Episode 4 marks the centennial of Evergreen Baptist Church of Los Angeles (EBCLA), a community whose story has been shaped by Japanese American mass incarceration and whose witness continues through their sponsorship and active participation in the annual Manzanar pilgrimage.

Just a couple of weeks ago the church celebrated….

In this episode, host Elise Kaneshiro speaks with Reverend Jason Ashimoto, Senior Pastor of EBCLA and member of the 2025 Manzanar pilgrimage planning team. Together, they reflect on Evergreen’s 100 years of ministry, the congregation’s multi-generational roots, and the church’s partnership with Fuller’s Asian American Center for a landmark pilgrimage that brought more than 160 participants together across generations.

The conversation highlights intergenerational remembrance, cultural hospitality in worship, and the spiritual formation that occurs when a church returns to sites of memory. From family stories and survivor presence to closing communion, Evergreen’s centennial pilgrimage embodied a living legacy of resilience, faith, and communal care.

Coming soon! Rev. Jason’s 8-part sermon series, “Roots,” to be posted as part of the Pearl Dive’s “Sermons to Remember” series.

Watch the companion video:

This episode was recorded remotely from Pasadena, California, and is supported by the Asian American Christian History Institute at Fuller Theological Seminary and the K/T Foundation. This episode was sponsored by Lonely Bird Studios and edited by Paul Michael Corpus Abesamis.

Intro and outro music by Daniel King and Benji Tseng.

We trust that you have found the Pilgrimage: Manzanar, Memory, and Meaning podcast series featuring Elise Kaneshiro to be engaging and informative. During the interim between episodes, I would like to present a Dive Bar conversation held with Rev. Dr. Kiem Le on May 30, 2025.

Dr. Kim Le, a Vietnamese-American church leader, recounted his personal migration experience and reflected on the 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon, which signaled the onset of a significant wave of refugees from Vietnam to the United States. He provided valuable perspectives on the evolution of Vietnamese-American Christian communities, emphasizing the notable presence of both Catholic and Protestant adherents, as well as the historical influence of organizations such as the Christian and Missionary Alliance in advancing Christianity within Vietnam and across the U.S.

Dr. Le concluded by highlighting influential figures in the community’s establishment (such as Pastor Quan Dang, Pastor Le Vinh Thach, and Pastor Nguyen Anh Tai), discussing a newly launched theological initiative, and addressing ongoing challenges including cultural adaptation, evangelism, and intergenerational integration among Vietnamese American Christians.

This episode was recorded remotely from Castro Valley, California, and is supported by the Asian American Christian History Institute at Fuller Theological Seminary, the K/T Foundation, and our audience.

For further reading

* Peter Phan, Christianity with an Asian Face: Asian American Theology in the Making, Orbis Books, 2003

* Viet Thanh Nguyen, Nothing Ever Dies: Việt Nam and the Memory of War, Harvard University Press, 2016

* Viet Thanh Nguyen, The Refugees: Việt Nam and the Memory of War, Grove Press, 2017

* Elaine Padilla, Peter C. Phan (editors), Christianities in Migration:The Global Perspective, Palgrave Macmillan, 2016

* Nathalie Huỳnh Châu Nguyễn (editor), The Routledge Handbook of the Vietnamese Diaspora, Routledge, 2024

* Isabelle Thuy Pelaud and Lan Duong (editors), The Cleaving: Vietnamese Writers in the Diaspora, University of California Press, 2025

The third episode of Pilgrimage: Manzanar, Memory, and Meaning explores the theme of inheritance—what is passed down through memory, culture, and faith.

Host Elise Kaneshiro speaks with Dr. Johnny Ramírez-Johnson, Dr. Alex Jun, and Myles Haruki-Nelson, who each participated in the 2025 Manzanar Pilgrimage. Together, they discuss family legacy, intergenerational trauma, and the sacred responsibility of remembrance.

Through stories of migration, racial reconciliation, and hope, Inheritance reflects on how faith transforms our understanding of history and identity. The conversation weaves together history, theology, and pastoral care, offering a deeply personal look at what it means to hold—and heal—our collective past.

Watch the companion video:

This episode was recorded remotely from Pasadena, California, and is supported by the Asian American Christian History Institute at Fuller Theological Seminary and the K/T Foundation.

Intro and outro music by Daniel King and Benji Tseng.

We continue the Dive Bar, a series that is part of the Pearl Dive podcast. In the Dive Bar we talk to folks inside AACHI and the Fuller Asian American Center orbit about all kinds of things: what we’re working on, what we’re interested in. We hope you’ll like these conversations. So grab a drink of your choice and join us.

Today, I’m talking to Dr. Joe Cheah, who along with Dr. David Moe, is heading up a new AACHI project about the Burmese American Christian diaspora. This project was awarded grants from APARRI and the American Baptist Home Mission Society. We looking forward to amplifying the history, stories, and theologies from Burma Diaspora Christian communities in the United States.

Fr. Joe Cheah, OSM, is Professor and Chair in Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies at the University of Saint Joseph in West Hartford, Connecticut. As a part of the first wave of immigrants from Burma, he came to the United States with his parents in 1966. He co-sponsors the St. Mary’s Home in Kyauktan, Myanmar. All donations and inquiries go through our 501(c)(3) organization in the US: The Children Charitable Foundation of Myanmar, Inc. (childrenofmyanmar.org)

Joe has published extensively, including Race and Religion in American Buddhism: White Supremacy and Immigrant Adaptation (New York: Oxford University Press, 2011), Theological Reflections on “Gangnam Style”: A Racial, Sexual, and Cultural Critique (New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2014) with Grace Ji-Sun Kim, and Anti-Asian Racism: Myths, Stereotypes, and Catholic Social Teaching (New York: Orbis Books, 2023). Joe can be reached at [email protected]. — Tim Tseng

Thanks for reading Pearl Dive, AACHI's digital platform! This post is public so feel free to share it.

The second episode of Pilgrimage: Manzanar, Memory, and Meaning invites listeners into a conversation on embodiment, hospitality, and faith.

Host Elise Kaneshiro speaks with Krystin Bruan, Creative Producer at Fuller Theological Seminary’s Asian American Center, reflecting on the 2025 Manzanar Pilgrimage and the sacred practice of returning to sites of history and faith.

Through stories of intentional care, collaboration, and presence, Return explores how acts of hospitality and remembrance sustain spiritual formation and community identity across generations.

Watch the companion video:

This conversation was recorded remotely from Oʻahu and Pasadena, California, and is supported by the Asian American Christian History Institute at Fuller Theological Seminary and the K/T Foundation.

Intro and outro music by: Daniel King and Benji Tseng

The opening episode of Pilgrimage: Manzanar, Memory, and Meaning centers on holding story and sorrow, reflecting on the power of public truth-telling across generations and faith traditions.

Host Elise Kaneshiro speaks with Mr. Bill Watanabe, camp survivor and community leader (Little Tokyo Historical Society), and Dr. Pamela King, Professor of Applied Developmental Science and Co-Director of the Thrive Center for Human Development at Fuller Theological Seminary.

Together, they explore how testimony, trauma, and pilgrimage shape identity, healing, and vocation. Through survivor memory and spiritual reflection, Witness invites listeners to consider how remembrance becomes a sacred act of faith and justice.

Watch the companion video:

This conversation was recorded remotely from Oʻahu and Pasadena, California, and is supported by the Asian American Christian History Institute at Fuller Theological Seminary.

Intro and outro music by Daniel King and Benji Tseng.

The Dive Bar is open! We talk to folks inside AACHI and Fuller’s Asian American Center about what we're working on, what we're interested in…all kinds of stuff! So we hope you'll like these conversations, which are part of the Pro Dive podcast. So get a drink of your choice and join us!

In today's episode of the Dive Bar, I chat with our very own Pearl Diver Elgin Quan. If you've been following the Pearl Dive, you'll know that Elgin has contributed a couple of stories already. “A Father and Son's Full Circle Mission From Canton to Oakland” is based on her interview with Tim Wong, who reflected about his father Sen Wong's life and ministry. Sen Wong was the founder of Chinese Bible Mission, a network of Chinese churches across Northern California.

Elgin also wrote “There Is None Like Him: A Mother's Song of Survival and Salvation Across Oceans and Generations,” Cheng Lee Heen Jun’s (郑李显珍) harrowing journey from Guang XI to Vietnam and then to the US as a refugee.

I met Elgin several years ago when she was writing up interviews and stories of the members of the Cantonese Senior Fellowship at Sunset Church in San Francisco, a church that was formerly known as Sunset Chinese Baptist Church. I was so excited by her passion for elderly Chinese Christians and their stories and their histories that I just had to find a way to get her to be part of AACHI. So we're so blessed that Elgin is one of our pearl divers, and I look forward to hearing more of her stories in the future, as I hope you do too.

This conversation was recorded on September 4th, 2024. — Tim Tseng

Thanks for reading Pearl Dive, AACHI's digital platform! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support our work.

Today we're starting the Dive Bar, a new series that is part of the Pearl Dive podcast. We'll talk to folks inside AACHI and the Fuller Asian American Center orbit about all kinds of things: what we're working on, what we're interested in. We hope you'll like these conversations. So get a drink of your choice and join us.

Today, I'm talking to Dr. David Moe, who along with Dr. Joe Cheah, is heading up a new AACHI project about the Burmese American Christian diaspora. This project was awarded an APARRI Working Grant. We are excited to amplify the history, stories, and theologies from the Burmese American Christian communities.

Dr. David Thang Moe is at Yale University in New Haven, CT. where he is a Postdoctoral Associate and Lecturer in Religion and Conflict at the Council on Southeast Asia Studies at MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies and Department of Religious Studies. He can be reached on Facebook at facebook.com/davidmoe83.

For more about Burmese American Christians, see David Thang Moe, “The Hidden Stories of Burmese American Christians: Understanding their Imagination of Identity,” International Bulletin of Mission Research 2024, Vol. 48(3), 383­ –398. — Tim Tseng

Thanks for reading Pearl Dive, AACHI's digital platform! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support our work.

In part two of our conversation with Robert Chao Romero, Fiel Sahir talks to Robert about his academic journey and reflections on non-innocent histories of Christianity that includes the Brown Church, Asian American Christianity and other marginalized Christian communities. He also discusses the story of the Chinese in Mexico and theological musings on the Brown Church. If you haven't listened to part one, it might be worth taking a look at that as it'll give a deeper context into everything we'll be discussing throughout this episode

Rev. Dr. Robert Chao Romero is "Asian-Latino," and has been a professor of Chicana/o Studies and Asian American Studies at UCLA since 2005. He received his Ph.D. from UCLA in Latin American History and his Juris Doctor from U.C. Berkeley. Romero has published more than 30 academic books and articles on issues of race, immigration, history, education, and religion, and received the Latina/o Studies book award from the international Latin American Studies Association. His book, Brown Church: Five Centuries of Latina/o Social Justice, Theology, and Identity (2020), received the InterVarsity Press Readers’ Choice Award for best academic title. Romero is a former Ford Foundation and U.C. President's Postdoctoral Fellow, as well as a recipient of the Louisville Institute's Sabbatical Grant for Researchers. Robert is also an ordained minister and community organizer.

This interview was recorded on January 27, 2025.

This season of Pearl Dive was brought to you by the Asian American Christian History Institute (AACHI) at the Fuller Theological Seminary’s Asian American Center and with the support of the KT Foundation.

With this episode, the Pearl Dive podcast will take a brief break. Look out for new and different kinds of episodes this summer and fall!

In the meantime, if you have questions about previous episodes or suggestions about topics that you’d like to see us cover, please email us at [email protected]. We also welcome audio recorded questions and comments of less than 30-seconds. Please say your name and tell us where you’re from.

LINKS AND REFERENCES

* Robert Chao Romero books:

* Brown Church: Five Centuries of Latina/o Social Justice, Theology, and Identity (IV Press Academic, 2020)

* The Chinese in Mexico, 1882-1940 (University of Arizona Press, 2011)

* Christianity and Critical Race Theory: A Faithful and Constructive Conversation (Baker Academic, 2023). With Jeff M. Liou.

* God's Resistance: Mobilizing Faith to Defend Immigrants (New York University Press, 2023). With Brad Christerson, Alexia Salvatierra, and Nancy Wang Yuen

* Justo L. Gonzalez, The Story of Christianity (2 volumes).

* Justo L. Gonzalez works on Amazon.

* Hugo Wong, America’s Lost Chinese: The Rise and Fall of a Migrant Family Dream (2023).

Thanks for reading Pearl Dive, AACHI's digital platform! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support our work.

In this episode of the Pearl Dive podcast, Fiel Sahir talks to Robert Chao Romero about the Chinese side of his family heritage. His grandfather, Calvin Chao, was one of the four famous Chinese evangelists who led the revival of diasporic Chinese Christianity in the mid-twentieth century. Robert also explores his upbringing as an Asian-Latino Christian in Southern California and discusses his study about Chinese in Mexico.

Rev. Dr. Robert Chao Romero is "Asian-Latino," and has been a professor of Chicana/o Studies and Asian American Studies at UCLA since 2005. He received his Ph.D. from UCLA in Latin American History and his Juris Doctor from U.C. Berkeley. Romero has published more than 30 academic books and articles on issues of race, immigration, history, education, and religion, and received the Latina/o Studies book award from the international Latin American Studies Association. His book, Brown Church: Five Centuries of Latina/o Social Justice, Theology, and Identity (2020), received the InterVarsity Press Readers’ Choice Award for best academic title. Romero is a former Ford Foundation and U.C. President's Postdoctoral Fellow, as well as a recipient of the Louisville Institute's Sabbatical Grant for Researchers. Robert is also an ordained minister and community organizer.

This interview was recorded on January 27, 2025.

This season of Pearl Dive was brought to you by the Asian American Christian History Institute (AACHI) at the Fuller Theological Seminary’s Asian American Center and with the support of the KT Foundation.

LINKS AND REFERENCES

* Robert Chao Romero books:

* Brown Church: Five Centuries of Latina/o Social Justice, Theology, and Identity (IV Press Academic, 2020)

* The Chinese in Mexico, 1882-1940 (University of Arizona Press, 2011)

* Christianity and Critical Race Theory: A Faithful and Constructive Conversation (Baker Academic, 2023). With Jeff M. Liou.

* God's Resistance: Mobilizing Faith to Defend Immigrants (New York University Press, 2023). With Brad Christerson, Alexia Salvatierra, and Nancy Wang Yuen

* Calvin Chao links/references [to be added]

* Philip S. Leung, “Christian Fundamentalism In Modern China: Calvin Chao And The ‘Chinese For Christ’ Movement,” Jian Dao 17 (2002): 123-143. Thanks to the Christianity and Chinese Culture Research Center of Alliance Bible Seminary, Hong Kong.

* Calvin Chao’s publications on Amazon.com

Thanks for reading Pearl Dive, AACHI's digital platform! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support our work.