Different Paths, Same Destination – Larissa Kwong Abazia
You couldn’t get more different from my congregation in Queens, NY than the Bethel Murdoch Presbyterian Church in Loveland, OH. I fell asleep under a canopy of stars (that I could actually see twinkling in the sky!) and woke up the morning of the congregation’s 200th anniversary surrounded by acres of soybean fields. No sirens or speeding cars, just fresh air and a calming pace that encouraged stopping to smell the roses at almost every single turn.
The differences end there. They, like us, are uncovering what it means to be a church to their community in the twenty-first century. They’ve had to make tough choices and think of unique ways to make ends meet. They’ve responded to the needs of their surrounding neighborhoods while maintaining deep roots in the history of the congregation. They know who they have been, who they are, and continue to uncover who they will be in the coming years. They’ve done it all without fear, but awash with hope for what God has in store.
My travels during the past three months have taken me to a variety of places. I attended the 15th National Multicultural Church Conference where people from around the world considered the blessings and growing edges for communities that embody diversity. I met with Jewish leaders to discuss the denomination’s decision to divest from Caterpillar, Motorola and Hewlett-Packard. I visited with over seventy Young Adult Volunteers during their orientation as they prepared for a year of service and learning. I sought a personally faithful response to the events in Ferguson, MO and curated sermons and resources from across the Church as a way to reflect the voices in faith communities that are naming the issues of racism, privilege and misuse of police power. I attended events hosted by the Presbyterian United Nations Office that served as reminders of our call to be peacemakers in local communities and around the world. I’ve visited churches and talked with presbytery leaders who are translating the work of the General Assembly at the local level.
There are about as many opinions, disappointments, hopes and dreams in the denomination as there are people who are served inside and outside of our congregational walls. Yet each of these experiences highlighted exactly what I found at this summer’s General Assembly. We can, and should, bring the best of who we are to the Table. It doesn’t mean that we don’t disagree or challenge one another, but that we pull up a seat and rely on the Holy Spirit to move within our work. How freeing to let go of the control and have faith that God will move with us to new, exciting places together!
I am a 2.5 generation Chinese American young adult clergywoman serving in the leadership of a denomination that is 90% white and aging. That, alone, might surprise people to have made it this far and stayed in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). But I am also a mother, wife, sister, daughter, and explorer seeking to find safe spaces that honor all of these identities, and countless more. I know what it’s like to step into a room and quickly analyze which “identity” people expect me to bear. I’ve felt the pressure to leave parts of me outside of a church’s walls to serve within them. I struggle to maintain who I am when I am pulled in what feels like a million different directions, each seeking a different piece of me. I work hard to find balance in everyday life.
I’m guessing that I am not alone in the search for places that allow room to be the image of God that we are each uniquely called to be. Isn’t that, at our core, what we are called to do and be as the Church? Safe inside our walls, people will feel equipped and empowered to live fully outside of them.
I’ve heard, and even said myself, that we are a connectional Church. Rooted in that belief is the truth that we need one another. That need asks us to develop relationships across the Table so that we challenge one another’s assumptions, offer support through changes, push boundaries, learn and grow together. Whether serving a congregation in the country or the city, speaking to the leaders of the United Nations or one’s own session, reaching out to the needs of the community or responding to the yearnings of the world, we are all trying to find ways to heed God’s call to beloved community.
We just need to remember that we cannot do it alone…even Jesus had twelve disciples.
The Rev. Larissa Kwong Abazia is the pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Forest Hills in Queens, NY and Vice Moderator of the 221st General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).