What is the vision of the Asian and Pacific Islander community of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America for the 21st century? Essentially our vision is to grow in strength for ministry, using God’s gifts of culture, language, and heritage to share God’s love in a multicultural world. Currently this involves emphases on congregational development, membership, leadership and resource development, social ministry, stewardship, and Asian homeland ministries.

People from Asian and Pacific Island heritages are a highly diverse population within the territory covered by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Some have lived in North America for several generations, while others have more recently arrived. In any case they share family histories of coming to this part of the world for many reasons, including:

• family reunification

• economic opportunities

• educational opportunities

• safety from persecution and violence

• dreams of a better life

• freedom from oppression

• transracial adoption.

Asians and Pacific Islanders came and brought a new song to this foreign land known as the United States of America. But was this country ready to welcome them?

The truth is that this land that beckoned to them like a “golden mountain” was at the same time inhospitable and dangerous for Asians and Pacific Islanders. Yet despite being treated like strangers and aliens, they continued to sing. Everyone sang a song.

Some, despite their best efforts, found their music silenced by the wider society. Many adapted their singing to ensure their survival in this new land. Some gave up their old songs to sing new ones, and others hung on to their old songs. Eventually, there were Asians and Pacific Islanders who grew up singing a song that combined the old and new lands of their heritages. They created new expressions and fusions, singing their songs in a land that was home and foreign at the same time.

And there were Asians and Pacific Islanders who received, learned, and sang God’s song in this foreign land. They combined the Lord’s song with their own and became one with God. Singing fervently, they sought to share their oneness with other Asians and Pacific Islanders. However, their variation of the Lord’s song was not always accepted. Also, they were not always allowed to join in with others who professed to sing the Lord’s song. Often, Asians and Pacific Islanders were viewed as a mission field to be conquered rather than as fellow singers of God’s song.

“For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many” (1 Corinthians 12:12-14).

The Lord’s song calls and gathers all people to be together in one body, one faith, one Church. This means singing God’s song together in different keys and variations.

At the same time, in the midst of these variations, they are:

• children of God

• brothers and sisters in Christ

• fellow heirs of the kingdom of God

• members of the same family of God.

They are family.

The Asian and Pacific Islander version of the Lord’s song is an integral part of the body of Christ. Asians and Pacific Islanders and their God-given gifts can be leaven, light, and salt for the body. Their variation of the Lord’s song is:

• a reminder that water is thicker than blood

• a sign of God’s activity in the world

• a call to go into the world and be in mission.

Singing the Lord’s song together in the body of Christ is a sign that people can live, minister, work, and be together. By singing the Lord’s song together, the body of Christ can be a catalyst for healing, hope, justice, and reconciliation in the world.

Asians and Pacific Islanders, who sing the Lord’s song, bring the gift of being able to sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land. This is a gift of God to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

Learning to sing a new song

(This testimony of a new Christian at Life Lutheran Church in Pinole, Calif., is an example of the Holy Spirit at work in an ELCA congregation. Essentially this is what the churchwide Asian strategic plan is meant to accomplish: the transformation of lives for continuing growth and service in the faith.)

“When I was a little girl, I wondered how God could listen to so many prayers ALL at the same time. How could God recognize each of our voices? How could God answer those prayers when one asks for rain and another asks for sunshine – both on the same day? Even though I still cannot explain how God responds to our prayers, I do know that God is present everywhere, with wisdom and power beyond our comprehension.

“During the tough days of my life, God has always shown me mercy, power, and grace. God opened my heart, and let me see and hear. God’s transforming power has helped me become a less demanding, less frustrated, and less miserable person. In addition, I have learned to appreciate life more. Every time I pray to God, my heart is filled with peace. I can feel the Spirit of God leading my path.

“I read an article in Our Daily Bread which says, ‘An infant requires food, fresh air, exercise, and the help of others.’ This is also true in the spiritual realm. We need food (Bible study), fresh air (praying), exercise (service and witnessing), and help from others (fellowship in a good church). I want very much to acquire these four things.

“Remember, God is in control. Give God the opportunity to show power and grace. Put your trust in God, who will never let you down!”