April 2023 | Austin,TX | By Vinh Do

The April 26-29 retreat was well over a month ago, yet the revelations continue.

The first revelation was the company of good, impassioned, and energetic people from our own Seattle contingent: Adrienne, Katya, Maria, and Tina. Though Tina left Seattle to attend seminary, it was good to see her again and good to be on the plane, be in conference, be in church, or share an Airbnb with the rest. If the perception of Seattle is that we are “unchurched”, then the company above proved that wrong. We were church-y and relevant and fun.

The second revelation was the sobering and wonderful realization for me that the tent under which many of our peoples are put under —- the tent called AAPI—- just doesn’t do us justice.

Retreat attendees came from the Pacific Islands, Tonga, Southeast Asia, and South Asia. Some came from different parts of the LGBTQ+ spectrum. Some arrived who lived at the intersection of race, culture, sexual and gender identities, and orientations.

The sobering thought for me being under the AAPI tent was whether it was possible for AAPI folks to speak with one voice given the multiplicities above or whether it was fair for any individual to be made to speak for or account for the race or culture or sexual or gender identities or orientations from which they occupied. For example, does it make any sense for anyone to ask me to speak for the Vietnamese or non-straight community when I can only honestly speak from my experience in this time, in this body, or in this place in history?

The wonderful part of the second revelation was that though we come from different places under the tent of AAPI, a common thread bound us. We shared bread, wine, meals, and sang together in church. We were (and are) children of a common God. That thread of solidarity cut through everything.

The third revelation was personal and hard to accept. Because it was hard to accept, its impact resonated stronger. I came to the conference determined to capitalize on my identities as a Vietnamese and non-straight man and to bring this specialness to my leadership efforts. While at the conference I was “seen and heard” and recognized. I came to understood that what really matter was less how special I was, but how special love was—- God’s love. I came to understand that in God, we were all special. And that naming my God-given specialness does not negate or lessen the God-given specialness of others. I must still seek solidarity.

And this third revelation came with it a blinding reality that the work of solidarity building can hurt and wound. (The work of being and building the AAPI Circle is not easy.)

In Reverend, Dr. KyungJa Oh, the retreat facilitator, I understood the need to call things by their name (is it racist people or racist structures?), the need to “name the burdens we carry” and the need to “rest”. Being with Rev. Oh for two days was like being in a kind of crucible; she shared her own story of living at the intersection of race, culture, gender, and sexual orientation. With her example, I recognized my own story and I emerged more clarified about my specialness, my burdens, my need for rest. I also realized I wasn’t the only one.