Journeying Together Toward an Empowering and Transforming Ministry

October 8, 2008 from 6:00am to 10:00am

The PANA Institute would like to invite Asian American and Pacific Islander pastors and congregational leaders to take part in a Bay Area Consultation of Leaders of API Faith Communities, called “Journeying Together Toward an Empowering and Transforming Ministry.” We invite you to this opportunity for theological reflection on the context of your ministry with others from similar ministry contexts of being Asian American or Pacific Islander congregations. The goals of this consultation or “think tank” are to identify emergent themes and challenges from API congregations and strategies people are engaging to meet them.Dr. Eleazar Fernandez, professor of Constructive Theology at the United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities and an ordained minister of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines and the United Church of Christ U.S.A., will give the keynote address, "API's Diaspora Journey of Faith and Empowerment."The focus of our sharing and reflection is:

  • How does being a racial-ethnic congregation or a church in the diaspora shape what it means to be a church?
  • How does it distinctively shape our ministries, visions, challenges and practices?

Prof. Eleazar Fernandez will provide a framework for our theological thinking in his keynote address; then we will eat together, meet in small groups to
share key challenges and questions in our congregations, network and brainstorm future directions to strengthen our ministries.Time: 11:00am-3:30pm Location: Pacific School of Religion, Mudd building, room 100. PANA Institute will provide lunch.  Please RSVP to Rev. Deborah Lee, dlee@psr.edu or 510-849-8260. Schedule11:00 amArrivalOpening Ritual and InvocationWelcome and Introductions12:00 noon“Asian American and Pacific Islanders’s Diaspora Journey of Faith and Empowerment” Keynote Address by Eleazar Fernandez12:30 pmLunch1:15 pm  Introduction to the Small Groups - Sharing Our StoriesShare about your congregation: How it is shaped by being a racial and diasporic church?What are the challenges and key questions at this point of the congregation?How are you addressing them?

  • Filipino Churches
  • Samoan Churches
  • Tongan Churches
  • Japanese American and Historically-JA Churches
  • Chinese Churches and Historically-Chinese Churches
  • Other Groupings of Churches

2:30 pmPlenary: reports from the small groups to larger group

  • What are common themes and narrative in the stories?
  • What are common challenges facing ________ ethnic churches?
  • How are people addressing these challenges?

3:00 pmEvaluationNext StepsClosing Ritual