Giving thanks for the past while looking ahead to a promising future was the theme of Tuesday’s National Asian Presbytery Council (NAPC) dinner at the 219th General Assembly (2010).

“I want to thank you, because many of us have grown up and been raised in this church by the NAPC,” said outgoing GA Moderator Bruce Reyes-Chow. “For many of us, the ministries we are engaged in would not be possible if not for the work of many of you.”

“We want to remember the names of the people who have struggled and often not been recognized, but who have stood up for justice and have enabled us to be here,” said Reyes-Chow.

“We have so much to offer in the unique nature of what it means to be an Asian-American,” said Reyes-Chow. “How we offer that and live that out for our children in the next generation is the way that we will honor what God has done in the past.”

Former Moderator, the Rev. Syngman Rhee also spoke at the dinner.

“At the first NAPC in 1972, there were 30 or 40 Asians,” recalled Rhee. “It was a wonderful beginning, and we have grown a lot.”

Rhee pointed out the important of NAPC members not breaking into separate groups based on nationality.

“Under the umbrella of Asian identity there will be more strength and a more united front, said Rhee. Without that united strength, our part in the church and what we can contribute will be minimized.”

There are more than 600 Asian congregations nationwide with more than 70,000 members.