Happy Asian Heritage Month! At Servant Partners Canada we are honoured and proud to empower the leadership of Asian staff on our teams, opportunities to ground our theology and learn from Asian authors and social movements, and to have the privilege of seeking shalom in mutually transformative relationships among Asian diaspora communities in Canada's Vancouver and Saskatoon.
Today we are sharing five learning resources for cultivating God's shalom in your own life and neighbourhood, inspired by the wisdom and stories of Asian authors and communities:
1. The Wolf Shall Dwell with the Lamb" by Eric Law
Law, an Episcopal Priest from Hong Kong who migrated to the US, looked at the life of Jesus and observed both expressions of power and powerlessness. He saw Jesus willingly lay down his life in surrender to the Father and take it up again in faith. He invites us follow Jesus' example through a framework called "The Gospel Cycle" for us to navigate our power in different contexts in our lives.
This book and framework is a core component of the training we offer our interns, staff and Community Transformation Program participants, intended to inspire a foundation of mutual relationship and servanthood in our relationships with those on the margins.
We have a quick overview and teaching on the Gospel Cycle in the introduction of our Easter Devotional - download now here for free!
2. The Moving Stories of the Karen People in Saskatoon
Our team has been journeying with and developing local leaders in the Karen community in Saskatoon since 2018.
The Karen people are an Indigenous group from the South-East Asian country of Burma (formerly Myanmar) near the Thai border. They have been victims of ethnic cleansing for more than 50 years. In 2008, many Karen came to Saskatoon from Thai refugee camps.
Since arriving in Saskatoon, the Karen have formed a community group
to maintain the practice of Karen language, culture, and tradition, and to share that with their Canadian neighbours.
Watch this 5-minute video to learn about this communities' story and visit the Saskatoon Karen Community Facebook page for more!
3. Beyond Colorblind: Redeeming our Ethnic Journey by Sarah Shin
God invites us to steward our ethnic stories for His kingdom purposes, to share the story of His healing in our lives with others, to pursue reconciliation with different groups of ethnic people, and to pursue justice in Jesus’ name. He also invites us into his communal, global plan of restoration.
"This book was extremely helpful in guiding me through areas of my own ethnic identity that needed greater healing. In order to hold gracious space for learning and loving in our multi-cultural communities, I have to be undefensive, humble, and free in my own ethnic identity as a white, Ukrainian-German Canadian." - Krista-Dawn, co-Executive Director of SP Canada
4. A Seat at the Table: Chinese Immigration and British Columbia
Since 2015, our staff in Vancouver has journeyed with monolingual, fixed-income Chinese seniors living in Chinatown through facilitating small groups for connection, empowering the cooking talents of grandmas and
partnership with other groups
for organizing against gentrification.
'A Seat at the Table' is an exhibition that explores historical and contemporary stories of Chinese Canadians in BC and their struggles for belonging. Looking to food and restaurant culture as an entry point, it features stories that reveal the great diversity of immigrant experience and of the communities that immigrants develop. It also celebrates the contributions that Chinese migrants and their descendants have made to British Columbia.
Visit their in-person exhibition in Vancouver's Chinatown or take a mini virtual tour!
5. Voices Rising: Women of Colour Finding and Restoring Hope in the City
Published by Servant Partners Press, Voices Rising is a compilation of the stories of many women of colour in incarnational mission among those in poverty, including experiences written from Thai, Chinese, Taiwanese, Korean, Indian-American and Filipina perspectives.
In these writings themes of belonging, identity, calling, loss, privilege and more emerge; all outlining the difficulties in this type of work and challenging the image of missions while calling for new voices to help shape the narrative.
Purchase and read Voices Rising now and support the work of Servant Partners:
What voices, communities and movements are you learning from this Asian Heritage Month? Share with us in the comments!