Liturgy is where we publicly explore the multi-faceted and creative faith expressions of worship within the PAAC community. Here, we will have everything from theological musings and visual/mixed-media artist reflections, to poetry and fiction stories to ponder, dream, and reimagine how we can communally respond to the world around us.
Don’t Look Away: Insurrection on Epiphany
Late night on Tuesday, January 5, 2020, after holding my breath for several hours waiting to know the outcome of the Georgia runoffs, I sat in the dark in front of the Christmas tree, soaking its irresistible loveliness for a final few moments: its sculptural shape illuminated by carefully-arranged tiny twinkling lights; the combination of kitschy, exquisite, and child-made ornaments; the strands of cranberries; the origami garland my sister made for us this year. This tree gave me much joy this Advent and Christmas, its treasures filling my need for beauty and whimsy, as our local and broader communities creaked under the weight of politics, of the pandemic.
Advent Season: Trust & Endure
Many of us are not passively waiting, but actively searching and advocating for ourselves and for others. And yet the longer our wait drags on, the harder it is to keep waiting. We realize that our efforts can only get us so far—there is only so much in our control. Waiting is exhausting.
Dear God, we f*cked up.
America has long used scripture (with buy-in from its church) to oppress its people. I have been brainwashed into believing the myth of American History as written by white men. I have been conned into buying the facade of the American Dream as painted by white men. As an Asian American Christian, white-adjacent model minority and simultaneous perpetual other, I have often been complicit in upholding this intricately woven (and incredibly strong!) web of lies upon which American society stands.
Easter Sunday: An Unexpected Easter
Narrated by Symphony Chau There is supposed to be a poem here. But nothing is as it’s supposed to be these days. Everything feels upended. It’s hard to keep track of days, much less announcements and official decrees. There is news everywhere, and none of it...
Good Friday: From Grace, to Grace
When I organized a panel discussion in college about social justice and the Gospel, I was a new Christian steeped in the conservative evangelical milieu of our campus Christian fellowship. Somewhere in the midst, I proclaimed that we could do no good apart from God --...
Lent Week 6: A Pandemic Passover: An invitation to Asian American Liberative Praxis
This is a dispatch in the midst of the covid-19 pandemic that has made its way out of East Asia and has now gripped the West. The trajectory of the novel coronavirus travels along the flows of finance capital, with capitalism as its true carrier. It trickles down to the working class and undocumented and raciailized and queer people, who will face suffering both greater in measure and invisibility. Not all lives matter in the same way, especially not in these times.
Lent Week 5: For we were strangers
Source: Kimberly Mark “They need to wait in line. Go through the proper channels. If I had to, they should, too.”“They’re taking our jobs. They’re taking advantage of our welfare system.”“They could be spies, terrorists, gangsters.” For I was hungry and you gave me...
Lent Week 4: Beautiful and Holy
Source: Unsplash [CW: ableism, mental health] “How are you?”“I’m fine!” I rehearsed the words, over and over. I needed to convince my friends that I was just fine. I didn’t want them to know that I’d just spent the last 3 months crying nonstop, or that passive...
Lent Week 3: Batsheva, Empire Builder
The Dowager Queen had many threats in court, but 13-year-old Heo Yeon Woo was the biggest one of all. She had captured the heart of the Crown Prince, Lee Hwon, and if let alone would grow into the most powerful woman in the land. Her father, the head scholar, and the...
Lent Week 3: What, to the Rest of Us, is the Bride of Christ?
Source: Steven Lee Readings Ephesians 5:25-33 (NRSV)1 Corinthians 7:25-40 (NRSV) It's a narrative you don't really expect to rule your life as much as it does. When this Bride of Christ metaphor was first written down, I imagine the members of the churches who...
