Asian American Cohort
Where Grown Ass Women/Folks meets Asian American Racial Justice Work
Creating space for us to build nourishing community, learn together, and explore what it means for us to lead as Asian American women, queer folks, and non-binary Asian Americans.
This will be a year long cohort that is a mix of online and in person gatherings.
Applications close August 26.
Cohort Details
The Dream
Starting summer 2020 I, Erna, began offering 6 to 8 week online cohorts for Asian American folks to address anti-Blackness in our own communities, as well as patriarchy, Asian American centered Biblical interpretation, and ethnic identity. It was a wonderful and sacred space during a difficult couple of years. But the cohorts always felt like a beginning. We were only able to dip our toe into each of the topics. After hosting ten of those cohorts, it seemed like it was time to explore a more immersive way of coming together. We needed a place to go deeper.
This is where Grown Ass Women Cohort meets
Asian American Racial Justice Work
Grown Ass Women/Folks
As Grown Ass Women/folks we carry the weight of leadership. All the pressures of managing up, trying to care for the POC coming up behind us, taking on additional committees, all while needing to do the job we were hired to do.
We care about racial justice, we want to be a good leader, we want to help make real change, but its not always clear how to navigate the complexity. There are fewer and fewer places where we can just talk about what is going on without editing ourselves.
This is a cohort for Grown Ass Asian Americans who need a place to really process and to exhale and figure it out.
These are the dynamics that folks in this cohort navigate
Asian American Racial Justice Work
A place to cultivate lasting community- making friends as an adult is hard!
Room to explore our own stories
Opportunities to look at the Bible in a way that centeres our lived experience
And deeper conversation around what it means to do racial justice work as Asian Americans
There are very few spaces where we can exhale and bring our full selves, our spiritual lives, our racial and cultural selves, our value for justice, and the complexity of navigating all that as a leader. This is a place for us to bring our full selves and press into deeper exploration and conversation about living and leading at the intersection of these identities in this current political and cultural moment.
A bit of the story behind this cohorts creation
If you prefer video over reading, check out this video by Erna. You’ll learn more about the cohort and the values that are shaping it.
Who is the cohort for?
This cohort is for anyone who falls under the larger umbrella term Asian American: multi-racial folks, adoptees, SE Asian, South Asian, as well as East Asian folks.
It is for queer, non-binary, and late in life queers- folks who are just beginning to explore being queer. As well as for straight folks.
It if for folks over 30, who have already taken some steps to live into an ethic of racial justice. That can be expressed in any context, as a teacher, SAHM, DEI specialist in tech, a doctor, entrepreneur, non-profit manager. The age is set at 30 and older so that we can talk about these topics from a place of real world experience and navigating the complexity of being a manager or leader that has to juggle multiple competing values.
This cohort is for folks who have been shaped by Christianity in some way. There is no expectation that you are currently attending church. But we will talk about liberative Biblical interpretation, Asian American and queer centered theology, and reclaiming cultural practices. So the expectation would be that you are open to and desirous of these types of conversations and curious about ways to connect with Creator.
This cohort is open to folks who have done the 8 week Asian American cohort and to those who have not.
About the Money
We can be creative about the money! You can pay monthly over 18 months or even 24 months. You can do a mix of getting some scholarship, asking your church or community to donate, and making monthly payments. I have to set a price that will truly cover expenses, but don’t let the amount be a deterrent. Unfortunately, because of the cost of two in person retreats, I can’t green light every scholarship request for any amount. But the most important thing is discerning if the cohort is a good fit for who you are and your leadership at this time. We can tackle the money creatively.
How is the cohort structured?
The cohort has 2 main phases.
Phase 1 is about building shared frameworks and language, and beginning to hear each others stories. We will bring in outside guides and teachers as it feels helpful.
Phase 1
Creating a shared foundation, building community, sharing story
Weekly zoom meetings Wednesdays 6:00-7:30pm Pacific
September 27, Oct 4, 11, 18, 25, Nov 1, 8, 15, 29, Dec 6, 13. Jan 24
In person Retreat Feb 8-11
$1500 for the online portion in the fall.
$1800 for the in person retreat, which includes flight, housing, meals and content
The reason we include the flights in our conference cost is so that each person pays the same amount for travel. We do this to create a more equitable approach to our in person gatherings.
Total for Phase 1- $3,300
Phase 2
Now that we have a relational foundation we will begin to dive deeper into exploring theology that centers the lived experience of Asian American women/folks and what it means for us to lead in an authentic and integrated way, particularly in racial justice work.
We will meet twice monthly as a whole group.
There will be smaller gatherings between meetings to do deeper work on chosen topics.
Two 35 minutes coaching sessions with Erna
In person Retreat July 25-28, 2024
$1500 for online gathering and coaching.
$1800 for in person retreat includes flight, housing, meals and content
Total for Phase 2- $3,300
Total for the year $6,600
Don’t let the money freak you out! There are payment plans and some scholarships available. We can be creative about the money, so don’t let that shape the entire process.
Folks will make a $600 deposit to accept their spot and after that monthly or quarterly payments are available.
How big is the cohort?
The cohort will be 15 people or less.
What is the time commitment?
Weekly zoom gatherings, active participation in our closed online group and some readings.
You will need between 3 and 4 hours a week for the cohort. That includes the zoom gatherings and outside time spent reading, reflecting, connecting.
We ask that folks who accept a spot in the cohort make attendance and participation a priority. Folks need to commit to making all the online gatherings and both in person gatherings. We understand that things come up, folks get sick, or there is a work conflict. But we ask that wherever things are under your control, you make the choice to be present to the cohort. During our zoom gathering we ask folks to be fully present and not multi-tasking, grocery shopping, etc.
In addition to the actual gatherings, we ask that folks have capacity to build relationship and learn. If you are in the midst of major transitions, family crisis, or simply in a season where you don’t have capacity to be a part of a new community, then please do not take a spot at this time. This is a sacred space and it takes commitment to create the community.
The Facilitator
Erna Kim Hackett
Erna Kim Hackett is a leader, preacher, and public theologian focussed on fostering communities of healing, justice, and liberation for women of color.
She was raised in the Korean Immigrant church in Seattle. After college Erna spent 18 years working with a white evangelical college ministry, where she focussed on social justice programs and Black Campus Ministries. In 2018, she accepted the role of Executive Pastor at The Way Christian Center, a historically Black church committed to social justice.
Erna earned her Masters in Intercultural Studies from the Institute for Indigenous Theological Studies, deepening her understanding of Indigenous worldview and exploring the intersections of faith, decolonial frameworks, and justice. She currently serves on the Board for the Eloheh Indigenous Center for Earth Justice.
In 2019, Erna founded Liberated Together, a sanctuary for women of color on their journey of deconstructing Christianity. Through Liberated Together cohorts, she creates a space for women of color, queer WOC, and non-binary folks to reconstruct their faith through liberative theology, decolonized social justice approaches, and radical solidarity across racial lines.
In 2023, Erna launched Liberated Together Spiritual Direction School to provide training for WOC, Queer WOC, and non-binary individuals to serve their own communities
Erna has been married for 16 years to a straight white guy that she really likes. No kids, by choice. Two dogs that she really loves. And a passion for hiking and cheese.
What I really love about being in this cohort is having a space to be transparent and vulnerable to people who I don’t have to explain myself to!
I love the space to come as you are even if it’s a hot mess inside a dumpster fire! Turns out I’m not the only hot mess and these women will bring me to Jesus even if they have to carry me on their backs!
There is something sacred about women of color holding space for one another when life has left you tired and prickly.
Member of Grown Ass Woman Cohort