FIRST RATE MADNESS: LINK BETWEEN MENTAL ILLNESS AND CRISIS LEADERSHIP

A Book Review by Fred Vergara on…

A FIRST RATE MADNESS:

Uncovering the Links Between Leadership and Mental Illness

By Nassir Ghaemi (Penguin Press: New York, 2011)

(I take time off from writing my own thoughts in order to introduce to you this new and fascinating book on leadership.-Fred Vergara)

There is such a thing as an “inverse law of sanity” and great leadership operates this way: “when times are good, when peace reigns, and the ship only needs to sail straight, mentally healthy people function well as our leaders. But when our world is in tumult, in times of great crises, mentally ill leaders function best.”

This is the essential assertion of this book by psychiatrist Nassir Ghaemi. There are four key elements of mental illness (depression and mania) that appear to promote crisis leadership. They are: realism, resilience, empathy and creativity. Ghaemi theorized that “depression makes leaders more realistic and empathic.”

Some well-known and effective he mentioned a having some form of mental illness, include General William Sherman of the Civil War era; Ted Turner of the cable media greats; Winston Churchill of World War II era; Abraham Lincoln, the acknowledged father of the American nation; Mahatma Gandhi, the acknowledged father of modern India; Martin Luther King, Jr. of the American civil rights and John Fitzgerald Kennedy, one of the most globally-admired presidents of the United States. These leaders, Ghaemi claimed, succeeded in their leadership, “not despite of but because of, their madness.”

While these abnormal people succeeded as leaders, there were some normal people who failed in their leadership. He mentioned particularly former President Richard M. Nixon, McClellan, Lord Chamberlain, former President George W. Bush and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Of course, there are also mad leaders who went the extreme way to infamy such as Hitler, Stalin, and Mussolini. These three had severe depressive episodes or egomaniacal behaviors and instead of accentuating the positive side of their mental illness, they veered towards the destructive side. The book also explained the ambiguous effect of the power of drugs. Consider for instance his assertion that John F. Kennedy’s experience with anti-depressant medicines heightened the positive aspect of his mental illness while Hitler’s drugs ironically exacerbated his egomania.The results in their leadership were extremely different.

The author wrote that there are three basic personality traits, namely: dysthymic or introvert; hyperthymic or extrovert; and cyclothymic or in-between, a little of both. That one is mentally-ill does not necessarily mean one is insane, out of touch of reality or psychotic. Most common behavior is not in abnormality of the thinking process but in abnormality of moods. Clinical depression is different from ordinary sadness. “The depressed person is mired in the past; the manic person is obsessed with the future...the depressed takes her life; the manic ruins hers.”

Repeatedly, the author suggests there is a close link between insanity and genius and that the initial stages of depression or mania are sometimes of benefit to leadership in times of crisis. He quoted a German psychiatrist, Ernest Kretschmer who said the best crisis leaders in history were either mentally ill or mentally abnormal and the worst crisis leaders were, ironically, the mentally healthy. “The brilliant enthusiast, the radical fanatic and the prophet are always there, just as the tricksters and criminals are---the air is full of them but they flourish only during crisis. In peacetime, they are our patients; we rule them. In crisis periods, they rule us.”

Science makes probabilities claims; it is not usually about proving that something is always the case, or never the case. Almost all science is about showing a greater probability that something is usually the case. In most scientific matter, especially in medicine and disease, no single exception is a disproof. The preponderance of evidence represents scientific knowledge.

“We will see that our greatest crisis leaders thrived in sadness. When society is happy, they are there seeking help from friends, family and doctors. Sometimes they’re up; sometimes they’re down, but never quite well. Yet when calamity occurs, they are in a position to act, they can lift up the rest of us, they can give us the courage we may have lost temporarily, the fortitude that steadies us. Their weakness is, in short, the secret of their strength.”

Psychologist Jamison put it this way:”in times of adversity, inspired leadership offers us energy, a hope where little or none exist, a belief in the future to those who have lost it, a unifying spirit to a splintered people.” The reason for this is that people who had suffered some form or depression or manic have a better sense of reality, more empathetic and more resilient than those who had none.  The experience of suffering makes one become more realistic about the world. For the lucky, suffering is less frequent, less severe, and delayed until it can be avoided.  For the unlucky, who early in life endure hardship and tragedies, or the challenge of mental illness, seem to become, not infrequently, a greatest leader.

The author also differentiated three kinds of empathy. Cognitive empathy means thinking another’s thoughts; affective empathy is feeling what others feel; and motor empathy means moving the way another moves. The ultimate empathy is called “pseudocyesis.” For example, a husband who gets morning sickness just like his pregnant wife; his stomach gets bloated like that of his wife; he feels pain and contraction during her wife's birth pangs. This is called pseudocyesis- false pregnancy, the ultimate empathy.

The author spared no great leaders in his list of mild mentally-ill persons. Of Martin Luther King, Jr. he quoted the Rev. Joseph Lowery who said, “To achieve social change, you have to be a little crazy. All leaders of the civil rights revolution were a little crazy, including MLK.”

The book is so fascinating that I read it in one setting right inside the bookstore that I did not have to buy it (sorry Barnes & Noble---but I bought other books too). While reading the book, I remember many years ago when we were moving house in Manila. My brother-in-law who was then president of the Philippine Psychiatrists Association engaged one of his mental patients to drive a borrowed garbage truck to assist us in moving furniture. I was amazed at his driving skill, maneuvering the truck even in a very narrow gate but I could not help but be anxious knowing he was a mental patient . When I expressed my concern, my brother-in-law said, “Don’t worry, he is in his lucid moment.”

A moment of madness, can be a moment of greatness? Read this book to find out more.

TRANSFIGURATION STORY: NO RESURRECTION WITHOUT CRUCIFIXION

 ‘O Lord, thou hast put salt in my mouth that I may thirst for thee.’ So fill us now with wisdom and understanding and may the words from my lips and the meditation of all our hearts, be acceptable to thee, O God, our Creator, Sustainer and Sanctifier. Amen.

Texts: Daniel 7:9-10; 13-14; II Peter 1:16-19; Luke 9:28-36

Fact is sometimes stranger than fiction and reality is harsher than imagination.

A story is told of a man looking for a job in New York City. With the current economic recession, the only job he was able to find was in the Zoo. The job? Pretending that he was a monkey! All he had to do was to put on a monkey costume, swing from tree to tree, eat bananas and peanuts and he will be paid a minimum wage. So that’s what he did. One Saturday, a group of kids visited the zoo and despite the warning not to feed the animals, they insisted on feeding the monkey with so many bananas and peanuts. So he got sick in his stomach and as he swung from tree to tree, he felt dizzy and fell into the lions’ den. He was so scared especially when one of the lions was coming straight towards him. So he began to scream and shout “Help, help.”   The lion, roared and said, “Buddy, if you don’t shut up, we’ll both lose our job.”

The story of the transfiguration of Jesus illustrates to us that fact is stranger than fiction and reality is harsher than imagination. The apostle, Peter, in his epistle swore that this was not a cleverly devised myth but an event he witnessed personally.

In this story Jesus was transfigured before the eyes of his disciples, Peter, James and John. In their sight, Jesus’ face shone like the sun and his raiment turned dazzling white like snow. It was like the vision of the prophet Daniel in the Old Testament about the appearance of the One on whom dominion and kingship and glory are given, the One who was to come into the world. Not only that the three disciples saw Jesus transfigured; they also Moses and Elijah, an allusion that Jesus was to be the fulfillment of both the law and the prophets.

The sight was too wonderful to behold that Peter, unable to control himself, offered that they all stay in the mountain and he would build three shrines: one for Jesus, one for Moses and one for Elijah. Resurrection has come on top of the mountain so why should they go down to the valley and into the City of Jerusalem where Jesus would undergo rejection, suffering and death? Like a person who has fast-forwarded a vide tape of a movie and got a glimpse of its ending, Peter wanted to freeze the experience of elation and not go through the whole mess, the twists and turns in the drama of human redemption. In other words, Peter wanted a religion without sacrifice; gain without pain; resurrection without crucifixion.

Undoubtedly, many of us are like Peter. We preach it is wonderful to be Christians but we will not go to all the trouble of proving that creed in the life that we lead and in the relationships that we create. In one recent survey in America, it was revealed that the ratio of divorces are practically the same for those who profess to be Christians and those who do not. And the ratio of broken families between liberal Christians and evangelical Christians are the same. It is hard to build community and even harder to maintain it because we do not have the patience to listen to one another and to deal with conflicts in humane and Christian way. The Anglican Communion is breaking because we, who profess to be joined by the “bonds of affection” can be as proud, arrogant, unforgiving and intolerant of one another. Even as we pray the Lord’s Prayer and remember His intercession that (we) “may be one… so the world may believe,” we hold on tenaciously to our theology of self-preservation than put our trust in God who “holds all things together.” As one old country song says, “Everybody wants to go to heaven but nobody wants to die,” not the least to die to ourselves and our built-in resistance to the unpredictable movement of the Spirit. 

In many churches, not the least among those which we know, many young people would prefer to be in the pubs and the bars and the night clubs because they sensed more genuineness, honesty and transparency in those secular fellowships. They coached their quest as “spiritual but not religious.” Among the adults, the secular world provides a stiff competition on Sundays as bargain sales and sports and great TV programs are offered. Among the new immigrants, despite their hunger for spiritual comfort, they are attracted working on Sundays because the pay is higher. The value of offering our bodies as “living sacrifices” has lost its appeal in the contemporary church where consumerism and the concept of the good life has been paganized.

So Jesus said to Peter. “Let us linger no more on the top of the mountain. Let us go down to the valley and to the city; for there I shall be rejected, I shall be mocked, I shall be spat upon, I shall be beaten up, I shall be crucified;  I shall die---and on the third day, I shall rise again.”  It was a summon for self-transcendence and self-sacrifice; it was a call to go down from the fictionalized ideals of a life without stress; a challenge to immerse and embrace the world with all its thorns and thistles. It was a call to take up the cross.  

Perhaps what we (the Church) need today is a new transfiguration. We need to die from our self-fulfilling prophecy and self-preserving theology so that we may rise again and live genuinely as an authentic Christian community, a community of self-transcending faith, hope and love, the community of the crucified and risen Son.

The concluding remark from the Transfiguration Story was a voice from heaven, “This is my Son, my Beloved, listen to Him.” Indeed, there is no true religion without sacrifice; no gain without pain; no resurrection without crucifixion. The fact is stranger than fiction and the reality is hasher than imagination. May we listen afresh to the Voice. Amen.

Homily of the Rev. Dr. Winfred Vergara, Asian American missioner of the Episcopal Church Center,

815 Second Avenue

, New York, NY 10017 delivered at St. John’s Anglican Church,  Notting Hill, in the Anglican Diocese of London on August 7, 2011.

Notting Hill is famous as the title of the book whose author, Richrd Curtis, lives just across the church. The book was made into a movie starring Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts.

The vicar in this beautiful and culturally diverse St. John's Church is the Revd. Dr. William Taylor and they host the London Filipino Chaplaincy coordinated by Rev. Salvador Tellen from the Iglesia Filipina Independiente.

TRIBUTE TO MY FATHER

 

“My children, I wish above all else that you may prosper and be of good health, even as your soul prospers.” (3^rd John 2)

My father was a story-teller, that’s probably the gift that I inherited from him. In the days when there were no televisions, in rural Philippines of the ‘60’s, a story-teller is synonymous to being a talk show host. At nighttime, children from the neighborhood would come to our home and my father would regale them with stories about his exploits during the Second World War, how he eluded the pursuing Japanese soldiers and how he camouflaged by hugging a banana tree, covering himself with its dried leaves. At other times, he would tell us about legends and folk tales: the story of the turtle and the monkey, the fable of the sky and the earth, the legend of a mysterious bird, Adarna. I always know when he would end the session. He would tell an open-ended story: “There was a flock of geese swimming in the river. It was a wide river so let us now turn off the lamp and go to sleep and let’s continue tomorrow when they have already crossed the river.”

My father was a man of principles and a fiercely idealistic person, something which my mother, a pragmatist, did not fully share. She thought that we could not survive on his principles. After the Second World War, he was supposed to pursue his military career by going to Korea to participate in the Korean War. He refused to do so and was penalized by having his pension withheld. He resigned from the service. At “peace time”, he was advised to kowtow with some politicians so he could have his pension but he refused. Instead, he turned to become a tailor, working day and night, drinking away his frustrations with coconut wine (tuba), till he developed tuberculosis.

We were six children in the family and although we were poor, we excelled in elementary school. Every graduation day, my mother would come up the stage several times to pin ribbons for her honored children. When I finished Grade Six, I was supposed to be the salutatorian (second honor) but was demoted to third honor because my father refused to give a contribution of a chicken. It was a tradition that the honor students would each give a chicken for the reception dinner for the visiting school superintendent. Although he would have freely given such a chicken as a gift, he was questioning the morality that it be tied to being in the honor roll. It’s tantamount to a bribe, he said. My mother, behind my father’s back, surreptitiously gave a chicken to the school principal but it was too late.

One night, my father and mother had a quarrel. It was about our future. My mother was blaming him for our poverty. Had he not stood on his principles, we would have enjoyed receiving a military pension. He would have had money to send us to high school. We would not have to miss a meal. We would not have to squat on someone’s land. The argument became so heated that my father decided to leave. He packed up a luggage and headed to the bus station. I followed him, crying and begging for him to stay. It was providential that the bus was delayed. Till midnight, we were looking at each other. My tears dried up and the bus did not come. He finally relented. He took my hand, I carried the luggage and we both went back home. His was the first marriage I saved.

Later it was my turn to run away from home, not to spite my family, but to seek my future. When I read the parable of the prodigal son in the bible, I did not resonate with it personally. I was the runaway but my father did not have material inheritance for me to squander. I suffered being homeless and alone in the big city of Manila but I was fortunate to finally land a job, obtain higher education and improve myself. When I returned home, years later, it was not to regain a gold ring or to enjoy a feast of fatted calf. It was to buy that piece of land for our house, to help my siblings go to school and to pay for the treatment of my father’s tuberculosis. In one of his wartime stories, he talked about his favorite meal in the barracks, “pork luncheon meat.” I brought a whole box of canned pork luncheon meat. They lasted a few months, to his heart’s delight. And he lasted a few more years.

I was a missionary clergy in Singapore when I learned that my father was gravely-ill. I hurried to return home once again but my plane was delayed. I finally arrived but he was gone to be with the Lord. His last words were one of thanksgiving. My youngest brother said he died with a smile for he knew I was coming and we are much better than we were before. I remain a priest in gratitude to God, our heavenly Father, who makes all things possible.

Happy Father’s Day.

Asian Spirituality of Christian Stewardship

(Keynote Address of the Rev. Dr. Winfred B. Vergara,  Missioner for Asiamerica Ministry of the Episcopal Church Center at the diocesan EAM Consultation of the Diocese of California,  held in Christ Episcopal Church, Alameda, California on June 10-11, 2011)

Introduction

This gathering today, here in this Diocese of California has a triple significance for me: first, it is here, in this diocese where the first national Episcopal Asiamerica Ministry Consultation was held in 1974; second, it is here, in this Diocese, where I was installed as the second missioner for Asiamerica Ministry in 2004; and third, it is here now, in this Diocese that this first diocesan-wide EAM Consultation is ever held.

The end of all exploring,” wrote the English poet, T. S. Eliot, “will be to arrive where you started and know the place for the first time.” Or as one Chinese proverb says, “If you just stay in the same place for as long as you can, you will finally see the world coming back to you.”  So I feel like, today, it is “dejavu” – all coming back again, as if, for the first time.

You’ve assigned me to speak on “Asian Spirituality of Christian Stewardship.” Let me arranged this theme on three chapters: first, what is spirituality; second, what is Asian; and third, what is Christian stewardship. Then, I will sum up on how we can arrive at a contextual teaching on Christian Stewardship.

First, what is Spirituality?

A story is told of a parrot which was fond of speaking bad words. The nuns  brought it to the convent and trained it to pray. They were so successful that they  were proud to invite their priest to come and to see how well they converted the parrot. When the priest arrived, he saw that the parrot had a string attached to each leg. When he pulled the left leg, the parrot prayed the Lord’s Prayer; when he pulled the right leg, the parrot prayed the “Hail Mary.” So he thought to himself, what if I pulled the two legs together? He did so and the parrot shouted, “crazy priest!”

Spirituality is a word that is easy to know but hard to explain. It is like time. St. Augustine wrote in his Confessions, “I know perfectly what time is until someone asks me to define it and I am at a loss.” Or it is like rhythm. Duke Wellington, a famous jazz musician, once said, “ If you get it, you don’t need no definition; if you don’t have it, ai’nt no definition gon’na help.”

So I think the way to define spirituality is to know it in its root word “spirit.” In Hebrew, it is “ruach”; in Greek is it “pneuma”; and in Latin, it is “spiritus” ---and all these words suggest the same image: the spirit is a wind, a force, a breath---that creates, vitalizes and revitalizes whatever it touches.

In Scriptures, we encounter the spirit as a creative force in Creation (Genesis 1); as a vitalizing force in the Valley of Dry Bones (Ezekiel 37); and a revitalizing power in Pentecost (Acts 2). Moreover the Holy Spirit is personified as the third Person in the Triune God: Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. God, the Creator; Son, the Redeemer; and Spirit, the Giver and Sustainer of life. In the context of the Christian faith, the spiritual person is one whose spirit is in tune with the Holy Spirit.

What is Asia?

Asia is different things to different people. For geographers, it is the vast land mass from the Middle East to Northeast Russia; for historians, it is the cradle of faiths and civilizations; for economists it is a mélange of developed and developing countries; for political scientists, it is an emerging new superpower; and for many Europeans, Asia is a way of life, different from the West.

Asian spirituality is deeply rooted in the theology of suffering and hope of Asians in history-nature. The Philippines “theology of struggle” was born in the context of Spanish and American colonialism; the Japanese “pain of God theology” was from their experience of being the first and hopefully, the only victims of atomic bombs; the “Dalit theology” was born out of the struggle of the Dalits, the oppressed and marginalized people who are outside the caste system of India; and the Minjung theology, is the continuing struggle of the underclass from Korea’s rapid modernization.

 I believe, however, that by virtue of their being the most populous nations in the world,  Asia is virtually represented by China and India. Asian spirituality is therefore, a blend of the practical philosophy of China and the wisdom mysticism of India. It is between India’s Mahatma Gandhi seeing “God in the loaf of bread” and China’s Prime Minister Deng Shao Peng saying, “It does not matter black cat or white cat, so long as it catches mice.”

In some strange way, I imagine Asian spirituality in similar to basic Anglican theology of via media. As former Archbishop Robert Runcie once said, Anglican theology is “passionate coolness.”

Christian Stewardship and Asian Cultures

If culture is defined as the sum total of what we are and do, then for me, stewardship is a culture. It is “whatever is good, whatever is lovely, whatever is worthy of praise” in our faith. Stewardship is how we understand and use the gifts that God has given us--- the time, talents and treasures entrusted to us.

Christian stewardship is the way in which Christian live, love, learn and grow. Christian stewardship shapes the values we share; directs the message we impart; and determines the impact we have in the world. How do we learn stewardship from the Asian culture? How do we intersect the biblical stewardship with that which we learn from Asia?

 

Asia has myriad and diverse cultures but within these cultures, there is a belief that all we are and do are influenced by five elements of life, namely:

 

FIVE ELEMENTS

1. Fire –     火    fo

2. Water –  水   sui

3. Earth –   地  tei

4. Wood –    木  muk 

5. Metal -     鐵  thit

 

 

 

 

I would like to posit that they are adaptable to teaching stewardship in the Christian Church.

This “five elements” theory, more pronouncedly in Chinese philosophy, permeates in many fields of human endeavor: medicine, business, politics, architecture and religion.

The Five Elements theory posits that wood, fire, earth, metal, and water are the basic elements of the material world. These elements are in constant movement and change. The complex connections between material objects are explained through the relationship of interdependence and mutual restraint that governs the five elements. 

Earth is the nurturing environment that enables seeds to germinate and grow; water is the flowing river that touches and nourishes everything; wood is a walking stick that guides or a spear that wounds; fire can bring light and warmth or can explode and erupt; metal is the solid ability to contain and sharpen objects. When all these five elements are in sync and when proper relationship of interdependence is shared, then health and harmony are produced and life in all its fullness and balance in achieved.

How do we adapt this Asian culture into the teaching of Christian stewardship? Let me adapt the following as arbitrary symbols:

1. Fire, because of its intensity, can be applied to Mission. We must have a strong sense of mission to save the lost, free the oppressed and care for all of God’s creations.

2. Wood, because of it being a guide stick or a spear, can be applied to Theology. We can either have a constructive or destructive theology of money (or time, talent or treasure.)

3. Metal, because of its ability to sharpen and contain objects, can be applied to Vision. Without vision, people perish, the Book of Proverb says. Vision sharpens the community’s ideal of itself.

4. Earth, because it germinates, nurtures and nourishes the plants, can be applied to Management.  Management needs to train, empower and equip leadership for life and growth.

5. Water, because it flows like a river or drops like rain, can be applied to Worship. Worship is like a symphony that draws our community’s culture to God and vice versa.

Teaching Asian Christian Stewardship

I suggest that you arrange your Stewardship Season with a series of sermons, testimonies and dramatization using the five elements of Asian Stewardship Culture:

Week A: Fire Mission:

We are standing again in the edge of mission in the 21^st century, characterized by four great imperatives:

1. There is a new challenge for obedience to the Great Commission of Christ.  (Matthew 28:19-20)
2. There is a great yearning for our souls to listed to the Great Compassion (Matthew 9:36) of Christ.
3. There a great possibility of results in soul conversions and community creation because of the Great Demographic Change (immigration & multiculturalism).
4. We have the extraordinary tools to seize this Great Missionary Moment (globalization and diaspora).

Week B: Wood Theology:

How do we teach money attitude and values to our congregation? What do we really believe when it comes to material things?

1.  Scriptures: Prayer is mentioned in the Bible 500 times but money 2,000 times. What does it say about biblical spirituality? We are not of the world but we are in this world. Will the love of money be the root of all evil or will the message of love be spread out because we have the resources to do it?

2. Tradition:  How will tithing in the Old Testament be approximated in the contemporary culture? What constitutes giving of our “first fruits”? What is the practicality of “setting aside an amount” in the first day of the week for God?

3. Reason: “Money is the manure of the devil but it is good fertilizer.” (Cardinal Jaime Sin).  What is the relationship between giving and receiving? Money is called “currency.” Affluence (from Latin ‘afluere’) means “to flow to.” Therefore money is not to be hoarded but allowed to flow. Giving and receiving are two sides of the same coin. (Deepak Chopra)

Week C: Metal Vision

 What is the unique vision of your church?  Christ’s vision of the Kingdom of God is described in the Hebrew word “shalom.” Shalom is not only peace as the absence of war; it is the healing of all ruptured relationships. Shalom means life in all its fullness. How do we envision our parish in light of this ultimate vision? How can our parish be a shalom in the community? How do you get hold of this vision?

Week D: Earth Management

Parish Management is like running a city: government must provide services but it needs revenues (taxes) to make it happen. The parish does not have taxes but pledges (tithes and offerings) from its members. Its services (ministries) is beyond its members. Where there are more resources, there will be more services; and where there are more services, there will be more harvest. The needs of the outside community to receive must be matched with the need of the inside community to receive.

Week D: Water Worship

1. A worship extolling Grace: “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that by his poverty,  you might become rich.” 2 Corinthians 8:9. Abundance is having everything you need; scarcity is having none. Jesus on the cross, has taken the curse of scarcity and promised us abundance.

2. A sermon affirming Gratitude: It is not the saying “God gives and forgives but man gets and forgets.” Rather , it is “Yours, Lord is the greatness, the power and the glory. All things come from you, O Lord; and from your own do we give you.”

3. An Offering of Generosity: “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."  God loves a cheerful giver.

Concluding Summary:

Asian spirituality on Christian Stewardship, can therefore be summarized with these five basic elements:

1. Fire Mission that burns with compassion for the poor and reconciliation for the lost;

2. Wood Theology that balances scriptures, tradition and reason;

3. Metal Vision that holds shalom in community;

4. Earth Management that nurtures leadership and growth.

5. Water Worship that flows with life and creativity;

As Asian Christians we have so many wells we can draw water from. Christianity in Asia dates back from the early apostles like St. Thomas who planted churches in India and the Nestorians who introduced Christ to China.  As Asian Episcopalians, our challenge is not to follow and to follow far behind but to walk in pace and to lead. Let us dig from our own wells and contextualize the Christian faith to contemporary Asian cultures. May this example from the stewardship culture help our churches from dependence to interdependence, from maintenance to mission and enable us to grow from grace to grace, from glory to glory.

The Rev. Dr. Winfred B. Vergara

The Episcopal Church Center

815

Second Avenue

, New York, NY 10017

Telephone: 1212-922-5344

E-Mail:  wvergara@episcopalchurch.org

Website: www.episcopalchurch.org/asian.htm

Blog:http://travelinasian.blogspot.com

APPENDIX:

I. Asian Spirituality Readings:

1. What Asian Christians Are Thinking, edited by Douglas Elwood, c.1978

2. The Human and the Holy: Asian Perspectives, edited by Emerito Nacpil, 1977

3. Asian American Christianity Reader, published by PAACCE

4. Mainstreaming Asian Americans in the Episcopal Church, W. Vergara, 2006

II.Stewardship Book Suggestions:

(Compiled by The Rev. Laurel Johnston, Program Officer for Stewardship

     The Episcopal Church)

1. More Than Money: Portraits of Transformative Stewardship (Money, Faith, and Lifestyle Series) by Patrick H. McNamara.

2. Giving to God: The Bible’s Good News about Living a Generous Life by Mark Allan Powell.

3. Ask, Thank, Tell: Improving Stewardship Ministry in Your Congregation by

Charles Lane

4. The Spirituality of Fundraising by Henri J.M Nouwen (purchase at www.henrinouwen.org)

5. Money and Faith: The Search for Enough by Michael Schut (Environmental Stewardship officer for the Episcopal Church).

6.  Transforming Stewardship by The Rev. Charles K. Robertson (Canon to the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church)

Websites to Wander & Ponder

1.The Episcopal Church/Office of Stewardship: New Resources

http://www.episcopalchurch.org/109299_52625_ENG_HTM.htm

2.The Episcopal Network of Stewardship:

 www.tens.org

3. The Stewardship of Life Institute:

 www.stewardshipoflife.org

4. Generous Giving:

 www.generousgiving.org

5. Ministry of  Money/Faith and Money Network 

www.faithandmoneynetwork.org

6. Three Simple Rule (Living Wisely Program/Personal Budget Program)

http://www.threerules.org/

7. Stewardship for the 21^st Century (Luther Seminary)

 http://www.luthersem.edu/stewardship/

8. The Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire

 www.nhepiscopal.org/stewardship

Note: Almost Every Diocesan Website has a section on Stewardship.

HOPE OF THE WORLD IN THE AGE OF DESPAIR

The age in which we live has been called many things:  “post-industrial age,” “information age,” “atomic age,” “computer age, ““space age,” “post-Christian age”, technological age,” “globalization age.”

 Lately, one label was added---the “Age of Despair.” Certainly if we consider the economic recession TIME magazine even called America the “broke states)), the recent calamities, the specter of terrorism, war, revolutions, famine and pestilence, we find an increasing amount of pessimism. One evangelist swore, “I could hear the four horsemen of the Apocalypse galloping.”

There are many people in this “Age of Despair” who are overwhelmed by this feeling of hopelessness. A story is told of an overseas worker who received a text from his son in a Third World country. The letter said, “Dad, we’re in great need. Send money.” The father text back, “Son, I was just laid off from my job. No money to send. Tighten your belt.” The son replied, “Dad, send belt.” 

Another story was about a desperate man who went atop a building to commit suicide. A policeman climbed up and tried to coax him out of it but he would not. Finally, the policeman said “Okay, let’s take ten minutes now. You take five minutes and tell me what’s wrong with the world and why you want to kill yourself. Then I’ll take five minutes and I tell you what is right with the world and why you should go on living.” After each had taken five minutes, they joined hands---and jumped off the building---together!

As the church of Jesus Christ and as followers of the risen Lord, what is our mission to the world in this Age of Despair? How are we to unleash the liberating power of the Gospel in such a way that people will have hope? 

Anamnesis! That’s the word, a Greek word which means “memory.” It is the opposite of amnesia, the loss of memory. We are a people of memory, hopeful memory. Every time we eat the bread and drink the wine in Eucharist, we remember: Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again! Because Jesus lives, we can face tomorrow!

As a people of memory, we are comforted by the radiant hope of the Christian faith.  In the time of Jesus birth, the socio-political and economic conditions of Israel were intolerable. Fifty percent of the people were slaves; most of them were hungry. Those who had jobs were paying 50 percent of their income in taxes to Rome.  There were constant rebellion and uprising mostly advocating abolition of exorbitant taxes. When Jesus was growing up, some two thousand Jewish men involved in rebellion were nailed to the cross, with the crosses strung along the road to Galilee. 

At the crucifixion and death of Jesus, the apostles scattered in fear. After the resurrection, boldness returned and new hope emerged. The promised Holy Spirit came down at Pentecost and the early Church began to grow. But when the Church was rapidly advancing, persecutions of Christians followed.  During the reign of Emperor Nero, thousands of Christians were executed, stoned to death, hanged on the cross, beheaded or fed to the lions. Yet when you read the New Testament, the Book of Acts, the Letters of Paul, of Peter, of James and the Book of Revelation, the whole New Testament is bursting with hope. “Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice!” “Have no anxiety for anything but in everything by prayer and supplication, make you request known to God.”  

The lives of the early Christians were harder and difficult than ours, but when we consider their behavior from the scriptures, they were filled with hope. What makes them incorrigibly hopeful despite their situations?

First, it was the quality of their faith. Jesus said, “If you have faith as small as the mustard seed, you can say to this mountain move and it will move.” The Book of Hebrews defined faith is” the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” The early Christians looked to God as the source of life and the hope of the future. “Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. “ In the midst of changes and chances in the world, God remains forever. God’s mercy, love and grace never change. 

Second, it was their passion for mission. St. Paul reminded his student, Timothy: “preach the word, be urgent in season or out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, and be unfailing in your witness. Do the work of an evangelist.” Their passion for mission altered the life they lived and the relationships they created, there was the overflowing of the great love and because where there was great love, there were great miracles. Love is what the world needs in an age of despair because “perfect love casts our fear.”

Finally, it was the credibility of their witness to the world. They put to action was what  Jesus said, “Let your light so shine before all people that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” The role of good works is to point to God in whom we live and move and have our being. Good works by Christians, with all good intentions are nothing unless they flow out of love (1 Corinthians 13). We have seen so many social actions aimed at alleviating the poor and the oppressed but poverty remains. We have seen progress in science and technology but human misery continues. Former revolutionaries turned reactionaries; former oppressed turned oppressors; generous givers experiencing “donor fatigue.” The Bible says, “Without God all who labor, labor in vain.” 

The message of hope is divine-human cooperation. A story is told of a boy who found a piece of land full of weeds. Moved by a vision, he cleaned the ground, threw away the garbage, cultivated the soil and planted roses. As the roses grew and flowers bloom, it was a lovely sight. A priest passed by and said, “Young man, what a beautiful garden you and God have made.” The boy replied, “Thank you, Father, but you should have seen this place when it was left to God alone.” 

God works through us. As the Body of Christ, we are hands, feet, mouths, ears, eyes of God. We are equipped and empowered by the Godhead, through the Holy Spirit to proclaim His saving work, advance His reign by loving God and serving our neighbor.  The early Church proclaimed Christ in their own age of despair. We can use this memory of Christ’s resurrection in our own age of despair: “Because He lives, we can face tomorrow!”

(Excerpts from the message of the Rev. Dr. Winfred B. Vergara at the EAM Chinese Convocation, in Los Angeles, California, 1.25.2010)

EPISCOPAL ASIAMERICA MINISTRY NEWSBRIEFS: Mission, Theology, Etc.

EPISCOPAL ASIAMERICA MINISTRY (EAM) NEWS BRIEFS

On Mission, EAM Convocations, Theological Education & News Abroad

EAM Korean Convocation held last 4/7-11/2011 in Seoul highlighted the missionary partnership of the Anglican Church of Korea (The Most Rev. Paul Kim, archbishop) with some of the dioceses of the Episcopal Church. The Korean American delegates interacted with Korean Anglicans and with the Diocese of Seoul sending new Korean clergy to work in the United States. South Korea is now second largest missionary-sending church (sith an estimated 20,000 missioanries), next only to the U.S. church. Contact: Aidankoh@msn.com.

EAM Seminarians Scholarships – there are eleven (11) applicants this Fall 2011, making it the largest number in EAM history. Scholarship Subcommittee meets on Friday, May 13 with Dr. Jim Kodera, EAM Council President, convening.

EAM South Convocation will hold a Conference on Dalit Theology on May 18, 2011 at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church,

37-04 61^st Street, Woodside, New York

featuring Indian theologian Dr. George Massey. Dalit is the term for the “untouchables” of India (those outside its caste system) and the Church of South India (CSI) is composed mainly from the Dalit community. D.T. is the Indian version of liberation theology. Contact: anandsekarjmanuel1@gmail.com.

EAM Commission of the Diocese of California will hold the first diocesan-wide EAM Consultation on June 9-10, 2011 in Christ Episcopal Church,

1700 Santa Clara Avenue, Alameda

, Ca.94501. Keynote speaker on the theme “Asian Spirituality of Stewardship” is the EAM Missioner, The Rev. Dr. Fred Vergara. Workshop presenters include Dr. Boyung Lee, the Rev. Deborah Lee, Dr.Russell Jeung, Rev. Michael Yoshi and Rev. David Ota. Visit http://www.diocal.org/. Contact: The Rev. Connie Lam at clams168@yahoo.com.

EAM National Office, EAM Council Executive Committee and Partnership Office for Asia and the Pacific collaborate with Episcopal Divinity School (EDS) in Cambridge, Massachusetts towards a contextual Asia-America Theological Education. First Pilot Project will be a special Doctor of Ministry program for Asian clergy. It will consist of brief but intensive academic training followed by distributive, online distance learning that would make it easier and affordable for clergy to stay in their parishes while earning advanced pastoral studies. Contact: wvergara@episcopalchurch.org..

EAM Japanese Convocation will be held on June 16-19 at the Cathedral Retreat Center, Diocese of Los Angeles. Meeting will include a pilgrimage to Manzanar, one of the Japanese Internment camps during World War II. Contact Dr. Gayle Kawahara gnkscdds@sbcglobal.net.

EAM Filipino Convocation will be held on July 8-10, 2011 in Circus Circus and All Saints Episcopal Church in Las Vegas, NV with special emphasis on Filam Youth & Young Adults Ministry. Contact: Rev. Bayani Rico at rector_ascension@sbscglobal.net.

EAM Southeast Asia Convocation will be held on August 4-7, 2011 at Holy Apostles Episcopal Church in St. Paul, Minnesota . Holy Apostles is the home of the largest Hmong congregation in the entire Anglican Communion. Hmong are one of the nomadic tribes in the mountains of Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and China. Holy Apostles recently sent the first Hmong Seminarian to study in Virginia Theological Seminary. Contact: Rev. Letha Wilson-Barnard at revletha@gmail.com.

OTHER NEWS:

The Episcopal Church in the Philippines (ECP) in its Synod this week, created a new diocese, the Episcopal Diocese of Davao, in southern Philippines

The Iglesia Filipino Independiente (IFI)in its National Convention this week, elected The Most Rev. Ephraim Fajutagana as the new Obispo Maximo (Supreme Bishop) and the Rev. Joselito Cuz as the new General Secretary.

The China Christian Council and the national TSPM will hold a Bible Exposition Sept. 28 to Nov. 19, 2011 at Washington D.C.; Chicago, Illinois; Dallas, Texas and Charlotte, North Carolina.

Drew University School of Theology recently appointed its first Asian American Dean, Dr. Jeffrey Kuan.

Pacific Asian American Canadian Christian Education Ministry (PAACCE), a unit of the National Council of Churches–USA and chaired by the EAM Missioner, Dr. Vergara, bade goodbye to Dr. Garland Pierce, associate general secretary of NCC-USA who  was appointed Associate General Secretary of the World Council of Churches with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.

Quote of the Month: “Pope John Paul II went all over the world when he was alive; when he died and was beatified, the world came to him.” (Spoken in Rome by Bishop Jean Zerbo of Bamako, Mali on the beatification of the first non-Italian pope, Blessed Carol Josef Wojtyla of Poland who, as Pope John Paul II, traveled to 129 countries and logged on over a million kilometers.)

Keep connected; get empowered; be inspired.

Fred+

The Rev. Dr. Winfred B. Vergara

Missioner, Episcopal Asiamerica Ministries (EAM)

The Episcopal Church Center

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Second Avenue

, New York, NY 10017

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Website: www.episcopalchurch.org/asian.htm

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Blog: http://travelinasian.blogspot.com