Service of Prayer and Witness
Against Anti-Asian Violence
Tuesday, March 23, 2021
Excerpts from Bishop Shin’s Statement on Anti-Asian Violence
Since March last year 3,800 anti-Asian hate crimes have been reported, with 68% of the victims being women.
Violence against Asians is not new. We have seen this before in this country. The “Yellow Peril” sentiment of the nineteenth century fueled many violent incidents against Chinese communities. The Chinese massacre of 1871 resulted in the Chinatown of Los Angeles being ransacked and 20 Chinese men being lynched and hanged. Those who attended the 2019 Diocesan convention saw the play, Red Altar, which told the story of the massacre of the Chinese fishing village in Monterey Bay. The village was burned down, and the Chinese people were lynched or driven out. When the bubonic plague broke out in 1900, the Chinatown in Honolulu was burned down by a mob, and the Chinatown in San Francisco was quarantined off so that no Chinese were allowed to leave but were left to die while the white residents were allowed to leave. The US government also played a role with the enactment of anti-Asian policies such as the Chinese Exclusionary Act of 1882, the Asiatic Barred Zone Act of 1917, and the Japanese Internment of 1942.
…. So I ask for your prayers of solidarity and of compassion and justice for the Asian brothers and sisters in your communities. I ask you to reach out to them with a word of encouragement and comfort. I ask you to stand up against all forms of racial violence and hatred in our society as I and many other Asians stand with African American brothers and sisters in their continued struggle against the systemic racism and the culture of white supremacy just as the Asian leaders marched alongside the African American leaders in the Civil Rights movement. Racial justice and healing will be the unavoidable focus of the Church’s mission in the post COVID time. I refuse to let fear take over my life and hatred destroy my faith in the goodness of humanity. At the heart of the Christian faith is the life-giving power of the crucified Christ. Love is the way of the Cross, and love will win over all hatred. Won’t you join me and stand up against the racist and xenophobic violence that is destroying our common life and humanity?
Canon Lee: God the Father, you created us in your image, yet we refuse to see your face in the faces of those who are unlike us, and so we pray:
Assembly: Have mercy on us. (Reapted after each intercession)
Fr. Daniels: God the Son, you prayed that all would be one even as you and the Father are one, yet even we your own people inflict wounds and ignore divisions.
Mtr. Lee: God the Holy Spirit, you stir above the world’s chaos and call for calm, yet our fear keeps us from choosing the way of peace.
Canon Lee: We have harmed one another and the earth you have created through negligence, greed, and self-interest.
Fr. Daniels: We have welcomed solace instead of risking conflict, and we have ignored the cries of those who pay the price for our comfort.
Mtr. Lee: We have not shared the good things we have been given; we have blamed the poor for their poverty.
Canon Lee: We have closed our hearts to the misery of the suffering, and closed our ears to the cries of those who challenge us.
Fr. Daniels: We have preferred the status quo over the risk of change, safety over the over the dangerous fight for peace.
Mtr. Lee: We have been too afraid to proclaim our good intentions. We have kept silent the message of truth-telling and reconciliation.
Canon Lee: We have too often ignored the indignities we have suffered to maintain harmony.
Fr. Daniels: We have failed to act with courage for the sake of love.
Mtr. Lee: Oh God, in whose image the whole human family was created, we pray for all who live daily under the threat of racial violence, and those who have been its victims. In particular, today we remember before you, and entrust to your loving care: Soon Chung Park 박순정, age 74, Hyun Jung Grant [김]현정, age 51, Sun Cha Kim 김선자 , age 69, Yong Ae Yue 유영애, age 63, Delaina Ashley Yaun, age 33, Paul Andre Michels, age 54, Xiaojie Tan 谭小洁, age 49, Daoyou Feng 冯道友, age 44