PANA Update - May 24, 2007

Upcoming PANA events:

Events are at various locations. Scroll down for more information.

May 24, 7pm: Theology in Action: Achieving Social Justice through Rural Leaders Training
May 27: Ordination of Elizabeth Leung
June 1: San Francisco Chinatown Premier Screening of In God's House: Asian American Lesbian and Gay Families in the Church
June 1: 「在教會裡的同性戀家庭」“In God’s House” (中文字幕) 三藩市華埠首映
June 1 and 3: (non-PANA) play about Japanese American internment at Oakland Museum
June 7: Rev. Deborah Lee speaks at screening of film trailer "Water Babies: Coming to Terms with Abortion"
June 17: Honolulu Showing of In God's House
June 17: interfaith Nagar Kirtan singing at the El Sobrante Gurdwara

* * *
Theology in Action: Achieving Social Justice through Rural Leaders Training
Thursday, May 24, 2007
7:00pm

Speakers: Fr. Laksiri Peiris (Asian Rural Institute Graduate) and Steven Cutting (ARI Staff Member)

At Sycamore Christian Church, 1111 Navellier St., El Cerrito, CA

Fr. Peiris is an Anglican Priest from Sri Lanka, a graduate of the ARI training program in 1995 and currently serving at ARI as a missionary through the Anglican Church of Japan. He will share the community development activities he initiated in his rural parish in Sri Lanka. He works closely with ARI Buddhist graduates in in Sri Lanka, and this close working relationship was important after the tsunami hit Sri Lanka in 2005.

Asian Rural Institute is a training institute for rural grassroots leaders from Asia, Africa and the Pacific. Each year ARI conducts a nine-month Rural Leaders Training Program through which they teach sustainable agriculture, community building, and leadership. Upon completion of the training, the graduates return to their home communities where they use what they have learned to work for the betterment of their people. ARI is a mission oriented interfaith training institute.

Sponsored by PANA and Sycamore Christian Church.

* * *
May 27: Ordination of Elizabeth Leung

The Bay Association of the Northern California Nevada Conference and New Fellowship United Church of Christ, Berkeley, California, cordially invite your presence and prayers for The Ordination to the Ministry of Word & Sacrament of Elizabeth Leung.

Pentecost Sunday
May 27, 2007 at 3 p.m.
at San Lorenzo Community Church
945 Paseo Grande, San Lorenzo, CA

Dress with a touch of red for Pentecost
Clergy: red stoles

RSVP requested by May 20th

Kindly RSVP to eleung-AT-psr-DOT-edu
The ordination service is followed by a light reception.

* * *
San Francisco Chinatown Premier Screening of
In God's House: Asian American Lesbian and Gay Families in the Church

In celebration of API Heritage Month and LGBT Pride Month, the Network on Religion and Justice for API LGBT People (NRJ API LGBT) and its partners present the San Francisco Chinatown premier screening of In God’s House: Asian American Lesbian and Gay Families in the Church.

June 1, 2007 @ 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Chinese for Affirmative Action
17 Walter U. Lum Place
(near Portsmouth Square in San Francisco)
Opening reception begins @ 6:30 p.m.
Light refreshments will be served

Film screening begins @ 7:30 p.m.
English language film with Chinese subtitles

This program is free and open to the public.
Seating is limited to the first 50 people.

Please RSVP Elizabeth Leung if you plan to attend at eleung_AT_clgs_DOT_org or (510) 849-8937.

Directed by award-winning filmmaker, Lina Hoshino, In God’s House is a critically acclaimed film documentary that tells the stories of Asian American lesbian and gay Christians, their pastors, and their parents. The film comes at a critical time in the national debate over lesbian and gay families. Some of the most intense opposition against them has come from the Asian American church. By telling the stories of Asian American gay and lesbian Christians, In God’s House attempts to promote greater tolerance and acceptance in the church. To learn more about In God’s House, check out: www.ingodshouse.com.

The film screening is co-sponsored by: API Equality-SF § API Family Pride § Asian Equality § Chinese for Affirmative Action § Community United Against Violence § Gay Asian Pacific Alliance § GRACE § Marriage Equality USA § NRJ API LGBT § PANA Institute

If you would like a printable PDF flyer for this event, in English or Chinese, contact Elizabeth Leung at eleung_AT_clgs_DOT_org or (510) 849-8937.

___________________________________________________

「在教會裡的同性戀家庭」
“In God’s House” (中文字幕)
三藩市華埠首映

6月1 日 (星期五) 晚上7時30分
華人權益促進會會議廳
地址 : 17 Walter U. Lum Place

免費入座。由於場地所限, 祗設50座位。
首映前6時30分, 簡單茶點招待。
查詢留言 (510) 849-8937。

In God's House
- Asian American Lesbian and Gay Families in the Church
San Francisco Chinatown Premier

June 1, 2007, 6:30-8:30 pm
Chinese for Affirmative Action
17 Walter U. Lum Place (nearby Portmouth Square)

Directed by award-winning filmmaker, Lina Hoshino, In God's House is a critically acclaimed film documentary about Asian American Christian gay and lesbian people, their parents and families. Opening reception starts at 6:30 pm; film screens at 7:30 pm. Free admission. Seating is limited to the first 50 people. Light refreshment. Members of San Francisco Asian American community are encouraged to attend. Please RSVP at (510)849-8937.

This event is co-sponsored by the Network on Religion and Justice for Asian American and Pacific Islander Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender People ( www.NRJ-API-LGBT.org), a coalition of organizations and individuals affirming the dignity and spiritual wholeness of API LGBT people of faith, and Asian Equality, a statewide project of Chinese for Affirmative Action (CAA) committed to working in our Asian and Pacific Islander American communities for equal marriage rights and fair treatment of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) families through education and advocacy.

* * *
June 1 and 3: Dust Storm

Sharon Hwang Colligan recommends this beautiful intergenerational play about the JA internment, with opening scenes in set in Berkeley including the UCC church. Performed by Zachary Drake, member of the UU congregation in Berkeley.

Friday, June 1
Dust Storm
Theater
Reception at 6 p.m.; performance at 7 p.m.
In Dust Storm, playwright Rick Foster weaves a story of art and paranoia. The play is about an episode involving artist Chiura Obata at Topaz Relocation camp in Utah during the World War II internment of Japanese Americans, and is told through the eyes of a radicalized young Japanese-American student. Dust storms were common in the barren Utah desert and are also a theme of Obata's artwork from the time. Slides of Obata's work enhance the scenes in the play. The program is a presentation of the museum's Art and History Guilds. $8 advance tickets/$10 at the door; $5 seniors and students (with ID).

Sunday, June 3
Dust Storm
Theater
Sunday, June 3, Reception at 1 p.m.; performance at 2 p.m.
In Dust Storm, playwright Rick Foster weaves a story of art and paranoia. The play is about an episode involving artist Chiura Obata at Topaz Relocation camp in Utah during the World War II internment of Japanese Americans, and is told through the eyes of a radicalized young Japanese-American student. Dust storms were common in the barren Utah desert and are also a theme of Obata's artwork from the time. Slides of Obata's work enhance the scenes in the play. The program is a presentation of the museum's Art and History Guilds. $8 advance tickets/$10 at the door; $5 seniors and students (with ID).

Advance tickets available by mail. Please make check payable to OMCA/AG and mail to R. Hussey, 510 Starmount Ct., Danville, CA 94526. Indicate performance date and the number of tickets (adult, student, or senior). All advance tickets will be held at the door. Dust Storm is a presentation of the museum's Art and History Guilds.

For an online PDF flyer visit: www.museumca.org/pdf/Dust Storm.pdf

For more information:
http://duendedrama.org/pCHT_DustStorm.htm
http://www.museumca.org/cal-public/calendar.cgi?month=06
http://zdrake.blogspot.com/2007/04/dust-storm-june-1-3-at-oakland-museum.html
http://www.manythreads.org/events/ksw2.html

* * *
Water Babies: Coming to Terms with Abortion

Thursday, June 7, 2007
7 - 9:00 pm
Screening of film trailer "Water Babies: Coming to Terms with Abortion" by Lina Hoshino
followed by Panel Discussion facilitated by Rev. Deborah Lee featuring

Lina Hoshino, filmmaker of "Water Babies: Coming to Terms with Abortion"
Maria Nakae, Alliance Building Coordinator, Asian Communities for Reproductive Justice
Talia Walsmith, Exhale

Abortion is a critical issue for API women. Thirty-five percent of pregnancies end in abortion for API women, compared to 18% for white women, representing the second highest percentage for all racial and ethnic groups. In addition, from 1994 to 2000, abortion rates fell for all groups except API women. Yet Asian perspectives are rarely heard in the heated public debate on reproductive rights.

Abortion itself is both intensely personal and intensively politicized. It is perhaps unique in the way that it brings political and moral judgment to bear on painfully intimate personal choices -- judgment that can prevent women from making the best decisions for themselves and from coping with their experiences in healthy ways.

Come join us at KSW and learn about Japanese ritual of addressing the experience of abortion, API reproductive justice movement today, and Exhale, a hotline for women who have abortions.

Lina will talk about her new documentary about the Japanese "water baby" ritual of consecrating the spirit of the unformed child to the protection of a Jizo bodhisattva.

Maria will give a brief overview of today’s reproductive justice movement, which places the reproductive health and rights of women and girls within a social justice framework. She will discuss how the politicization and stigma around abortion silence the voices of women who are most impacted, and how the reproductive justice movement works to address the real needs of
women and support their well being by allowing for the complexities of people’s beliefs and lived experiences around issues of abortion. Finally, she will share ACRJ’s experience of working with young Asian women to explore their own values and opinions around abortion, and their efforts to fight for the self-determination of young women in their communities.

Talia will talk about Exhale, who's mission is to create a social climate where each person's unique experience with abortion is supported, respected and free from stigma. Exhale operates the nation's first free, nonjudgmental after-abortion talkline which provides emotional support, resources and information to women and girls who have had abortions and to their partners, friends, allies and family members. The talkline is available in six languages, seven day a week. Talia will discuss Exhale's services and the various healing rituals and self-care options their talkline callers have found useful for post-abortion emotional health and well-being.

Panelists
Lina Hoshino
Many Threads
Lina Hoshino is a filmmaker and new media designer whose films, including the award winning Story of Margo, In God's House: Asian American Lesbian and Gay Families in the Church and Caught in Between: What to Call Home in Times of War screened internationally in many film festivals. As a co-founder of Many Threads and Tactile Pictures, Lina has led creative and design efforts for many community organizations. Her mother is from Taiwan and her father is from Japan. Lina grew up living in the U.S., Japan, and France. She studied painting and sculpture at Carnegie Mellon University.

Rev. Deborah Lee
PANA Institute of Pacific School of Religion
Deborah Lee is program director of the PANA Institute (Institute for Leadership Development and Study of Pacific Asian North American Religion) at Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley and coordinator of the Civil Liberty and Faith project. She is a minister in the United Church of Christ and the coordinator of the Network on Religion and Justice for API-LGBT persons (NRJ-API-LGBT).

Maria Nakae
Asian Communities for Reproductive Justice
Maria Nakae is the Alliance Building Coordinator and a New Voices Fellow at Asian Communities for Reproductive Justice (ACRJ). Her work at ACRJ focuses on building alliances, conducting trainings, and developing tools and resources to advance the reproductive justice movement. Prior to joining ACRJ, Maria worked with community- and school-based programs to increase access to reproductive health services for youth in immigrant communities and communities of color. She also has research experience on a wide range of issues including parenting and child development, homelessness and mental health, and domestic violence prevention. Maria is first-generation Japanese and grew up in Portland, OR. She holds a BA in Psychology from New York University and a Masters in Public Health from UC Berkeley.

Talia Walsmith
Exhale
Talia Walsmith started at Exhale in 2002 as a volunteer after-abortion counselor and served on Exhale's Board of Directors from 2004-2006. Currently, Talia coordinates the day-to-day operations of Exhale's programs which include the nation's first nonjudgmental post-abortion talkline, regional trainings for health care providers, and Exhale's bilingual abortion zine. Prior to joining Exhale, Talia served as administrative staff for the California Pan-Ethnic Health Network and as Associate Clinic Manager at the Women's Community Clinic in San Francisco. She is currently getting her Masters in Women's Spirituality at New College of California.

* * *
June 17: Honolulu Showing of In God's House

Date: Sunday, June 17, 2007

Time: 6 - 7:30 pm

Address: 3608 Diamond Head Circle, Honolulu, HI 96815

Contact: jonipherkwong_AT_aol_DOT_com, 808-728-8811

About the film: www.ingodshouse.com

* * *
The Sikh Center of San Francisco Bay Area invites
the Interfaith Community of the Bay Area to participate in a

Nagar Kirtan
(singing of spiritual songs around town)

Please Join Us!

El Sobrante Gurdwara
3550 Hillcrest Rd., El Sobrante, Ca

June 17, 2007
10-A.M. to 3-00 P.M.

Contact:
Dr. J.P. Singh, President of the El Sobrante Gurdwara, 510-543-7543
Dr. Joty Sikand, Vice President, Ik Onkar Peace Foundation: 510-825-1793

The Sikh Center of San Francisco Bay Area Gurdwara Management is organizing a Nagar Kirtan (Singing of spiritual songs) around the Town of El Sobrante to commemorate the 4001 Martyrdom Day of Sri Guru Arjan Dev ji. He compiled the sacred book Sri Guru Granth Sahib that the Sikhs consider as their eternal living Guru. It has 1430 pages of sacred verses written by the six Sikh Gurus and twenty nine saints and Sufi poets representing all different religions of India of that period, different parts of the country and different castes. They wrote in different languages, such as, Punjabi, Brij Bhasha, Sankrit, Farsi, Bangla and Marathi etc. It truly represents the spiritual unity of the universe. Guru Arjan Dev ji wrote:

The sense of enmity and estrangement is lost
Since I have been in the company of saints
Foe and stranger there is none
I am at peace with every one
I accept with pleasure my Beloved’s command
This is the wisdom I received from the saints
The Divine Master resides in every one
Beholding Him in every one, Nanak is ecstatic

Ik Onkar Peace Foundation is an Inter-faith Cooperation Circle of the United Religions Initiative (U.R.I.). It is also one of the sponsors of the Inter-faith Center at Presidio, San Francisco and a member of the Contra Costa County Interfaith Council.