Nominee, Ha Na Park to Executive of Denominational Council (Full application)
Nominee: Ha Na Park
by Manitoba Northwestern Ontario Conference
Nomination to Executive of Denominational Council, United Church of Canada
Please note if there are any other identities this nominee holds that might diversify and strengthen the church's leadership
Living in the intersectionality of race, gender, queerness and faith; immigrant woman; newcomer's perspective; queer person/woman of colour
Please provide a statement from the nominee on why they wish to serve on the Executive
I would like to enhance my contribution to the life of the United Church of Canada by becoming a Denominational Executive member. In this crucial time of restructuring, my gift of creating accountable theologies from lived experiences and my passion for the call toward equity will add to the voices of reason and experience already on the Council. I am passionate about remaking our church to truly be ours interculturally — our church as an open-ended and growing church which is ready and willing to be changed and transformed towards embracing diversity through strong relationships with all people. For this vision to succeed, we need to learn how to be a boundary-dweller, willing to let go of what separates us from the Others and removing the hierarchical structures which are tightly attached to White privilege, patriarchy and racism. Embracing diversity is not the same as domesticating differences and new voices under the existing models and rules. It is the thoughtful intention to listen to these voices, to reimagine the new norms of belonging and full participation of all peoples in the United Church. I am eager to serve our church.
I have strong confidence that our church is willing to be transformed through authentic, right relationships; engaging with differences and new voices of change as a life-giving asset for growth, not as a hostile ‘other’. As we move towards restructuring, we need all of us. We need to encourage and affirm proactive initiatives coming from the margins. To make that happen, we must operate on barrier-free principles for promoting radical welcoming, to distribute power fairly, and to persist with courage through the institutional resistance to change.
In our church, sexism and racism are still prevalent, and white privilege is real. Yet I have a strong confidence in the United Church’s work to strengthen equity in its body and its mothering and nurturing capacity to grow the seeds of vital ministries. If I am selected to serve as a Denominational Council Executive member, I will bring myself as a woman being racialized who embraces queerness and is willing to ask questions for equity. I will work collaboratively, with a respectful awareness of each person’s differences and the shared love of this United Church of ours. I will also bring to the table the deeper understanding of intersectionality in solidarity with linked struggles and hopes. As a person who defines our Christian calling to be a boundary-dweller like Jesus, I will work hard to nurture the culture of mutuality. I am excited about reimagining the new norms for radical welcoming and full participation of all peoples to become a vibrant, dynamic, diverse church where faith, race and intersecting identities all belong. In addition, I believe that my skills and experiences of promoting diversity and organizing cutting-edge intercultural and affirming ministry programming in the church, such as * Friendship Kitchen and ** Queer and Faithful (Please see the following summary of my recent involvement) would make a meaningful contribution to chart the new paths of the United Church, faithfully.
I believe in the wisdom of the circle and embracing the spirit of diversity as the way for shared life. As many indigenous sisters, brothers and kin teach us, the true shared life is inspired by a strong relationship between people and between communities; it should be deep-rooted in mystery — working of the Spirit — rather than exchanging one style of management for another style of management. In this sense, I am very excited to see our church calling diverse people to serve on the Denominational Executive, especially those who have been historically marginalized in church decision-making due to various kinds of barriers, to share their true desire for the church and their skills and visions coming from their lived experience. I feel called — It is a blessing to be hopeful and excited for our future and want to share myself: my identity, theology and passion.
Tell us about this nominee's gifts and experiences -- both in the United Church and outside of it.
My journey with the United Church began when I came to Canada in 2007 and enrolled as a student at Vancouver School of Theology in BC. At that time, intercultural ministry was evolving from established ethnic ministries and emerging as a strong, dynamic component of the United Church. Since then, this important ministry stream has shaped me and my ministry from the inside out. My first true encounter within the United Church was through my experience at Sounding the Bamboo (2007), the ethnic (or racialized and indigenous) women’s conference of the United Church. This intercultural conference does not continue in the present, yet I am grateful that I was able to embody the very important ethos of our church: empowering the underrepresented and supporting their leadership, to teach us how we can organize for diversity and translate our actions into a vital ministry.
• Young adult representative, Intercultural and Diverse Communities in Ministry Unit-wide Committee (formerly - ethnic ministries), General Council, 2007-8
• Student supply minister, solo ministry at Chemainus United Church, BC, 2012-14
• Translator, the first Mutual Recognition of Ministries consultation with the General Council of the Presbyterian Church of the Republic of Korea, Korea, 2013
• Minister at The United Church in Meadowood, Winnipeg, 2014-17
• Worship leader and preacher at the Annual Meeting of Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario Conference, Winnipeg, 2015
• Active member of New Pride group (serving LGBTQ+ newcomers in Winnipeg), Rainbow Resource Centre, 2016 to the present
• Chaplain, Zeebu Youth Conference and Centre for Christian Studies, Winnipeg, 2017
• Organizer, * Friendship Kitchen: free cooking classes for newcomers, (Intercultural ministry) at The United Church in Meadowood with the partnership with various organizations, 2017
• Minister at Immanuel United Church, Winnipeg, 2017 to the present
• The MNWO Conference Executive accepted my request/proposal to add one more principle under Guidelines for Electing Commissioners to General Council, 2018 (Draft) that at least 20 percent of the delegation be racialized or indigenous persons.
• Organizer of monthly planning meetings of ** Queer and Faithful: An interfaith project of reimagining an affirming space, finding a place where race, queerness and faith all belong (on behalf of the Affirming Ministries of Winnipeg Presbytery), 2018
by Manitoba Northwestern Ontario Conference
Nomination to Executive of Denominational Council, United Church of Canada
Please note if there are any other identities this nominee holds that might diversify and strengthen the church's leadership
Living in the intersectionality of race, gender, queerness and faith; immigrant woman; newcomer's perspective; queer person/woman of colour
Please provide a statement from the nominee on why they wish to serve on the Executive
I would like to enhance my contribution to the life of the United Church of Canada by becoming a Denominational Executive member. In this crucial time of restructuring, my gift of creating accountable theologies from lived experiences and my passion for the call toward equity will add to the voices of reason and experience already on the Council. I am passionate about remaking our church to truly be ours interculturally — our church as an open-ended and growing church which is ready and willing to be changed and transformed towards embracing diversity through strong relationships with all people. For this vision to succeed, we need to learn how to be a boundary-dweller, willing to let go of what separates us from the Others and removing the hierarchical structures which are tightly attached to White privilege, patriarchy and racism. Embracing diversity is not the same as domesticating differences and new voices under the existing models and rules. It is the thoughtful intention to listen to these voices, to reimagine the new norms of belonging and full participation of all peoples in the United Church. I am eager to serve our church.
I have strong confidence that our church is willing to be transformed through authentic, right relationships; engaging with differences and new voices of change as a life-giving asset for growth, not as a hostile ‘other’. As we move towards restructuring, we need all of us. We need to encourage and affirm proactive initiatives coming from the margins. To make that happen, we must operate on barrier-free principles for promoting radical welcoming, to distribute power fairly, and to persist with courage through the institutional resistance to change.
In our church, sexism and racism are still prevalent, and white privilege is real. Yet I have a strong confidence in the United Church’s work to strengthen equity in its body and its mothering and nurturing capacity to grow the seeds of vital ministries. If I am selected to serve as a Denominational Council Executive member, I will bring myself as a woman being racialized who embraces queerness and is willing to ask questions for equity. I will work collaboratively, with a respectful awareness of each person’s differences and the shared love of this United Church of ours. I will also bring to the table the deeper understanding of intersectionality in solidarity with linked struggles and hopes. As a person who defines our Christian calling to be a boundary-dweller like Jesus, I will work hard to nurture the culture of mutuality. I am excited about reimagining the new norms for radical welcoming and full participation of all peoples to become a vibrant, dynamic, diverse church where faith, race and intersecting identities all belong. In addition, I believe that my skills and experiences of promoting diversity and organizing cutting-edge intercultural and affirming ministry programming in the church, such as * Friendship Kitchen and ** Queer and Faithful (Please see the following summary of my recent involvement) would make a meaningful contribution to chart the new paths of the United Church, faithfully.
I believe in the wisdom of the circle and embracing the spirit of diversity as the way for shared life. As many indigenous sisters, brothers and kin teach us, the true shared life is inspired by a strong relationship between people and between communities; it should be deep-rooted in mystery — working of the Spirit — rather than exchanging one style of management for another style of management. In this sense, I am very excited to see our church calling diverse people to serve on the Denominational Executive, especially those who have been historically marginalized in church decision-making due to various kinds of barriers, to share their true desire for the church and their skills and visions coming from their lived experience. I feel called — It is a blessing to be hopeful and excited for our future and want to share myself: my identity, theology and passion.
Tell us about this nominee's gifts and experiences -- both in the United Church and outside of it.
My journey with the United Church began when I came to Canada in 2007 and enrolled as a student at Vancouver School of Theology in BC. At that time, intercultural ministry was evolving from established ethnic ministries and emerging as a strong, dynamic component of the United Church. Since then, this important ministry stream has shaped me and my ministry from the inside out. My first true encounter within the United Church was through my experience at Sounding the Bamboo (2007), the ethnic (or racialized and indigenous) women’s conference of the United Church. This intercultural conference does not continue in the present, yet I am grateful that I was able to embody the very important ethos of our church: empowering the underrepresented and supporting their leadership, to teach us how we can organize for diversity and translate our actions into a vital ministry.
• Young adult representative, Intercultural and Diverse Communities in Ministry Unit-wide Committee (formerly - ethnic ministries), General Council, 2007-8
• Student supply minister, solo ministry at Chemainus United Church, BC, 2012-14
• Translator, the first Mutual Recognition of Ministries consultation with the General Council of the Presbyterian Church of the Republic of Korea, Korea, 2013
• Minister at The United Church in Meadowood, Winnipeg, 2014-17
• Worship leader and preacher at the Annual Meeting of Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario Conference, Winnipeg, 2015
• Active member of New Pride group (serving LGBTQ+ newcomers in Winnipeg), Rainbow Resource Centre, 2016 to the present
• Chaplain, Zeebu Youth Conference and Centre for Christian Studies, Winnipeg, 2017
• Organizer, * Friendship Kitchen: free cooking classes for newcomers, (Intercultural ministry) at The United Church in Meadowood with the partnership with various organizations, 2017
• Minister at Immanuel United Church, Winnipeg, 2017 to the present
• The MNWO Conference Executive accepted my request/proposal to add one more principle under Guidelines for Electing Commissioners to General Council, 2018 (Draft) that at least 20 percent of the delegation be racialized or indigenous persons.
• Organizer of monthly planning meetings of ** Queer and Faithful: An interfaith project of reimagining an affirming space, finding a place where race, queerness and faith all belong (on behalf of the Affirming Ministries of Winnipeg Presbytery), 2018
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