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Grace Cathedral

Grace Cathedral is an Episcopal church in San Francisco. A house of prayer for all people, and a center for social justice, the arts and service.

Grace Cathedral Blog

Statement On Anti-Asian Racism

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Across the country, there has been a dramatic increase in violence directed against people of Asian and Pacific Islander descent. While hate crimes and bigotry against Asian Americans are not a new phenomenon, the more recent mass shooting in the Atlanta area has brought national attention to the subject. Eight people were killed, and six of the seven women were of Asian descent. The victims, Xiaojie Tan, Daoyou Feng, Julie Park, Hyun Jung Grant, Yong A. Yue, Suncha Kim, Delaina Yaun and Paul Andre Michels remain in our prayers. Our hearts break with each additional news report of harassment, violence, and loss of loved ones in our communities.

We, the Congregation Council of Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, are committed to social justice. We stand strongly in solidarity with the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities to fight against increased hate and violence which spark fear in our communities and in our nation. More importantly, we strongly condemn microaggressions, white supremacy, xenophobia, misogyny as well as bullying and discrimination against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. And we mourn and pray for an end to hate crime and gun violence.

We understand that these acts of hatred have caused significant pain and fear in Asian American communities. We celebrate and stand behind the tremendous contributions of Asian Americans to this country, as well as their longstanding history as Americans, and commit ourselves to supporting one another. We will continue to use our platform to fight against injustice and discrimination. We encourage you to reach out to us whenever you need support and healing, to share your stories with us and others, and to continue to care for and love each other with the spirit of our faith.

The Asian Pacific Fund is raising money for Bay Area community organizations working to combat anti-Asian racism.

PBS Documentary Series: The impact of Asian Americans on the country’s past, present, and Future.

Grace Cathedral: Dean Malcolm Clemens Young’s message.

Racial Justice at Grace Cathedral: Resources, contacts, statements.

Episcopal News Service: Episcopal Deputies of Color on increased violence against Asians and Pacific Islanders

Episcopal CEEP Network: “Anti-Asian Violence in Context.”

Grace Notes Spring 2021

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The Spring 2021 edition of Grace Notes is now online! This issue is filled with music, arts and worship events that will lift your mind and your spirit. Visit the link below to learn what’s coming up at Grace Cathedral!

Welcome to the Spring 2021 edition of Grace Notes, our seasonal calendar of events. 

Are you receiving our email newsletters? If not scroll down to Connect with Us at the bottom of the page. There are many ways to stay connected with Grace on email. 

Always stay up to date with everything happening at grace by connecting with us on social media!

A Love Letter to my Asian American Grandmother and Mother

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Dear Pau Pau (Grandmother) and Mom,

Where to start?

Everyone is talking and writing of hate now.

Hate against us.

Hate against you, Pau Pau (Grandmother).

Hate against you, Mom.

Hate against me.

Not so long ago, I wrote about being yelled at for my face.

I don’t worry so much about me.

I worry about you.

How could anyone not love your faces?

Your beautiful faces have loved me since the time I was born.

You taught me to be good.

You taught me to be strong.

You taught me to be wise.

You taught me to be kind.

Yes, Pau Pau (Grandmother), you were beautiful. You looked like the Asian Elizabeth Montgomery.

Yes, Mom, you always had people staring at you, admiring your beauty.

The others who saw you, saw the outside only, saw only what they wanted to see.

I didn’t see what the others saw.

I saw what they couldn’t see, weren’t ready to see, didn’t want to see.

I saw your quiet love and strength.

I saw you sacrificing what little you had and sending money back to our poor family in China until the day you died, Pau Pau (Grandmother).

I saw you raise three children as a single parent, Mom.

You have both worked your whole lives to make a better way for your children.

How could anyone hate you my darling Pau Pau (Grandmother) and Mother?

How could anyone want to hurt you because of your beautiful faces?

Pau Pau (Grandmother), you were so brave to come here long ago and far away, all alone, with no family, no money, and no job.

You married and started a successful business with your new husband.

You made a life and raised 8 children, 14 grandchildren, and 19 great grandchildren.

Mom, you taught us to study and work hard. You reminded us that Pau Pau (Grandmother) never had the opportunity to read or write (even in Chinese) and that I was so very fortunate to live in a country where children went to school instead of work.

You both sacrificed and raised families.

You gave back to our neighbors and community.

How can they not see all this when they looked at you?

How could they want to hurt your beautiful faces?

Pau Pau (Grandmother), you came because Auntie Liberty (the Statue of Liberty) invited you to.

She said, “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to
breathe free . . .”

You believed you would be welcome and safe in a country full of others yearning to breathe free.

You are not welcome by all in this country. You are not safe because of our faces.

Maybe they hate our faces because we remind them of what they used to be and are afraid of becoming again.

So, what do we do right now?

We have to teach them.

Who will teach them? All of us. Together.

What do we teach them? We teach them to be good, to be strong, to be wise, and to be kind.

When do we teach them? Now, tomorrow, and always.

Where do we teach them? In our homes, schools, jobs, churches/temples/synagogues, government, and in the news.

Why do we teach them? We teach them so all of our Pau Paus (Grandmothers) and Mothers will always be safe.

How do we teach them? With love, from the beginning.

We have to love them from the time they are born.

Then, we can teach them to be good, to be strong, to be wise, and to be kind.

Then, everyone can talk and write of love.

Love for us.

Love for you, Pau Pau (Grandmother).

Love for you, Mom.

Love for me.

I love your beautiful faces.

Love,
Lisa

Lisa S. Wong serves as co-chair of the Grace Cathedral Congregation Council and is former chair of its Social Justice Committee. Her earlier post on anti-Asian racism can be found here.
“Love Mandala.” Artist: Nancy Hom, 2021
21″ diameter. Mixed media.

Lenten Reflection — March 30, 2021

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Shame comes up a lot in today’s reading. Suffering shame for Christ’s sake. The psalmist pleads to not be shamed, but that his persecutors be put to shame. God shames the wise with the foolish; the strong with the weak. And unless a grain of wheat suffers the shame of death, it remains alone; but if it dies, it offers much, much more.

Shame corrodes. It is rust. It is Soul–Eating Rust. It lives in the dark and tells us not only that we are unworthy of good, but we are worthy of punishment. It has us inflict punishment on ourselves. It has us punish others. On March 16, eight people were killed by a man’s shame.

Shame kills.

Oh Lord, save us from shame.

Are we our shame? Is shame who we are? Are we our dark urges? Our dark impulses? Where is the line? Where is the line between natural desire and sinful intent? Between restraint and indulgence?

  • Between self-esteem and pride?
  • Between fiscal responsibility and greed?
  • Between human touch and impurity?
  • Between appreciation and envy?
  • Between hunger and gluttony?
  • Between disappointment and rage?
  • Between rest and sloth?

Between acceptance of our humanity and rationalization of misdeeds?

Shame. It defines us. We are from dust, and that’s where we’re headed. Cursed. Doomed.

Unless…

Unless Mercy. Unless Grace. Unless God intervenes. Unless God heals. Redeems. Redeems the shame. Delivers. From evil.

Unless Jesus.

Deliver us. Set us free. Save us. Turn OUR foolishness
to YOUR wisdom, OUR weakness to YOUR strength,
OUR selfishness to YOUR love of others.
That we may walk while we have the light.
Until we return to the dust.

The New Life in Christ

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12 I appeal to you, therefore, brothers and sisters,[a] by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual[b] worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world,[c] but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Dear Relations in the Beloved Community, 

I am writing you as we approach Holy Week and Easter to both thank you and encourage you. As I hope you have heard me say, I will always be grateful for the remarkable witness you have given in servant leadership, within your congregations, and within the wider community of the Bay Area during this time of pandemic. You have kept many safe, you have saved people from unnecessary deaths. 

“This time of pandemic,” though, has not passed. Would that the graph of the pandemic’s course could be confidently expected to move smoothly down to a normal state. Two factors make such a smooth course to normalcy less than certain: human behavior and the biology of the virus. On the one hand, we all are experiencing a double pull in our hearts and minds. We see more and more people being vaccinated, we see the tiers moving into safer zones, and we see more and more people moving about in ways that we would have agreed even a few weeks ago were unsafe. We are also feeling the intense longing to be back in the presence of friends, co-workers, and those who simply move through the same social space as we do. And we may be feeling the ill effects of isolation – depression in its many manifestations. 

With respect to the biology of the virus, the variants are presenting alarming dangers, even within a vaccinated population. 

In light of the above, and while there is still a bit of time, I write to urge you to stay on the course which I must describe as holy. As I readily acknowledge, I cannot prohibit you, in most cases, from gathering in our beloved church buildings for worship, following the guidelines established by county authorities. Rather, I am simply asking you to hold back. If you have planned indoor worship for Holy Week and Easter, please reconsider. Worship outdoors, on your own church grounds, or in parks or other convenient gathering spaces is not only appropriate for Easter celebrations, it is about 20 times safer than indoor worship. 

And moving beyond Easter, my request to you is equally simple, though not easy, I realize —  please refrain from indoor worship until the beginning of June. If Covid-19 cases continue to decline, and the rollout of vaccinations continues at its current pace or even better, then I will be among the first to say, “Blessings on you as you regather.” In the meantime, if you chose to celebrate the Eucharist with your congregations outdoors, please refrain from using a common cup. Consecration in real-time is acceptable; however, please follow the face-covering guidelines and other social distancing protocols outlined on Page 21 of the following document from Ministry Matters: Click here for the English version, Click here for Spanish. Please also keep all gatherings that include singing, chanting, or use of wind instruments outdoors-only.

I chose the passage from Paul’s Letter to the Romans for the epigram for this Pastoral Letter in order to say that I feel that Paul has described the actual life of the Diocese of California during the pandemic thus far – you have lived in accord with the mind of Christ, sacrificing for the safety of all. As Paul would also say, “Let us run with patience the race.”

With my blessings, 
The Right Rev. Dr. Marc Handley Andrus, Bishop, Episcopal Diocese of California