One Love – My Experience at Taiwanese Presbyterian Church of Washington – Denise Anderson

Guest Director’s Note: Denise Anderson and I found each other through colleagues and presbytery meetings!  She has invited me to do pulpit supply on occasion.  Also, she has shared with me the passion this young community has for service in the community.  This is very new for them and not something they grew up with.  I am very excited to stand with Denise and HOT, as they grow deeper in their faithfulness and theology.

Since September, I’ve had the privilege of serving as a Pastoral Assistant at Taiwanese Presbyterian
Church in Wheaton. Every week I lead worship, preach, and teach Bible Study and Young Adult Sunday
School for the House of Transformation, which is TPC’s English‐language component. It’s the kind of
opportunity most Inquirers and Candidates pray for, and to say it’s been enriching would be a gross
understatement. It has stretched me immensely, taking me out of my comfort zone in nearly every way
imaginable. And yet, at the same time it’s felt so natural and organic.

What most people say when I tell them what I’m doing is, “Wow… what is that like?” They’re asking this
for a number of reasons. For one thing, this is my first taste of full‐time ministry. They want to know
what it’s like to go from preaching and teaching only occasionally to now doing it every single week. To
that, I simply say, “Thank God for Jesus and the lectionary!” Finding my rhythm has been challenging,
but actually quite invigorating – and in many ways, validating. It has taught me that I can indeed do it
and do it successfully.

The second reason people ask me this question is they want to know what it’s like for me – an African‐
American woman – to minister in a predominantly Asian congregation. While I am of course not
ignorant of our differences, I must say those differences are not as palpable as one might expect. I
experience my friends there as people who, like me, are deeply connected to their heritage and their
community and at the same time are incredibly devoted to their God. I learned a long time ago not to
look for certain formulas or criteria when entering a worship experience. Do not expect the music to be
familiar. Do not require the order of worship to meet the standards of what you’re used to seeing. And
certainly do not expect the people to look or speak like you. Instead, simply look for God. Seek the Holy
Spirit’s presence and work in all of it. Every time I am in their midst, I feel the Spirit at work, which is
why being there has never felt (if you will forgive the expression) foreign to me. It is always my prayer
that as I serve them I’ll be an open and malleable instrument of the Holy Spirit that unites us all.

The portion of the congregation I serve consists mostly of second‐generation Taiwanese American and
Korean American members of TPC and Wheaton Community Church. Most of them are under or around
30 years of age. This is a congregation full of energy, creativity, and willingness to serve. When I look at
them, I see the future of our denomination and the future of the universal church. Their voices are the
ones the PCUSA is doing well to amplify. They are the ones who will enrich our tradition culturally,
hermeneutically, and liturgically and consequently broaden our witness. One of the things I value most
about seeking ordination in the PCUSA is that I know it is in this tradition that my perspective and
experience are not only necessary, but are also highly valued. While I still have some people who look at
me like I’m a unicorn when I tell them I’m Presbyterian (“But, you’re black!”), I’m encouraged by the
strides we continue to make in affirming our youth, women, and people of color.

More than our differences, I’d like to think my service at TPC has highlighted our similarities. I’ve learned
so much from them culturally and spiritually, and prayerfully they can say the same about me.
Ultimately, what has been most evident for all of us is that we are indeed of one body and one Spirit all
called to one hope (Ephesians 4:4).

Denise Anderson is a Candidate in the NCP under the care of Prince George’s Community Presbyterian Church. She currently serves as a Pastoral Assistant at Taiwanese Presbyterian Church in Wheaton, where she leads the English-language Ministry.  Denise can be reached at denisemonty@verizon.net