The Diocese of West Missouri will host the 2025 Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Episcopal Clergy and Lay Leadership Retreat in Kansas City.
From April 2-4 the 2025 AAPI Clergy and Lay Leadership Retreat will be meeting at Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral for their fifth annual gathering. Over 50 AAPI Episcopal clergy and lay leaders from across the country (coming from as far away as Guam) will gather for three days to network, discern, focus on personal identity issues, and discuss the church’s role to empower and strengthen Asian Americans, the fastest growing ethnic group in the country.
Bishop Bruce and Bishop Allen Shin from The Episcopal Diocese of New York co-founded this group and held the first gathering in person in Los Angeles, then online during the pandemic. Later, the group held retreats in Austin, Texas and Portland, Oregon.
Philip Lofflin, Senior Warden at St. Mary’s of Kansas City, is attending this retreat for the third time and serving as co-chair. The Rev. Katie Nakamura Rengers serves as the other co-chair and is the staff officer for church planting in the presiding bishop’s office. The Rev. Jo Ann Jaén Lagman has also provided support for the retreat and is the Asiamerica missioner for The Episcopal Church.
“I would like to thank Bishop Diane Jardine Bruce, Canon Shirley Bolden, and the Diversity and Reconciliation Commission for supporting the AAPI retreat this year. I would also like to thank The Very Rev. Dr. Andy Keyse and the staff at Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral for being such gracious hosts.” said Philip Lofflin.
Asked about why this conference is important, Bishop Bruce shared, “When I travel around the diocese, I see faces of people who aren’t represented in our churches but SHOULD be. We have AAPI leaders in this diocese who have felt neglected. The work of this conference is to give them strength to continue in their journey of faith and grow the circle of this ministry. It is a blessing that the AAPI Leadership Conference is coming to Kansas City!”
To register for the AAPI conference in Kansas City, please click the link below.
For more information on Asiamerica Ministries in The Episcopal Church, please visit https://www.episcopalchurch.org/ministries/asiamerica-ministries/ or https://www.facebook.com/episcopalasiamericaministries/.
This article was submitted by Philip Lofflin, the 2025 Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Episcopal Clergy and Lay Leadership co-chair and Senior Warden at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Kansas City.
