Helping the Centre for Asian-Canadian Theology and Ministry
In 1995, the centre was established with the primary purpose of building bridges between Knox College and constituent Asian-Canadian Communities. Accordingly, “the Centre works in collaboration with Knox College’s Director of Basic Degree Programs in mentoring ministerial candidates from Asian-Canadian communities and keeping the partnering student-care church committees well-informed of student milestones and programmatic achievements.”
Currently, the function of the centre has been somewhat limited due to the lack of theological students enrolled in the college. At the same time, the Board of Governors of Knox College seems to foster a somewhat different direction for the centre.
At our last meeting, we thought about possible ways to assist the Asian Centre as an outside organization with vested interests. As Korean Canadians, it would help us to see how the centre can become a place of hospitality where Christ’s communion can indeed be practiced and shared in ways that the wider church may benefit.
Currently as the college and The PCC face their existential threats, a few experimental hypotheses are being pursued. It appears that one of these concerns the centre. There might be many speculations, but whether those speculations will pan out to be something will be seen later. At this point from our perspective, there is a slim possibility that any of them will be successful. One major reason has to do with the lack of consultation with the participants of the centre by those who are thinking deeply about how to effectively utilize the centre for a bright future of the college and eventually of The PCC.
The Centre
The Centre for Asian-Canadian Theology and Ministry continues to carry on with a number of presuppositions. It assumes the diversity of cultural expression of theology and ministries of various Asian-Canadian communities. It is less concerned with the diversity of those Presbyterian communities that are not of Asian-Canadians. It focuses on cultural differences rather than on social differences as one of the key factors that keeps Asian-Canadian Presbyterians from other Presbyterians in Canada separate.
Knox College and The PCC
Both Knox College and The PCC have their own presuppositions regarding the centre. To these two institutions, the centre is a bridge through which they may reach out to Asian-Canadian communities. It is also apparent that to them the centre is useful in building relationships with Asian-Canadian communities. In other words, the centre is a go-between for two separate sides. In this sense, the college and The PCC take the image of bridge as not only useful, but necessary in reaching and engaging the side it sees as different and separate.
Reality
Like all institutions of human creation, it may have an important goal that necessitates their existence, but in reality, once established, they are used for many other purposes than the initial one. The centre is no exception. More than a bridge, it became a place of home for those Asian-Canadian theological students and for those Asian-Canadians who graduated from the college. Through cultural activities, theological discussions, addressing day to day concerns of immigrant churches, the centre became home for many. For these participants, the centre’s role of being the bridge is one of many ways of being relevant today. In a way, this original role is one part of the centre with many tasks.
Currently, the college and The PCC easily grasp the nature of the centre as a bridge between Asian-Canadians and the rest. In this sense the college and The PCC sees a potential of reaching out to Asian-Canadian Presbyterians. To the college and The PCC, the main role of being home for Asian-Canadian Presbyterians is not visible or understood as primary. The college and The PCC is happy to be invited for cultural events and experience these gatherings of Asian-Canadian leaders as opportunities to learn more about them.
From being a bridge to something new
The primary purpose of bridges is to connect two separate entities. As a connector, a bridge is only necessary when both sides agree to interact. Actual interaction does not take place on the bridge itself, but using it to go to the other side. As we spoke in the previous paragraph, this is the way the college and The PCC sees it. The bridge is useful, but not the focus.
On very rare occasions the utility of bridges may change. Pont des Arts in Paris near the Louvre Museum over River Seine became something more than a bridge when couples began putting locks on it to signify their eternal love. Mind you, locks were eventually removed for the fear of the bridge collapsing due to weights of locks.
In the similar way, the centre also became something more than simply a connector for disparate Presbyterian communities. It became home for Asian students, graduates, faculty, staff, local Asian-Canadian clergy and lay people and some members of the Board of Governors.
Whether the original purpose of being a bridge or home for Asian-Canadians in theological and ministerial endeavours, as a place where many different cultures, theologies and expressions of Christ’s ministry congregate has been evolving.
At this juncture, one thing we do in assisting the continual evolution of the centre is to explore ways that it will serve the wider church.
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Next: The Centre for Asian-Canadian Theology and Ministry 2