Viola Lesson

Why do people tremble with fear when someone comes into a bank carrying a violin case? They think she’s carrying a machine gun and might be about to use it. Why do people tremble with fear when someone comes into a bank carrying a viola case? They think she’s carrying … Continue Reading →

Accounting for Our Hope

Today, Karen, Adora, Bishop J, and I are heading to Annual Conference, where we’ll be hanging out with United Methodists from New York and Connecticut for four days: budgeting, hearing about clergy pensions, arguing over social issues, and worshipping together. We’ll also be feeling anxious together because, whenever I leave … Continue Reading →

What are you??

There is a Youtube video making its way around this month. In it, a white man begins making small talk with an Asian American woman, and says to her, “Where are you from? Your English is perfect!” Annoyed, the woman responds, “San Diego. We speak English there.” This leads to … Continue Reading →

Safe

I was sitting on my terrace yesterday, trying to decide what to write about this week, and, at some point, I realized that, instead of coming up with some inspiring words for you, I had just spent the last five minutes daydreaming up a tornado response plan for my apartment … Continue Reading →

Native Tongue

A few years ago, I was privileged to spend an entire summer in my birthplace of Taiwan to study Mandarin Chinese. I thought it would be easy for me to pick up since I grew up in a home where my parents spoke Mandarin to each other. But, I soon … Continue Reading →

A Love Letter to the United Methodist Church

This week, the New York Times published an article about United Methodist pastor, former seminary dean, Social Ethics professor, and father, the Rev. Dr. Thomas Ogletree. Last year, Rev. Ogletree performed the wedding of his son to another man, a chargeable offense in the United Methodist Church. A complaint has … Continue Reading →

The Biracial Messiah

When I was a baby, I babbled in tones. Chinese tones. My mom was a white Missouri farm girl who became a Methodist missionary. She spent 14 years in Taiwan, where she met my dad, a Chinese mainlander in exile on the island since 1949. There, they created me, the … Continue Reading →

Forgiving My Religion

What follows is my sermon from Sunday, April 28, 2013: Native American Ministries Sunday, when we were joined by the Thunderbird American Indian Dancers. Several folks asked for copies of my words, so here is a copy for all.   For those who have been in one of our Church of … Continue Reading →

This is an Uncomfortable One…

My grandpa died when I was in high school, and there are just a few memories I keep of him. One is his smell. He was mayor of a small Missouri town (population: 200), but he was also a hard-working cattle farmer with two bloodhounds named Luke and Duke, and … Continue Reading →

Easter After Boston

Last weekend, I was leading a women’s Bible study at a retreat for a few Bronx colleges. Since it is Easter season, I chose to focus on the Road to Emmaus story when Jesus appears as a stranger to two disciples on the road. As you may remember, the disciples … Continue Reading →