Engage Speaker Series: Living Out the Gospel Across Racial and Socio-Economic Lines

It’s been awhile since I’ve attended an ENGAGE speaker series event in NYC sponsored by PaLM. I’m hoping to go to one again. They’ve done a great job of exposing issues and equipping leaders to engage culture. If you’re in the New York area there’s one tonight featuring Christine Lee of All Angels Church.

“Living Out the Gospel Across Racial and Socio-Economic Lines”
Ephesians 2 says that Christ Himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility. So then as the familiar saying goes, why does 11 am continue to be “the most segregated hour of the week”? Come hear how one church – of professionals, families, students, artists, homeless men and women – has sought and struggled (and sometimes failed) to live out the reality of the gospel in community and overcome the dividing walls of race and class.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008
7:00pm – 9:00pm
All Angels Church
251 W. 80th Street New York, NY

Christine Lee is the Director of Spiritual Development and Outreach at All Angels’ Church, an evangelical Episcopal Church on the Upper West Side. She attended the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago and received her M.Div. and Th.M. at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois. After seminary, she spent a year and a half serving as a short-term missionary in Bangkok, Thailand, teaching Thai and tribal students at the Thailand Evangelical Seminary. In 1999, she joined staff with Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, first at the University of Chicago and then Columbia University after getting married to Jimmy Lee in 2002. Before coming to All Angels, she worked for Habitat for Humanity – NYC engaging the faith community in volunteerism and advocacy around affordable housing issues.

All Angels’ Church Official Website
All Angels’ Church Mission Statement: To build Christ centered communities of witness and healing, and equip people to be a transforming presence in NYC and beyond.

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haloscan ::. what happened to my haloscan? i no…

haloscan ::.

what happened to my haloscan? i noticed that if that’s not working then this blog gets all funky on loading time

this are the times ::. there’s something about h…

this are the times ::.

there’s something about hearing testimonies of how a person has encoutered the savior in their lives and what God has done in their lives since that is so life-giving and refreshing to me. i love hearing testimonies. at our church we have a testimony sharing time before a person gets baptized. there’s nothing really magical about baptism but it does something to me and i think the people watching. it’s one of the rare times where i find tears streaming down my face, tears of utter joy. baptism reminds me of why i do what i do. i can keep moving forward, pick up my cross and press on, hard. my heart gushes with love and a renewed passion to call all people to know the one who will set them free.

sun afternoon ::. baptism ceremony … a whomping 68 people getting dunked.

jax and dealz ::. you make us smile. lauren and i love you oh so much. this is a great weekend for us…one we’ve been praying and waiting for. hold your breath and try not to swallow.

classic kirby ::.

dreamlife ::. i recently had this strange dream th…

dreamlife ::. i recently had this strange dream that has got to be the worst thing that can happen to anybody longing for a restful night of sleep. i rather have nightmares. wait, maybe it was a nightmare. regardless, there i was sitting in a red room with just me and a proctor taking an exam??? i just sat there reading through all these crazy questions that i now have no recollection of and fumbling to fill in the correct answers. the tension was all there. it went on for hours until i actually woke up to go to school to take a real exam. well it is exam time afterall. blessings to everyone finishing up school. 1 down, 2 more to go.

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pipe dreams and hospitality::. remember crush from finding nemo? well lauren and i are convinced we’ve met a real life version this weekend. scott is a totally blond crush surfer dude whom we met through our friends from hawaii who are stateside this week.

hospitality / to behave in a warm way and manner and to entertain with generous kindness /again and again, we are continually blown away by chad & kim koyonagi’s kindness to us. remembering everything from birthdays to anniversarys, holidays..etc. they’ve got this koyonagi aloha thing. they were so quick to embrace us into their lives and have taught us alot about hospitality. everytime they’ve come to visit us when we should be showing them hospitality we feel more like they’ve welcomed us. and we have yet to go to hawaii.

many of our friends, especially those who live at a distance {& you readers of course}, always find a way to bless us. thank you thank you. i feel like we’re such bad friends in comparison especially as ones who are compelled by the love of christ. chad and kim have told us that they think we’re two of the nicest people they know, we’re glad that they do notice a difference in our lives. well it’s not us but yes there is a difference in us. we were just two lost individuals saved by Christ.

i cant wait to hit the hawaiian beaches with scott one day and crush some waves. we had a good time walkin through the legendary brooklyn banks and just rememberin the days of old. here’s one for you sk8ers. the banks.

here’s some links to help you waste time on the web ::.

how about a real-life game of pacman? students at nyu simulate a real life game of pacman on campus. now why couldn’t we think of that when we were kids? it’s amazing what your college education can produce…

. . .

my dear friend is living her dreams out as designer, photographer, aspiring actress…i’m so proud of her she’s about to launch her amazing line of…sexy fab glam gear for the kitchn or wherever life happens…the point is look fabulous… sign up for the launch growwl. more power to the housewife.

. . .

better than teddy ruxpin…it’s a plush mp3 player…

. . .

major league lax :: jun 5 baltimore @ new jersey…anyone wanna go? or just play?

hush ::. there’s nothing worse than the silent…

hush ::.

there’s nothing worse than the silent treatment from parental units. i rather get smacked and humiliated. but silence…it’s a powerful thing, the choice weapon of many asian parents. right away it brings me into a state of frustrated humility. the battle is over. i’ll confess wrong or agree to whatever punishment i deserve. anything…just please speak…

God’s silence is fascinating and beyond that of our earthly parents. hardened unconfessing hearts hinder communication. his silence in my life would be even more devastating to me. i hope it never happens. final word: it is much better to be exalted by God than to be humbled by him.

. . .



gasp* aint that a nice raspberry? … paintballin blues – photo courtesy of shangmien – “pain is weakness leaving the body.”

. . .

midterms are finally over. i can breathe slightly easier now…just slightly.

lauren and i are teaching classes again. we will be exploring in depth the sermon on the mount. i really miss teaching and love this current class of students. join us by praying for us sat nights 6:30-7:45pm. . . each week i’ll post some of the lesson elements for discussion.

. . .

gotta live more simply.

stressedlife :: i’ve been thinking a lot lately …

stressedlife ::

i’ve been thinking a lot lately about where to live and why am i still here in nj. here’s some interesting things that i came across:

somerset, nj is ranked no.8 among the top 20 growing boomtowns with the hottest job markets.

new york city is among the top five most stressful cities in the country. the least most stressful is (ayku97 and hybricon will be glad to hear this — big ups to you boys–hope you’re enjoying life there and all the snow)



1) Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY and Harrisburg-Lebanon-Carlisle, PA

These hardworking state capitals and their surrounding areas boast two of the lowest unemployment rates in the country. In fact, both areas score well in many categories- low divorce rates, short average commute times, a low overall crime rate, and low rates of suicide. One downside to these northeastern cities is their often-cloudy skies and dreary winters

5) Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN

The Twin Cities have a low unemployment rate and a low violent crime rate. Despite many cloudy days, the suicide rate is low and the stress scores are generally favorable across the board.

***100 large metro areas are surveyed in this study

***new york city also has the longest commute of over 40 mins

…::

this game stresses me out…i always get only one ball left and then i have to quit — it’s really addictive…

*update* i finally did it and in under a minute…but i’m disappointed that the game didn’t end…no congrats or game over. how utterly…denied.

…::

midterms this week…*sigh*…bring it…

…::

happy birthday minyi…more stars to your happiness – “and just pick one”

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. . . : : if you’re sick take then take some of this : : . . .

highly recommended by officemates and employers around the world

you feel better…and we will feel better…

week_end progress * * *

* * * just added ability to leave comments…i invite conversation…i wanna know who’s out there * * *

best commercial …”use only in case of emergency”…guy says i love you only to get his girlfriend to roll over freeing his arm so that he can drink his heineken. simply brilliant.

roxanne ::

“you don’t have to put on the red light. . .”

i’m in love. sting, the 2004 musicares person of the year just rocked playin bass while wearing a skirt with knee highs singing roxanne. gasp* and oh…alicia keys soulfully hittin up her arrangement of a house is not a home. too bad i missed the beatles tribute but beautiful beautiful performances at the grammy’s this year despite the inability to read lines and other mishaps. like easy on the vino before the show y’know…anyways much love to respectable artists.

memories :: stuck on rt 1 with a bunch of brothers for over an hour in jamus after having tex-mex … priceless.

why is it that guys always find excretory stories so funny and fascinating?

what is it about bodily functions?

i can’t wait to have boys of my own.

“the passion of christ, that’s one movie i aint downloadin…i’d feel too guilty…” – dan, the college student

what boys want to know :: do girls flatulate?

“yo! girls fart and it stanks! trust me i have 3 sisters…” – same guy minutes later keepin it real.

worthy days ::

we try to live everyday without any struggles. anything to make it easier, taking short cuts that compromise our character and integrity. or we mope and complain. we want to live like supastars or like we’re on vacation. even then we still have our complaints. this striving is really a deep longing for heaven, living in complete wholeness. but we don’t really look to that end or grasp its awesomeness and implications for how we live now. we prefer our fantasies, vacations, where we are being served, our desires met. our idea of worship also often centers around blissful sunday gatherings of escape, drinking in sweet words to forget about our realities. please no demands. that’s where we want to live.

reality is like a tiger around the corner ready to tear at your throat. reality is a new semester about to begin, returning to work the next morning, making deadlines, paying bills, dealing with each other, getting grey, rounder, or wrinkly. we have choices to make. reality is a God who has always been at work and still is at work in our lives. he is a God who broke into our reality to reveal his love to us and died but still lives so that we too can know that we can truly live eternally now. real worship must come from our reality, like every moment counts. everyday is a day full of moments made for worship.



“and whatever you do whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” colossians 3.17



“now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” hebrews 11.1

completely…off ::

alas… the sense of completion and simultaneously completely off. finished my exams and papers. sent out some cards. got some gifts. paid some bills. watched return of the king (what an emotional trip…it fininally comes to an end). spent time with timmy buying more gifts. there’s a sense of great accomplishment when getting someone a good gift. i didn’t think there could be more to this week. but now grappling an announcement of a sudden death of a colleague. mcing a youth outreach tonite. attending a wedding tomorrow. all in a matter of a short period of time. sigh. what a week.

what i’m looking forward to:

– – all u college students coming home

– – christmas eve service

– – visiting family

other things to look forward to:

– – studying hebrew again during break

– – taking winter classes immediately after new year’s … can you believe it’s almost 2004???

here’s some random knowledge discovered in my brain’s time off

(i always try to provide the best material for my readers) ::

…did you know that cockroaches get arthritic with age? no joke. elderly cockroaches get arthritis and become confused and prone to wandering thanks to case western university research. jon kwok and alumnus be proud.

…for you high school seniors… did you know that mary-kate and ashley olsen got accepted and will be attending nyu next semester? sigh.

…5500 people stood on line at the opening of the apple store in ginza, japan. yes, behold mac users, it is asimplymazing.

…”correlation does not equal causation” says my friend e. after we were contemplating an intellectually titillating study revealing that women with bigger breasts being actually smarter was featured in the entertainment news of yahoo.

“Dr. Rossdale measured the busts of women in Illinois, Kansas and Ohio and then divided them into five categories: Extra-small, Small, Medium, Large and Extra-large. These categories roughly corresponded to commercially available bra sizes, A, B,C, D and DD or above. She then gave subjects in each category a standard IQ test and found that women in the Large and Extra-large category scored an average of 10 points higher than women in the Small and Extra-small categories. Medium-sized ladies had a three- to four-point edge over the flat-chested group.”

can it be? observing comments made by jessica simpson we have to wonder. ok that was a little bit mean…i listen to her and i have a moment like, “you’re cute but i have no idea what you’re saying” (when marlin says to squirt in finding nemo) – unfortunately, there is no truth to this report as many guys would love to believe (giving us reason to raise our standards perhaps?)…it’s just a made up story from the trustworthy folk of weekly world news.

…holiday traveling nightmares. for those of you going on honeymoons or a little south… if you really have the stomach or if you’re an avid fan of the alien trilogy check out this true story. beware.

to everyone taking finals and writing their last papers — finish strong and rest easy

strength – drama and dynamic ::

the end of the semester before xmas is always a rush of blood to the head. i have one more fish to fry. then i’m free for about two weeks before i start crunching away again. i was praying that his strength would be my strength and i became enraptured in the peace of God as i unraveled the depth of what these words meant. i usually pray for his strength naturally because I feel weak and overwhelmed. it’s usually a plea to help me get through what’s coming my way. when “let your strength” unraveled i realized i’m asking for that same strength and determination that Christ had. the strength of a carpenter who worked with raw earthly materials. a student of the scriptures. a friend to the lost, troubled, distressed, hopeless, poor, and lonely. a teacher to the stubborn, arrogant, indignant, and foolish. i don’t think he put up with people. that’s weaksauce, we do that. he loved them.

“therefore have i set my face like flint . . .: – isaiah 50.7

that verse has always inspired me. he knew the path that was ahead of him and he set his face like flint. he didn’t turn or shy away. an iron will. complete obedience.

his strength endured a bloody beating, a whipping where his flesh was torn away. he was barely recognizable as a man. a crown of thorns thrusted into his scalp. afterward he carried, dragged against his broken body the heavy rugged instrument that will end his life probably a half mile or more. we all know the rest. pierced hands and feet. still the strength to welcome the thief into his peace. barely able to breathe still the strength to ask for the father’s forgiveness because they knew not what they were doing.

total strength, mind, body and soul. i prayed for that strength to be mine, i pray it be yours my friends. for you howie especially…amen.

agh :: last final at 4pm today. being tested on chapter and verse from Gen 1 to Malachi 4. it’s been an incredible ride to read so much scripture. wish i could remember it all. i can’t wait to do this again. and again.

visual strength :: the passion site is up and a new date is set for an earlier release…the new trailer gives me chills…kinda like that part in lion king but not mockingly where the hyenas cackle at the name of mufasa…oooh say it again.