MACU Highlights Asian-American Culture with Semi-Annual Celebration

November 2nd, 2017

OKLAHOMA CITY– Every semester, Mid-America Christian University holds the Celebration of Culture: an event that highlights the rich diversity of the world and the God that binds all cultures together.

MACU continued that tradition Oct. 6-8 when the university offered its students, faculty and staff members a closer look at the traditions behind Asian-Americans, an ethnic group that makes up about two percent of Oklahoma’s population.

Festivities began Oct. 6 in MACU’s JASCO Chapel, where performers and representatives of the Confucius Institute of Norman drummed, danced and lectured the audience on the history behind various Japanese and Chinese traditions.

As the keynote speaker, Rev. Jayson John of New Life Bible Church combined his testimony with his experience as an Asian-American from India. John’s family immigrated from the southern Indian state of Kerala, where Christians trace their origins directly to the evangelistic activity of Thomas the Apostle.

After a thematic lunch of sesame chicken, broccoli beef, eggrolls and sugar donuts, a van of MACU students traveled to Military Park in the heart of Oklahoma City’s Asian District for a community service project.

On Saturday, Oct. 7, student groups returned to Military Park for the Lunar Moon Festival. Hosted by the Vietnamese Community Church of Oklahoma, the Lunar Moon Festival is a harvest festival celebrated by ethnic Vietnamese and Chinese people. The event featured dragon dances, dance performances, food trucks, games and more.

To wrap up the Celebration of Culture, MACU students, faculty and staff members joined the Vietnamese Community Church of Oklahoma for their Sunday morning service on Oct. 8. After services, the groups came together for a traditional Vietnamese lunch and fellowship with Rev. An Linh Nguyen, who pastors the church.

MACU holds the Celebration of Culture in the fall and spring semesters. The festive chapel services and community projects are used to raise awareness of various cultures on local and global levels.

“By introducing our students to different cultures in chapel, and by giving them opportunities to take part and meet people who share that culture, we help them see race and diversity through the eyes of God,” said Dr. Eric Joseph, Vice President for Strategic Initiatives at MACU.

Between its traditional on-campus students and non-traditional, adult students who take classes online or once a week on-ground, more than half of the MACU student body identifies as being a minority.