First Asian Lutheran Conference Held in Hong Kong

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The first Asian Lutheran International Conference brought 80 participants and 10 stewards (local arrangements people) from 22 countries Jan. 22-26 to the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Hong Kong. Participants explored and reflected on the theme "Asian Lutheranism: Which Way?" through a series of presentations, responses and discussions.
"We worshiped; heard papers read by Asian and Asian American theologians; debated issues of culture, missiology and theology; met in groups of pastors, bishops, seminary presidents, and teachers; planned continuing cooperation; networked with one another; and participated in the life of the Lutheran Church in Hong Kong," reported the Rev. Stephen P. Bouman, bishop of the Metropolitan New York Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).
The conference was developed in response to an initiative that came from the Association of Asians and Pacific Islanders of the ELCA during its biennial assembly July 26-28, 1997, in Los Angeles. The association proposed such a conference based on four observations:
* Many Asian ELCA members are recent immigrants with strong ties to their homelands;
* ELCA Asian congregations face some of the same challenges faced by Lutheran congregations in Asia;
* ELCA Asian congregations seek assistance from churches in Asia; and
* Asian pastors and theologians in the United States have long felt the need to engage in theological reflection relevant to their cultural backgrounds.
The diverse perspectives and experiences of Asian Lutherans in Asia and North America emerged through a process of presentations and responses, worship, greetings, small group discussions, panel presentations, church visits and table fellowship.
"Traditionally the church has been a center that nurtured and preserved culture and developed the leadership among its members which led the church during good times and hard times," said the Rev. Frederick E.N. Rajan, executive director for the ELCA Commission for Multicultural Ministries. "The church has been the fountain of hope during the hopeless times. During its course in history, the church served as the 'bridge over troubled waters' when nation and society were torn apart in racial strife."
"In an increasingly diverse and pluralistic society such as the United States, and indeed in many parts of Asia, we are witnessing rapid social and ecclesiastical change with regard to race, ethnicity and culture. In addition, with the divergence of many religions in our landscape we are increasingly becoming a religiously pluralistic society," said Rajan.
"The history of ministry with Asians in this church is brief," Rajan told participants. "The initial Lutheran witness among Asians began in the United States in the 1940s. Asian Lutheran membership in the United States is estimated to be 30,000; of this more than 22, 000 are in the ELCA."
The first Asian Lutheran congregation in the United States was established in 1946 by The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.
"In the 1950s the United Lutheran Church in America -- a predecessor church of the ELCA -- began a ministry with Japanese Americans in Los Angeles. This led to the first Japanese American congregation, Lutheran Oriental Church, organized in 1975 near Los Angeles," said Rajan.
"Slowly but steadily the ministries among Asian Americans began to expand. This was witnessed by the organization of the first=20 Mandarin-speaking Chinese ministry in 1968 by the Rev. Wilson Wu.=20 The first Hmong ministry began in 1982 at St. Simeon's Lutheran Church in Philadelphia. The first Vietnamese Lutheran congregation was started in 1983 by the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod in Garden Grove, Calif. The first Laotian ministry was started in 1983 at Zion Lutheran Church in Rockford, Ill., the first Korean ministry in 1985 at First Lutheran Church in Los Angeles, and the first South Asian ministry in 1997 in Chicago," Rajan said.
This growth and expansion of ministry continues even to this day.=20 At the end of 1997, the ELCA had 65 Asian congregations," he said.
Congregations worship in several Asian languages: Mandarin, Korean, Cantonese, Lao, Hmong, Taiwanese, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Thai, Japanese and Urdu.
"Today this young ministry, with a 50-year history and with 22,000 members and 109 clergy, stands at the crossroads and faces enormous challenges and opportunities. As we enter the new millennium we are bracing for exceptional growth. We are also contributing significantly to the emergence of a strong and energetic multicultural America," said Rajan.
"This is the first time that Asian church leaders from the United States have had the opportunity to communicate with church leaders in Asia," said the Rev. Pongsak Limthongviratn, ELCA director for Asian Ministries and program director for the conference. "We see this lack of communication as a common division among Asian people. We want to do a better job of evangelism and mission outreach. We want to establish a network that will enable us to accomplish this goal."
"We must do a better job of assisting Asian ministries in the United States in becoming active and alert with regard to Lutheran ministries around the globe. When we talk about doing better ministry, we need some type of help from the church leaders in Asia. For example, Asian congregations still import ethnic language resources from Asia.=20 We need to find a way to send a message to church leaders in Asia to let them know that the United States is their mission field. If they want to do missionary work in America, we can work together," said Limthongviratn.
"This conference brought about a lot of excitement and hope that this would not be the first and only conference. The next conference is planned for 2001. No decision has been made yet on a location," he said. A steering committee of 10 members, five from Asia and five from the ELCA, will meet once a year to implement any action plan recommended by the conference.
Several goals emerged from the 1999 conference and are areas for further discussion:
* Develop and create an Asian theology that is responsive to the Asian and Asian American context for mission and ministry that expands the understanding and expression of being a Lutheran Christian.
* Strengthen the relationships between North American and Asian churches based on partnership, interdependence and mutual support.
* Analyze, critique and seek to understand the dynamics of culture and tradition within the Asian and Asian American contexts and apply these learnings in congregational ... and theological endeavors.
* Analyze the dynamics of being an Asian Lutheran Christian in the midst of pluralistic contexts, especially in situations where Asian Lutheran Christians are in the minority.
* Discuss, study and develop understanding of the relationships among service, proclamation, mission, justice and evangelism in the Asian and Asian American contexts that will help churches to respond faithfully to God's mission in Asia and among the Asian diaspora.
The conference recommended four actions:
* Encourage the Advisory Committee on Theological Education in Asia (ACTEAS) to explore and develop Asian American linkage with Lutheran church bodies in the Americas.
* Ask ACTEAS to help build solidarity among Asian Lutheran seminaries and encourage cooperative activities and programs for the common cause of mission. Some suggested activities include: publishing articles about Asian theological concerns and Asian ministries through existing journals, publishing a home page one the world wide web, encouraging faculty and student exchanges among Asian and North American seminaries, providing internship sites for students in Asia, sharing common concerns with existing institutions and organizations, proposi