PANA Update - June 19, 2007

Friends and supporters of PANA’s R2W youth leadership program:

you are invited to the

R2W Jam and Closing Celebration

Storytelling, testimony, art, music, spoken word, and dance from
R2W youth and young adult leaders!
Food and reception will follow

Thursday, July 5, 2007
7:30pm
PSR Chapel

at the Pacific School of Religion – 1798 Scenic Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94709

Represent to Witness (R2W) is an Asian and Pacific Islander youth leadership program of the PANA Institute at the Pacific School of Religion. For more information, check out our website at www.represent2witness.org or call (510) 849-8202

More news for friends of PANA:

Announcement:
Job Opening: Youth Minister, Berkeley UMC

Calendar:
June 23 - July 7: “Imagine Us” - R2W Summer Youth Leadership Institute
July 5: R2W Summer Youth Leadership Institute - Public Closing Celebration
September 10-15: "Women and Militarism" evening dialogues
October 20-21: API Faith and Justice Gathering
January 7 -18: Community Course: “Theology of Struggle in Diaspora: Constructing an Asia-Pacific Islander Political Theology” with Professor Eleazar Fernandez
April 24-27, 2008
Third Annual PANA Pilgrimage to Manzanar

Scroll down for more information, or visit the PANA website at pana.psr.edu


JOB OPENING: YOUTH MINISTER

Berkeley UMC (Asian American congregation)
(not far from PSR!)
Approximately 10 hours per week

Berkeley Methodist United Church is historically Japanese American (now Pan Asian) church in Berkeley. We have extremely cooperative parents and a volunteer youth advisor (a seminary grad) who took on some of youth leadership responsibility, but he is not able to focus on it as much as is needed (quite understandably given his schedule). So we are looking for someone who can be the central organizing spirit, and get our youth group off the ground, mostly by building relationships with the youth.

In addition, we have an active Youth Choir (with a Director) and a youth Basketball program. It may sound as if we have a lot going on, but it is a relatively small group of about 12-15 that are identified as "Youth Group", a sprinkling of younger children, and we also have a strong potential for gathering children age 5 and younger (including some toddlers). It is most likely that this work could be done in less than 10 hours per week outside of Sunday.

I would be happy to offer this as simply a job; however, if you are interested in a broader range of responsibilities, I am open to discussing this as an internship placement, that could be structured according to your interests.

Please respond to:

Naomi Southard
Pastor, Berkeley Methodist United Church
1710 Carleton
Berkeley, CA 94602
tel: 510-530-7139
email: nosouth_AT_aol_DOT_com

imagine us

Represent 2 Witness Summer Youth Leadership Institute
for Asian Pacific Islanders and other youth of color ages 16-19
lower income and LGBT persons encouraged to apply

June 23 - July 7, 2007
Pacific School of Religion
Berkeley, CA


IMAGINE US

DOING
theology (the study and action of God in the world)
dynamic Bible study martial arts community action

MEETING WITH
poets professors community leaders DJs muralists

DEVELOPING LEADERSHIP
through a soul-stretching process called critical faith

CELEBRATING AND WORSHIPPING WITH
young leaders age 16-19
of Asian, Pacific Islander, African American, Latino, and other ethnic background

IMAGINE US
creating a just and blessed future
being the future
the future is
now

Get your discipleship on

R2W is an institute in which you live, study, and celebrate living the collegiate lifestyle for 14 days with other high school-aged students in the beautiful Pacific School of Religion/UC Berkeley community. R2W uses the Asian Pacific Islander experience as a lense to see and act on problems and solutions as new Christian leaders. Participants receive a full scholarship covering transportation to and from Berkeley, room, board, and activities. Enrollees pay a registration fee of $150. We encourage your church to support you by covering this fee. (A fee waiver is available to all with financial hardship.)

See what's up at: www.represent2witness.org and www.myspace.com/represent2witness
or contact Michael, Lauren, or Crystal or (510) 849-8202

Thursday, July 5, 7:30pm
R2W Summer Youth Leadership Institute - Public Closing Celebration
Chapel, Pacific School of Religion – 1798 Scenic Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94709

Storytelling, testimony, art, music, spoken word, and dance
from R2W youth and young adult leaders!

Food and reception will follow.

Represent to Witness (R2W) is an Asian and Pacific Islander youth leadership program of the PANA Institute at the Pacific School of Religion. For more information, check out our website at www.represent2witness.org or call (510) 849-8202

Looking Ahead

September 10-15, 2007
"Women and Militarism" evening dialogues

October 20-21
API Faith and Justice Gathering


January 7 -18, 2008, 2:00-6:00 pm:
Community Course: “Theology of Struggle in Diaspora: Constructing an Asia-Pacific Islander Political Theology”
with Professor Eleazar Fernandez
Pacific School of Religion, 1798 Scenic Ave., Berkeley 94709

Together as a learning community we will engage in a search for an Asian-Pacific Islander transformative political theology. We will enter this search through the lens of Theology of Struggle (Filipino theology), its background, context and main tenets in the larger global context of the imperial project and predatory globalization. We will identify connections between the struggle of Filipinos, Filipino-Americans and other Asian-Pacific Islanders and identify post-colonial strategies and practices for social transformation. Course is open to GTU students for credit, pastors and lay leaders for C.E.U. and for the wider community for personal enrichment and study. This course is being offered as part of the Civil Liberty and Faith project of the PANA Institute.

Eleazar Fernandez is Professor of Constructive Theology at the United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities in Minnesota. He is the author of “Toward a Theology of Struggle” (1994) and has published extensively on Filipino Faith, post-colonial theology, and cross-cultural mission. He has served as a pastor in the United Church of Christ Philippines and is active in the United Church of Christ U.S.A.

To register for the class please contact: Rev. Deborah Lee, (510) 849-8260.


April 24-27, 2008
Third Annual PANA Pilgrimage to Manzanar