Citation for William Wong '81

Bill Wong was born in Los Angeles at French Hospital in Chinatown to Edward and Donna Wong.  His father had been born in San Francisco but returned at a young age to China.  They each experienced terrible hardships during World War II, which propelled Edward to return to the US in 1945, and Donna in 1949.  Edward was manager of GW Fish and Poultry Market in Los Angeles Chinatown.  On Bill’s first day in kindergarten, the teacher complained to Donna, his mother, that he didn’t follow directions and had to stay after school. Dona explained that Bill spoke only Chinese. The teacher still wanted to discipline Bill by keeping him after school. Donna then took Bill to the principal and changed his kindergarten class.

The family moved to South Central Los Angeles and bought a house, which is now the present location of Crenshaw High School, and then moved to the town of Montebello, which is on the 60 (Pomona) freeway.  PLTS alum Wilson Wu had started a Chinese language school at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Monterey Park, ten minutes away, and the Wong children attended.  Bill comments that Pastor Wu was from northern China and the Chinese in the Monterey Park and Montebello area were from southern China. His main language was Mandarin and everybody else spoke Cantonese. Needless to say, Pastor Wu taught and preached in English.

Bill attended the University of Southern California with the goal to become a dentist.  Unfortunately he did not receive acceptance into dental school.  He ended up working for the City of Monterey Park as an administrative assistant in the finance department, in purchasing, licensing and cashiering.  He researched vocations – public administration, public health, insurance.  Church vocations was on the bottom of his list.  But he volunteered a lot at St. Paul’s, and his mom asked why he shouldn’t get paid for it.  Bill asked Pastor Ed Petersen, another PLTS alum, what opportunities there were for lay workers, to which his response was, not much, but you’d make a good pastor.  Bill wrestled with those words and experienced a sense of peace in saying yes.  When he shared the news with his family at a dinner, there were tears, not of joy, and threats of disinheritance.  His grandmother in particular had heard complaints from some friends about their pastors, and she didn’t want her grandson to go through that experience.

Bill had a tour of PLTS in 1976 and met Reg Schultz-Akerson, with whom he had been classmates at Alhambra High School.  It was a good connection and Bill began seminary study the next fall.  Up until that time, Bill wasn’t consciously Chinese-American.  But besides Frank Aguirre and a student from Namibia, the school was mostly white.  He was puzzled at intra-Scandanavian jokes.  He didn’t feel like he fit, and was consequently quiet.  Barbara Varenhorst taught Bill the practice of knowing and expressing his gifts.  What?  He had been taught that actions speak louder than words.

Professor Ed Yee kept him going in his second semester.  Said Ed, “You need to be careful not to be bleached.”  Ed became god-parent to his daughters. During Bill’s second year at PLTS, he joined with Pastor Will Herzfeld, Dr. Ed Yee,  graduate student Richard Wallace, and other seminarians of color, to form Minority Seminarians for Wholistic Liberation. Bill spent internship year at St. James in Seattle.  Upon returning, he visited Ebenezer Lutheran Church in San Francisco and met his wife-to-be, Linnea.  They were married right before his ordination.

Bill’s first call was to Faith-Evergreen in San Jose, as a redeveloper.  Church authorities wanted to close the congregation, but Bill refused, working at restoring the members’ harmed trust in the larger church and organizing what is now Grace, San Jose.

His second call was to Tanque Verde Lutheran Church in Tucson, to be an associate with PLTS grad Frank Nausin.  The congregation was growing so quickly, it was on the verge of being overwhelming.  Their strong team ministry made it work.

Bill was then tapped, in the beginning of the ELCA with the new position of Director for Asian Ministries in the Commission for Multicultural Ministries.  He had to invent the necessary programs of networking and advocacy, developing relationships with synod staffs, colleague pastors and other leaders of Asian descent, including ecumenical leaders.  He became a kind of auxiliary bishop to Asian pastors.  He was impressed by the dedication of Asian pastors to sharing Jesus Christ.  He assisted them in securing access to continuing education and mediated between them and the structure.  As in other work, he worked to humanize the institution.  He also staffed the beginning of the Arab and Middle Eastern heritage group.

Eventually the Chicago winters became too much for his family.  Bill was called to Lutheran Church of the Incarnation in Davis, California.  There he grew the congregation under the guidance of Roy Oswald, helping the campus/professor-oriented congregation to develop its spiritual life and edge its mission forward.

After six-plus years, new bishop David Mullen picked him up as an assistant.  Bill enjoyed the administrative and bureaucratic work very much.  He understood that institutions are by nature slow moving and he attempted to influence it.  He was responsible for candidacy, call processes and interim pastors.  He partnered with PLTS and put forward his desire for good outcomes and positive interaction between this seminary and the candidacy committee,

When Bishop Mark Holmerud was elected, Bill was let go. Bill then received a call to become assistant to Bishop Cal Holloway of the Southern Ohio Synod.  He had geographical area responsibilities for the Central Ohio conference, around Columbus.  He was surprised that he could visit anywhere in the synod and be back to sleep in his own bed.  He related the area was like congregations in the California Central Valley.  He dealt with some of the nineteen congregations who left the ELCA after the 2009 Churchwide vote to allow for LGBT pastors in open, committed relationships.  The opening convention of the North American Lutheran Church, an ELCA split-off, was held at Upper Arlington Lutheran Church, a Columbus congregation.

When synod finances became sparser and he was laid off, Bill determined to investigate interim ministry possibilities back in California.  He eventually landed at Cross and Crown in Rohnert Park.  Then as that interim finished, he went to Hope in Fresno, then Faith in Castro Valley, and then to St. Paul in Fullerton.  He will begin at Peace in Grass Valley on October 1.  Not being occupied with developing long-term relationships, in interim ministry he has helped congregations to move forward, not himself being in control of what comes next.

In his ministry, Bill is glad that the good days outnumber the bad ones.  He has sought to be faithful to God and go where the Spirit blows. Originally, he thought he’d be thirty years as a parish pastor in California.  When he went to Arizona, he told Linnea that they would not move further East! Then the next call was in Chicago. God had a sense of humor. Bill discovered that many Asian pastors do things for God and gospel without much institutional support while making ends meet in other ways.  He sees himself as a parish pastor disguised as a church bureaucrat, called to offer support and care for congregations and rostered colleagues.  Nevertheless, Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary is proud to bestow on Rev. William Wong the 2018 Alum Award for Distinguished Ministry in Special Service.