The Best They Could Do

By La Thao

Thi Bui’s illustrated memoir The Best We Could Do tells the story of her family’s escape from Vietnam and the challenges of surviving as refugees in a new country. In an attempt to understand her parents better, Bui documents her family’s past and discovers the sacrifices her parents made for the sake of the family’s survival.

Making Our AAPI Heritage Visible 

By Jerry Z. Park

As we approach the end of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month (the inclusion of Native Hawaiians occurring in 2021), here are a few quick-takes about this diverse collection of people groups.

The Surprising Numbers About the AAPI Community

By Nikki Toyama-Szeto

Sometimes data is just numbers.  But I like to tell my kids that statistics are numbers that tell a story.  In honor of Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month, today’s list includes places to find data about the Asian American Pacific Islander community. 

I Fasted from White Authors for Lent

By Liz Cooledge Jenkins

Editor’s note: Originally published March 3, 2022,  we believe Liz’s suggestions below, after completing a month-long celebration of Black authors, can be a meaningful way to both kick off Lent and to continue to honor and learn from our Black brothers and sisters. 

Mass Incarceration: A Gospel Response

By Bishop Ernest McNear and Reverend Lin Crowe
The statistics hang over the cities of America like a thick grey cloud, almost blotting out the light of hope and opportunity. One out of every nine young black males in the United States between the ages of twenty and thirty-four is behind bars.

On Peace: Prayers & Reflections

By Liz Cooledge Jenkins
God,
Sometimes we have no idea what peace would mean.
It’s all too difficult.
Everything in us is tired.

On Joy: Prayers & Reflections

By Liz Cooledge Jenkins

Editor’s Note: This post is part of a 4-part series for Advent 2022 by Liz Cooledge Jenkins

God,

There is a space within us empty until filled with joy.

Just One Suitcase

By Lisa Rodriguez-Watson
“It must have been so difficult to leave her life, her friends, her family and have only one suitcase to take with her,” I remarked to my abuela as we talked about her sister, Raquel, who had recently defected from Cuba to the United States while on a government trip.

On Love: Prayers & Reflections

By Liz Cooledge Jenkins

Editor’s Note: This post is part of a 4-part series for Advent 2022 by Liz Cooledge-Jenkins

God,

Your love is unbounded.

Your love unbinds us.

On Hope: Prayers & Reflections

By Liz Cooledge Jenkins

Editor’s Note: This post is part of a 4-part series for Advent 2022 by Liz Cooledge-Jenkins

God,

Power runs through our world 

in such perverse ways.