A Feast: The First-time-ever Chinese Leadership Gathering
Beginning with dinner on Monday, January 22 through lunch on Wenesday, January 24, 2007, there was a first-time-ever Chinese Leadership Gathering at the Cathedral Center of St. Paul, in the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles. There were more than twenty-five participants from nine of the eighteen Chinese congregations.
After dinner on Monday, the Rev. Dr. Franco Kwan, rector of True Sunshine Episcopal Church in San Francisco and convener of the Chinese Convocation, opened the meeting with a prayer. He was followed by a Bible study led by the Rev. Dr. Fran Toy, President of the EAM (Episcopal Asia-merica Ministry) Council, who selected Ephesians 3:20 to “set the tone.” Participants heard positive and not-so-positive reports from most congregations on doing God’s ministries, both at a personal and con-gregational level. Paricipants were heard speaking “from the heart”, which was deeply appreciated by those who were present. The extremely-packed agenda followed a pattern of having a person present a topic, followed by group discussion.
Mr. De Young Chan, Our Savior, N.Y. and Cn. Pang led the group in “Next Steps and Evaluation.” Each person filled out for himself/herself a wish list of what “815”, the Chinese Convocation, the person’s congre-gation, and the person himself/herself could or would do to further bring in God’s kingdom on earth.
The entire event was grounded by worship, in addition to the bible study at the beginning, which “set the tone.” Compline Officiants were Ms. Mimi Wu, St. Peter’s,Honolulu and the Rev. Philip Wong, Holy Apostles, Bellevue, Washington. Morning Prayer officiants were Mr. Thomas Ni, St. Thomas’ Hacienda Heights and the Rev. Dr. Fran Toy, President, EAM Council. Additonally, Ms. Silvia Wong, Holy Apostles, Bellevue Wash-ington and wife of Fr. Philip Wong, led the group in music, with great fervor and her beautiful voice, during Morning Prayer and two “Sing Alongs.” Another musical treat was provided by a choral group, Sheperd’s Flute Master Chorale, which presented a “Love Dream” concert program on Tuesday evening.
As the meeting ended and as people shared what they had put down on their “wish list” for “815” and the Chinese Convocation, the following comments were heard: “This was a blessing.” “This was a full feast.” “We are one family.” “It’s exciting! There’s a new crop of leaders.” (The Rev. Deborah Dunn, Vicar, St. Thomas’ Hacienda Heights reported that they will have four people ordained in the near future.)
All voiced their appreciation for the help given by members of St. Thomas’ and other participants from the diocese. There was consensus that the Chinese Convocation meets annually or biannually in Los Angeles, in between meeting at the annual EAM Consultation.Lay delegates at the L.A. GatheringClergy delegates at the L.A. Gathering
Fran Toy
 Doing Ministry Other Than Among the Chinese
The Rev. Alistair So - St. Martin’s-in-the-Field, Severna Park, M.D.
As a Chinese American working in a primarily Caucasian parish (and dio-cese), Alistair spoke of the necessity of his amphibious life—he needs to be able to operate in both worlds. He also stressed the importance of review-ing our diocese’s protocols for ordination and deployment, if we want to create a culture that truly cultivates the growth of Chinese ministries. The challenge of engaging and incorporating English-speaking Chinese, the next generation, was discussed by a number of participants. How do we balance their unique gifts and needs while maintaining our ministry to non-English speaking Chinese? How do we straddle the two cultures, Chinese and American? (Mark Smith)
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 Fundraising
Peter Ng - Our Saviour, N.Y. and Emeritus President of EAM
Information was shared about potential sources for grant funding, but the fact that grant funding is limited and unpredictable was stressed. Peter encouraged the parishes to look within themselves for financial support first. He encourages parishes to look for entrepreneurial op-portunities. (e.g. St. Thomas’ stichery, Church of the Holy Apostles’ Chinese School) (Mark Smith)
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 Spiritual Life
Mrs. Ada Nagata - St. Thomas’, Hacienda Heights, L.A.
Ada introduced a few ways with which St. Thomas’ Church in L.A. has used to strengthen people’s spiritual life. 1. Taize worship originated from France; 2. Way of the Cross and soup supper during Lent; 3. Mak-ing palm crosses for Palm Sunday; 4. Anglican rosary; 5. A monthly Prayer and Praise Service. She also talked about the Centering Prayer which is a method of prayer preparing people to receive the gift of God’s presence, traditionally called contemplative prayer. (SKP)
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 Church Planting
Michael Cunningham - Convening Chair of Mission Congregations, L.A.
In planting new congregations, the importance of learning from the people we hope to invite was stressed -— listen to them, walk the neighborhood, find out what their needs are. And, we must be radical in our hospitality. Who greets me when I walk in? How easy is it to find the rest room, and is it clean enough for me to change my baby there? These are the concerns of the newcomer, and if we want them to stay, we need to make them feel welcomed and cherished. (Mark Smith)
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 Evangelism
The Rev. Butch Gamarra - Retired Rector of St. Philip’s, L.A.
The importance of knowing the people and the community to which you are reaching out was emphasized, as was the importance of de-veloping relationships with people built on love and trust. We need to love the people, respect the people, listen to the people, serve the people, and then educate the people. Above all and through it all, we need to remember that we are agents of God’s Spirit of Love. We are invited to create a space for the Spirit to work, but the work of evangelism and church growth remains the work of the Spirit. (Mark Smith)
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 New Technology and Evangelism
The Rev. Joshua Ng - St. Thomas’, Hacienda Heights, L.A.
The Rev. Joshua Ng showed the use of computer technology in projecting the liturgy on the screen for worship services and its advantages:1. saves the congregation from the trouble of searching in different ser-vice and hymn books, 2. enables the congregation to concentrate and focus in their participation in the service, 3. the projected words and images/pictures help the congregation to understand and appreciate the sermon, 4. very easy to make changes in the ritual/worship procedure, 5. avoids expenses in purchasing books, and 6. it is simple and easy to learn how to use the computer. (SKP)
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 Youth Ministry
The Rev. Canon Dr. Thomas Pang - Boston Chinese Ministry, M.A.
12 criteria raised by the Rev. Thomas Pang in running youth ministry:1. Holding God as the center, 2. Build a trusting relationship, 3. Do not worry about a slow start, 4. Work with other churches, 5. Stay-ing positive at all times, 6. Organize spiritual activities, 7. Respect the needs and feelings of the youth, 8. Listen to youth and make changes, 9. Invite youth to participate in church-wide planning, 10. Stress indi-vidual attention, 11. Stress the training of leadership, 12. Evangelism and Outreaching. (SKP)
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 Plans for Training
Mr. Samuel Wong - Boston Chinese Ministry, M.A.
Mr. Wong introduced a specially designed 5-stage training method. The objective is to enable anyone in the church, whether he/she is just beginning to get interested in the faith or is a confirmed believer and leader, to receive the realistic and practical training. (SKP)
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