizations such as 4Pointes Church and We Love Buhi, and national organizations such as Be the Bridge and the (&)Campaign, the Atlanta prayer rally grieved over the loss of eight precious lives in the Atlanta massacre. Located at ground zero, the organizing of this rally catalyzed a movement across the country that led to a total of 14 prayer rallies taking place simultaneously across the US, including Los Angeles and San Francisco, Chicago, Houston, Austin, Dallas, Washington D.C., Baltimore, Detroit, Boston, Minneapolis, and New York City. A virtual event was also held in Seattle. This was a historic event. Never before has the country seen collective action like this by the Asian American church and friends of our community. 

The Atlanta rally opened by creating space for communal lament and prayer. As Vice President, Michelle Ami Reyes, shared in her opener, it was important for those in attendance to understand that the shooting on March 16th was a racialized act, and it was not an isolated event. Rather, it is the most recent link in a long chain of anti-Asian racism that includes, but is not limited to the 1871 Chinese Massacre, the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, the internment of 120,000 Japanese Americans during WWII, anti-South Asian hate after 9/11, and anti-Asian racism during the time of Covid-19. Michelle also shared, “We can’t work together toward a more just and equitable future if we don’t see or understand this full history. Understanding the full breadth of the Asian American experience in this country is the method by which we grieve and lament well today.” The collective prayer rallies, both in Atlanta and around the country, served to bear witness to this tragedy and as a call for people to see that as we grieve and lament communally, we do so with the full weight of anti-Asian history on our shoulders. 

One of the unique moments of the Atlanta rally came around the midpoint as first, Sam Kang, and then, Jennifer Fero, came on stage to lament and confess the toxic and broken theology in the church that has led to the fetishization and exotification of Asian women. Sam also highlighted the disparity between Jesus’ view of women and the church’s view. In his final exhortation, he called all men in the crowd to raise their hand, confess their own complicity in misogyny and mistreatment of women, and to stand for the dignity, respect, and honor of all women moving forward. David Park, pastor of Open Table Community Church, followed by saying, “to repent is to commit to change.”

Friends of the AAPI community, Tasha Morrison and Justin Giboney, also spoke at the Atlanta rally. Justin Giboney, president and founder of the (&)Campaign, talked about the importance of African Americans and Asian Americans standing in solidarity together. As Tasha Morrison, president and founder of Be the Bridge, commented, part of how we do this is by addressing the ways we’ve been complicit in perpetuating violence against each other, from the Hmong officer involved in the death of George Floyd to the hate crimes against Asians committed by African Americans. 

As we reflect on the prayer rally in Atlanta on Sunday as well as the simultaneous prayer rallies around the country, we give thanks to God for the way he is moving in the church at large and the Asian American church specifically. The Asian American church today is still finding its voice and learning to speak up on issues of justice. As speaker, Andrea Cole, said, “we’re still figuring this out and it’s going to be a bit messy at first.” But there is a historic precedent to this. The historic Asian American church stood as a prophetic witness against the powers and principalities of white supremacy. In this current cultural moment, Asian American Christians are realizing they can no longer accept the suggestion to keep their heads down, do nothing, and not challenge the status quo. 

The K-Mart parking lot, situated on Buford Highway, is a centrifuge of Asian American community and culture. The Gold spa, where one of the shootings took place, was ten miles away. This proximity and personalization of anti-Asian pain and trauma shook many to their core. In fact, the Atlanta massacre was a wake-up call for many Asian American Christians that we can no longer be silent. 

As AACC president, Raymond Chang, said at the Atlanta rally on Sunday, “As those of Asian heritage were not viewed as full members of society, the historic Asian American church stood in the gap to both shepherd their people, and to advocate for them in the public square. Our collective, national response today, taps into this rich legacy of advocacy and activism, established upon our faith in Jesus Christ. We commit to ending this.”

Pastor of 4Pointes Church, Peter Lim, shared that one tangible way to stand for AAPI lives and dignity is to support local Asian businesses. Asian restaurants, in particular, still suffer from anti-Asian bias linked to the pandemic. It’s important that we not only declare with our voices that Asian lives matter, but use our money and resources to support this declaration as well. Peter also shared, “We have a loud voice. Use it!”

AACC member, Jessica Chang, and wife of Raymond Chang, added, “we call our own churches (and non-Asian American churches) to engage in race- and gender-conscious discipleship, and embrace the teaching and work of Jesus Christ by actively combating anti-Asian racism from the pulpit, in congregational life, and in the world. We call the church to tear down the idols of nationalism, misogyny, and xenophobia in the church.”

The prayer rally in Atlanta and in other cities around the country was an invitation for everyone — both Asian American Christians and friends of the community — to enter into the collective pain of the Asian American community. See the world through our eyes and our realities of racism, marginalization, and erasure. Hear our voices. Listen to our stories. Mourn with us. We want to work together toward a more just and equitable future for all, and Sunday’s national prayer rallies felt like a powerful step in that direction.

Read these additional articles for a recap of the National Prayer Rally for AAPI Lives & Dignity:

ASIAN WOMEN LEAD CHARGE AGAINST BIGOTRY IN CHRISTIAN RALLIES ACROSS U.S., Sojourners

At nationwide rallies, Christians stand up for Asian Americans, Religion News Service

---

Dr. Michelle Reyes is the vice president of AACC as well as a church planter, pastor’s wife, author, speaker, and activist in Austin, TX. In 2014, Michelle and her husband co-planted Hope Community Church, a minority-led multicultural church that serves low-income and disadvantaged communities in East Austin. She also serves as the local CCDA Austin Networker. Michelle has a forthcoming book with Zondervan on cross-cultural relationships. Her writings on faith and culture have appeared in Christianity Today Women, ERLC, Missio Alliance, Faithfully Magazine, and Patheos, among other publications. She and her husband have two young kids aged four and one.