PASADENA — ISAAC, the nationally recognized organization on Asian American Christianity, will be honoring Bishop Roy Sano for his pioneering leadership that bridged the academy and the church at the fifth Equipping Symposium’s Legacy Luncheon on Oct. 5 at Evergreen Baptist Church of San Gabriel Valley.
Rev. Dr. Young Lee Hertig, ISAAC executive director, notes that “Bishop Roy Sano, as a survivor of FDR’s Executive Order 9066 along with 110,000 other Japanese Americans, was forced to relocate into internment camps after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. These early experiences have shaped Bishop Sano’s conviction for both grace and justice. It is only right that Bishop Sano is recognized and honored by ISAAC.”
Sano holds degrees from UCLA, UnionTheological Seminary in New York City, the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, and Claremont Graduate University.
He served in student pastorates, and upon his ordination he served in Loomis, San Jose, and Los Angeles. Later, he was the chaplain and taught at Mills College in Oakland and served on the faculty of Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley.
From 1972-78, Sano was director of the Pacific and Asian American Center for Theology and Strategies in Berkeley.
Sano was elected to the Episcopacy in 1984, and served the Denver and Los Angeles areas until his retirement in 2000. He was assigned to several boards and agencies of the UMC. He was a delegate to five plenary sessions of the Consultation on Church Union, and to three assemblies of the WCC. He was the president of the Council of Bishops, 1991-92; COB liaison to Association of United Methodist Theological Schools, 2000-04; and the first executive secretary of the Council of Bishops, 2004-08.
ISAAC’s fifth symposium, “Healing of Memories, Healing of Finances,” on how wounded memories about money can debilitate ministry both psychologically and financially, will feature leaders from the financial, academic, and religious arenas. The aim is to become better stewards of our body, mind, and finances.
Since 2006, ISAAC has helped church leaders, educators and scholars understand and serve the Asian American Christian community.
For registration information, email info@isaacweb.org.