{"id":748,"date":"2012-04-28T10:30:41","date_gmt":"2012-04-28T17:30:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/gc2012\/?p=748"},"modified":"2013-10-07T12:02:11","modified_gmt":"2013-10-07T19:02:11","slug":"an-identity-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/an-identity-crisis\/","title":{"rendered":"An Identity Crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>General Crisis 2012: Am I a part of a \u201cconflict-religion?\u201d | <\/strong><em>By Jesse N. Love<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Recently, I was updating my Facebook account, specifically under the \u201cAbout Me\u201d section.&nbsp; Knowing how a lot of folks\u2019 attention spans allow for only bites of info to be digested, I chose simple words and phrases to describe who I am:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Filipino-American<\/li>\n<li>Thirty-something<\/li>\n<li>Son<\/li>\n<li>Brother<\/li>\n<li>Cousin<\/li>\n<li>Friend<\/li>\n<li>Designer<\/li>\n<li>Communicator<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Under Facebook\u2019s \u201cReligious Views\u201d field, I claimed \u201cUnited Methodist\u201d and included our mission statement: <em>\u201cThe mission of the church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.\u201d<\/em> Filling out these fields may seem very basic, but if you think about it, there\u2019s much more to it.<\/p>\n<p>Think about the concept of \u201cidentity\u201d: it is how to best describe who you are as a person\u2026 AND potentially attached to your identity are other groups of people whom you may identify with.&nbsp; I cherish the qualities that define my individuality: I am of Filipino heritage and raised in America; I enjoy illustration, graphic design, and typography as a designer; I developed a relationship with Jesus Christ in my teens, nurtured by special people in my life who are United Methodists.&nbsp; These life qualities can explain the inside and outside of me.<\/p>\n<p>While surfing the web, I came across a story from UMC.org, entitled <a href=\"http:\/\/www.umc.org\/site\/apps\/nlnet\/content3.aspx?c=lwL4KnN1LtH&amp;b=2789393&amp;ct=11712031\">\u201cGC2012 to include call to repentance\u201d<\/a> by Kathy L. Gilbert and Linda Bloom.&nbsp; In one of the paragraphs, it described the historic atrocities committed by European and American colonizers against Native Americans and Filipinos.<\/p>\n<p>I read\u2026and cringed.&nbsp; When I came across the lines on how American President, William McKinley had a hand in having <em>\u201c\u20261 million indigenous Filipinos\u2026killed in the Philippine-American war\u2026\u201d<\/em> in the early 20th century, I gritted my teeth.&nbsp; Although I had studied this portion of world history in high school, I didn\u2019t know Mr. McKinley was, as described in the article, a \u201cstaunch\u201d Methodist.<\/p>\n<p>In a flash, I zeroed-in on the key items of my own identity:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Filipino<\/li>\n<li>American<\/li>\n<li>Methodist<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>When I had revisited this dark chapter in American-Philippine history with a 34-year old mindset, I felt anger, sadness, disappointment, and confusion.&nbsp; The key things that helped best define me simply crashed altogether.&nbsp; It\u2019s like a jeepney, a Ford Model-T, and the horse that John Wesley rides (you know, the one in the Cokesbury logo?) all collided together at a busy intersection.&nbsp; What was the best way to vent? &nbsp;I hit up Facebook, shared the link to this story, and said, \u201cYes, repent!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m proud of being Filipino, American, and a Methodist.&nbsp; As a Filipino, I come from a proud, playful, intelligent, artistic, passionate culture to say the least.&nbsp; As an American, I am proud to live in a place with opportunities, diversity, resources, and spirit.&nbsp; As a Methodist, I enjoy our inclusivity, our ability to dialog, and our opportunities for ministry and mission.<\/p>\n<p>But hold on, just to prove I\u2019m not romanticizing any of these.&nbsp; As a Filipino, I sometimes feel defeated, invisible, being from a hurt culture colonized by Spain and America.&nbsp; As an American, I suffer from consumerism and live a lifestyle that would be considered lower-middle class but luxurious to those in the third-world (who may even be happier with less than what I have).&nbsp; As a Methodist, we are still human and still working towards tolerance.&nbsp; And now, I am reminded of how in the name of God, colonizers occupied and did unspeakable, un-Christian things to affect the natural development of Native-American and Philippine nations.<\/p>\n<p>As I write, I am still trying to sort out my thoughts.&nbsp; I ask myself, \u201cCould I be a part of a \u2018conflict-religion\u2019?\u201d Have you ever come across campaigns to buy Fair-Trade chocolate and how cocoa that isn\u2019t Fair-Trade may have ties to injustices that involve small wages or slavery? Or what about \u2018conflict diamonds&#8217; the kind tied to funding war and oppression? Or what about \u2018conflict minerals\u2019 like the ones found in a computer, smart phone, or tablet that may involve over-mining?&nbsp; In our Church, we have campaigns to boycott such conflict-things!&nbsp; But, what of our Church?&nbsp; With what is known about the history of America and our Church, how can we seek peace of mind during this time of spiritual crisis?&nbsp; How can we share our cultural and religious heritage to others who want to know about us?&nbsp; What is our identity?<\/p>\n<p>I tuned into Friday\u2019s Act of Repentance worship service, which specifically addressed the UMC\u2019s role in Native Americans and Filipinos histories.&nbsp; The Rev. George Tinker, our key speaker who is an indigenous advocate and theologian, shared that repenting is key.&nbsp; We are to repent everyday and repent together, despite now not being a time of true reconciliation.&nbsp; It is not an easy task \u2013 repenting involves \u201ca change in lifestyle\u2026\u201d and \u201c\u2026way of being\u201d, according to Tinker.&nbsp; For Americans, it may even involve \u201cgiving up what we\u2026hold dear.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For my friends and colleagues who are people of, or descendants of, an indigenous culture, let\u2019s have a conversation about what is in our minds and hearts \u2013 and figure out what positive things we can do to support healing.&nbsp; For those who accept the invitation to repent, please know I am with you.&nbsp; I am sitting with you at Church, I\u2019m probably photographing a training you may be attending\u2026but know I am with you in this repenting process.&nbsp; Let&#8217;s continue our conversation&#8230; -JNL<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><em>The image above is a montage of:<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em><a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/File:William_McKinley_by_Courtney_Art_Studio,_1896.jpg\">President McKinley<\/a>, courtesy of the Courtney Art Studio<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em><a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/File:American_progress.JPG\">&#8220;Spirit of the Frontier&#8221;<\/a> by John Gast<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>a painting depictng <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/File:Fil-American_War_Feb_04,1899.jpg\">The Battle of Manilla on February 4, 1899<\/a>.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>General Crisis 2012: Am I a part of a \u201cconflict-religion?\u201d | By Jesse N. Love Recently, I was updating my Facebook account, specifically under the \u201cAbout Me\u201d section.&nbsp; Knowing how a lot of folks\u2019 attention spans allow for only bites of info to be digested, I chose simple words and phrases to describe who I [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":753,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[15,6,113],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-748","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-justice","8":"category-conversation","9":"category-opinioneditorial"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/GC2012_Crisis.jpg?fit=600%2C307&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2l75j-c4","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/748","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/51"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=748"}],"version-history":[{"count":22,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/748\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5244,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/748\/revisions\/5244"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/753"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=748"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=748"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=748"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}