Chicago Christians Standing with AAPI Lives
March 28th, 2021 @ 3:00pm CDT
PROGRAM
Welcome and Opening Words
(Rev. Juliet Liu, Pastor of Life on the Vine Church)
Opening Prayer
(Dr. Rajkumar Boaz Johnson, Professor of Biblical and Theological Studies at North Park University)
Collective Mourning: 8 Minutes of Silence
(Joy Lee Ryan, Activist, Educator, and Wheaton College graduate student)
A Call to Stand Against Anti-Asian Violence Together
(Dr. Gabriel J. Catanus, Lead Pastor of Garden City Covenant Church and
Denise Peñacerrada Kruse, Editor for Asian American Christian Collaborative)
March for AAPI Lives and Dignity [map]
Broadway & Argyle - Stop and Pray
(Grace Chen Zuercher, Minister at A Restoration Church)
John T. McCutcheon Elementary School - Stop and Pray
(Sarah Lam, Media Copywriter for Asian American Christian Collaborative)
Rally for AAPI Lives and Dignity begins
Naming Racial Trauma
(Michelle Chu, Christian Counselor at Christ Church)
Song Offering
(Jane Chao, Director of Ministry Initiatives at Make and Deepen Disciples in the ECC)
Lamenting Together
(Lynn Catanus, Middle School Teacher and Leader at Garden City Covenant Church)
Spoken Word
(Rachel Hope Wickman, Artist)
Proclamation of Sacredness of Asian Life
(Abby Nitta, Marketer, Writer, and Journalist)
Working toward our Collective Liberation
(Rev. Sandra Van Opstal, Pastor at Grace and Peace Community, Author, and Speaker)
Prayer for the AAPI community
Dr. Gabriel J. Catanus and Rev. Michael Neal, Senior Pastor of Glorious Light Church
Pastor Gina Cherian, Pastor of Home Church, and Rev. David Swanson, Lead Pastor at New Community Covenant Church-Bronzeville
Rev. Sandra Van Opstal and Rev. Tiana Coleman, Pastor at Jesus People USA Covenant Church
Rev. Charlotte Emiko Tsuyuki Lehman, Pastor of Reba Place Church
Song Offering
(Jane Chao)
Calls to action
(Dr. Gabriel J. Catanus, Rev. Alex Chu, Pastor of Outreach and Community Formation at Christ Church)
Words of Thanks and Benediction
(Rev. Juliet Liu)
End of Event
Please visit local restaurants as a way to bless these neighborhoods!
BIOS
Pastor Juliet Liu
Juliet is a 2nd-generation Vietnamese Chinese American and serves as Lead Pastor at Life on the Vine Church in Long Grove, IL, and as Chair of the Board and Writer for Missio Alliance. Juliet is a graduate of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (M.Div.) and the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign (Bachelor of Arts). Prior to coming to Life on the Vine in 2010, she ministered in Asian-American local church settings and on diverse university campuses.
Joy Lee-Ryan
Joy Lee-Ryan is Singaporean North American. She is currently a graduate student in the Humanitarian and Disaster Leadership M.A. program at Wheaton College (IL). Her work involves coordinating and developing projects related to anti-oppressive education, the arts, gender-based violence, and social justice advocacy.
Sarah Lam
Sarah is a social media copywriter with the Asian American Christian Collaborative and a senior at Wheaton College studying Elementary Education with the ESL and Middle Grades English Language Arts endorsement.. She has grown up in the Chinese Christian Union Church located in the heart of Chinatown, Chicago.
Jane Chao PomeroY
Jane serves as Director of Ministry Initiatives at Make and Deepen Disciples in the Evangelical Covenant denomination. Jane has a passion to see churches be a light in the darkness of today’s world. Prior to this role, she served as Creative Director for Covenant Communications. She is currently pursuing a Certificate in Spiritual Direction at North Park Theological Seminary.
Pastor Sandra Van Opstal
Sandra Maria Van Opstal, a second-generation Latina, pastors at Grace and Peace Community on the west-side of Chicago. She is a preacher, liturgist and activist who re-imagining the intersection of worship and justice. In her fifteen years with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, Sandra mobilized thousands of college students for God’s mission of reconciliation and justice in the world. Sandra served as Director of Worship for the Urbana Missions Conference, Chicago Urban Program Director, Latino National Leadership Team (LaFe), and Northwestern University Team leader (Multiethnic fellowship).
Pastor Charlotte Emiko Tsuyuki Lehman
An Ordained Minister of the Gospel through Illinois Mennonite Conference of Mennonite Church USA, Pastor Charlotte has served as pastor of Reba Place Church since 2009. Previous to that, she did pastoral counseling and teaching about emotional maturity alongside her husband, Karl Lehman, M.D., a psychiatrist, author and teacher of faith-based models of healing from trauma.
Pastor Gabriel Catanus
Gabriel J. Catanus is the lead pastor of Garden City Covenant Church, a congregation on the northwest side of Chicago serving immigrant families and young professionals. He belongs to a huge family of Filipino ministry leaders and healthcare professionals spread across four continents. He received his PhD in theological ethics from Loyola University Chicago and now serves as Associate Director of The Paul G. Hiebert Center for World Christianity and Global Theology. When he’s not enjoying the city with his family, he’s writing, speaking, and drinking lots of coffee.
Denise Peñacerrada Kruse
Denise is an editor with the Asian American Christian Collaborative, a proud Chicago native, former/occasional magazine writer, and pandemic-induced homeschool mom. She and her husband Vince live with their three kids in a suburb of St. Louis.
Michelle Chu
Michelle has been ministering throughout the Chicagoland area for over 25 years. She provides counseling and care for women, couples, and families. A graduate of Trinity International University with a Master of Arts in Counseling Ministries, Michelle is married to Rev. Alexander Chu and is mother to their 3 precious children.
Lynn Catanus
Lynn is a second-generation Vietnamese American middle school history teacher. She sponsors the Cultural Diversity Club and she is part of the District Equity Leadership Team for her school district. Lynn also serves as one of the leaders at Garden City Covenant Church. Lynn, her husband, and their two sons are proud residents of Chicago.
Pastor Michael L. Neal
Michael L. Neal is a native of Chicago, Illinois; he currently serves as the Senior Pastor of Glorious Light Church, Chief Executive Officer of the Timothy Community Corporation and the Executive Director of the Leading with Literacy Program.
Rachel Hope Wickman
Rachel is a 23 year old Filipina-American creative living in Milwaukee, WI. She has worked with nonprofit organizations that address many justice-related issues such as human trafficking and voter rights and was previously a finalist for a national poetry slam team. She uses words and art to tell stories of hope, redemption, and resistance.
Dr. Rajkumar Boaz Johnson
Dr. Johnson is Professor of Biblical and Theological Studies at North Park University. He earned a PhD in Hebrew Bible/Theological Studies from Trinity International University and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, a ThM in Hebrew Bible and Semitic Languages from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, an MDiv in New Testament Studies from Union Biblical Seminary in Pune, India, and a BA in Economics from Hans Raj College at the University of Delhi.
Pastor Tiana Coleman
Tiana is a pastor at Jesus People USA Covenant Church in Uptown, Chicago. When she isn’t out running, baking amazing masterpieces, taking care of her two children and loving on her husband she is deeply committed to justice and reconciliation.
Grace Chen Zuercher
Grace is serving on the launch team for A Restoration Church, a church plant in the North Shore suburbs of Chicago. Previous to that, she was the Connections Coordinator at Willow Creek North Shore. Grace is a graduate of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (M.A.) and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (B.S.).
Pastor Alex Chu
Alexander Chu is the Pastor of Outreach and Community Life at Christ Church in Lake Forest and Highland Park, Illinois. He has received a Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry from Trinity International University.
Abby Nitta
Abby Nitta is a Filipino American marketer, writer and former journalist. She believes that storytelling can be a force for good and that the Divine shows up in surprising ways. She's written for award-winning news publications and currently works in content strategy in the tech sector. She lives in Chicago with her son and husband, where they're learning together how to honor their family's Filipino and Japanese heritage.
Pastor David Swanson
David W. Swanson is the pastor of New Community Covenant Church, a multicultural congregation in Chicago's Bronzeville neighborhood. He helps lead New Community Outreach, a nonprofit that collaborates with the community to reduce sources of trauma, and speaks around the country on the topics of racial justice and reconciliation. He has written articles for Christianity Today, The Englewood Review of Books, and The Covenant Companion. He lives in Chicago with his wife and two sons.
Pastor Gina Cherian
Gina is a pastor at a new church plant called Home Church. Prior to that, she served as the Campus Pastor of the Willow Creek South Lake Campus. As an Indian-American woman, she is committed to advancing the multi-ethnic community of Heaven in our church congregations and leadership today. She currently resides in the northwest suburbs of Chicago with her husband and two kids.
Link to this page to share: aachristcollab.com/rally/chicago
