Tuesday, March 8, 2011

American Baptist AA Colloquium

Last month I had the privilege of spending a week in Seattle with a wonderful group of American Baptist pastors, all of us part of the denomination's first Asian American Colloquium. For one week each year, the AB Ministers and Missionaries Board treats us to a time of learning, community, and R&R. It is quite a treat.

For me, it's a refreshing opportunity to get away and enjoy another city, and also to be around such a wise group of seasoned pastors. It's fun and enriching to hear their stories, to ask questions, and to glean from their experiences. I am continually amazed at what they and their churches are doing. My soul is always full by week's end.

During this year's trip, I was struck by two "firsts" regarding my AA identity and history:

The first came on a tour of the Japanese Baptist Church of Seattle, where our colleague Paul Aita is senior pastor. As we moved from room to room we got a sense of the history of the place. When we arrived in the church's gymnasium, Paul told us the story of former senior pastor Rev. Emery Emerson, who was minister at JBC from 1929-1976, which included the years during WWII.

As American citizens of Japanese decent were being rounded up to spend the next several years in internment camps all along the West, Rev. Emerson transformed the gym into a storage warehouse. To make ready for camp, each Japanese American family was allowed only what they could fit in a suitcase. So Pastor Emerson took masking tape and marked off 4X4 squares on the wooden floor in which Japanese American families from the community could come and leave keepsakes and possessions that they were unable to take with them. Looking at the floor, I wondered if each square contained belongings that were impractical, unnecessary, or too valuable for the unthinkable trek toward an unknown future. How difficult those decisions must have been. Yet, this small act of kindness surely brought some measure of relief knowing that what little remained of their former lives would be kept safe until their return.

I was moved upon hearing this story for the first time. Immediately I was both proud to be a fellow AB pastor and deeply grateful for what this Anglo American Baptist pastor had done - surely not without severe dissent and criticism from the majority - to extend love and care to so many Japanese during their time of dislocation and disillusionment. Remarkable.

The second was a reflection I had upon returning home. In the history of the American Baptists, the M&M Board has had the foresight and generosity to invest and thank pastors for their service to the Lord and to the denomination. Because of this, over 30 years ago the first colloquial was formed. Subsequently, a colloquial for pastors serving Black congregations and another for Latino churches was birthed. I am part of the first colloquial for senior pastors serving mostly Asian American churches. I was struck that although the denomination is nearly as old as our country, here I am in the 21st century still part of "a first Asian American..." On one hand, I thank my lucky stars I belong to a denomination that is attempting to include and give voice to the minority in their midst, while also realizing how far we have yet to go.

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