J.D. Vance’s bestselling memoir “Hillbilly Elegy” has been released as a drama film recently. J.D., who went from a humble upbringing in southwest Ohio to become a Yale Law student, recounts the lived experience and reflections on three generations of his Appalachian family history. Mired in trauma, poverty, and substance abuse, the Vances echo the [...]
People are commenting something particular about 2020: “This is not the year to get everything you want. This is the year to appreciate everything you have.” And in such a year we’ve come to count our blessings on Thanksgiving Sunday. A bag of winter radishes was delivered to our kitchen on Friday. It was a [...]
Much change has happened in the way we live and worship since March of this year, and it was around this time that our congregation began transcribing the Bible. Some took up chapters, while others volunteered to write entire books of the Bible by hand. Our handwritten Bible has finally arrived from Korea, beautifully bound [...]
Joe Biden became the president-elect, set to become the oldest American president from being one of the youngest senators in U.S. history. Kamala Harris - a daughter to an Indian immigrant mother and Jamaica-born father - became the first female, first Black, and first South-Asian vice president-elect. Listening to Biden’s first address to the country, [...]
I visited the waterfalls near NYC to catch the sight of autumn colors reaching peak. I stopped short of getting the best view, however. The prospect of walking down 108 slippery stone steps without my hiking boots scared me off. On the way back, I walked toward an observatory overlooking the waterfalls, but again I [...]
A lot has been spoken about our hopes for a post-corona world. But recently I heard a discussion about life “with corona.” The advice was about fully living in the present rather than exhausting ourselves with impatience for a quick resolution. There is a popular legend that frightened ostriches bury their heads in the sand [...]
There’s a drama series called “It’s Okay to Not Be Okay” on Netflix. It tells the story of two people who end up healing each other’s wounds of childhood trauma through the power of empathy and mutual understanding. The resentful and hurting protagonist easily goes out of her way to hurt others, until she learns [...]
At a Zoom meeting a few weeks ago, Bishop Bickerton of the NYAC asked attendees three questions: How do we effectively address and dismantle systemic racism within our denomination and in the world? How are we to overcome the coronavirus crisis? How do we prepare for “amicable separation” after the Protocol of Reconciliation and Grace [...]
President Trump and the first lady have tested positive for the coronavirus. I pray for their swift recovery. New York is also seeing growing coronavirus clusters, and the flagged hotspots include communities that have flouted COVID-19 regulations due to religious reasons. With the coronavirus crisis still ongoing, there are rising concerns that a post-election constitutional [...]
Last Thursday, I gave a talk at an online clergy seminar hosted by the Long Island East District, where Rev. Julia Yeon-Hee Yim is the District Superintendent. I wrapped up an hour’s lecture with a Bible verse from James 1:2-4. “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds…” [...]