Episcopalians send thousands of origami cranes to Olympia for detained immigrants

[Episcopal News Service] Episcopalians from the United States and France folded and donated more than 5,000 origami cranes to the Diocese of Olympia ahead of the church’s Asiamerica Ministries’ annual retreat for Episcopal clergy and lay leaders of Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander – AANHPI – heritage.

The cranes were strung together and brought to a shrine in front of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s detention center in Tacoma, Washington, where the 70 retreat participants gathered to pray for peace and solidarity with detained migrants.

“Each crane sent to us was a prayer, and at the vigil we were all praying together with everyone who folded paper cranes,” the Rev. Jo Ann Lagman, The Episcopal Church’s missioner for Asiamerica Ministries and a Filipina American, told Episcopal News Service. “To me, it was quite healing.”

Lagman noted that some Quakers who are part of an ecumenical Bible study group with Episcopalians in Pensacola, Florida, also made and shipped origami cranes ahead of the April 15-17 pilgrimage and retreat.

The idea to make origami cranes came from Tsuru for Solidarity, a nonviolent, direct-action campaign project of Japanese American social justice advocates. They are working to end immigration detention sites and support immigrant communities by advocating for fair immigration policies and other means.

In Japanese culture, the crane, or “tsuru” in Japanese, symbolizes transformation, healing and nonviolence. Origami “tsurus” are called “orizurus,” and they are frequently used to honor Japanese American victims and survivors of concentration camps during World War II.

The origami project aligned with this year’s theme, “Let it Not Happen Again.” The phrase is the guiding motto of the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial, which was one of several pilgrimage sites the group visited.

“The theme … is not just about caring for others in general, but also to remember that our ancestors went through a similar journey,” said the Rev. Janelle Hiroshige, associate for youth and community partnerships at the Hiroshige, who is of Japanese descent, assisted with this year’s retreat preparations. “It’s about remembering to make sure that others don’t experience things like, and to give us the courage and the strength to keep working for justice.”

Some 60,311 migrants and asylum-seekers are in ICE custody, according to the latest ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Patrol data compiled by NBC News.

During the retreat, the pilgrims visited additional sites throughout the Diocese of Olympia that are significant to AANHPI history and culture, including St. Peter’s Episcopal Parish, a historically Japanese church in Seattle whose congregation includes the descendants of victims and survivors of concentration camps during World War II. They also toured the Filipino community Village in Seattle and joined members of the Church of the Holy Apostles, a Chinese congregation in Bellevue, for dinner. Southern Philippines Bishop Ernie Martin Moral led opening prayer before the meal.

Alan Murray, a board member of the Episcopal Coalition for Racial Equity and Justice and a member of the Episcopal Church in Western Oregon’s Commission on Ministry, described the shared meal as “breaking bread.”

“It was like we got to see Christ present among us, and also we started to recognize each other and who we are as we gathered together for the breaking of the bread,” Murray, who is Singaporean American, told ENS. “I think it was so powerful for us as Asian people.”

The pilgrims visited the Tacoma Chinese Reconciliation Park, a garden space that commemorates the violent expulsion of about 200 Chinese residents from Tacoma and the subsequent destruction of Chinese-owned businesses and residences in 1885. At the park, they followed a Stations of the Cross designed by the Rev. Arienne Davison, the Diocese of Olympia’s canon to the ordinary.

This custom Stations of the Cross reflected the timeline of the Chinese expulsion from Tacoma. One station, for example, depicted a pastor preaching anti-Chinese violence before the expulsion began, and another depicted someone telling the same preacher that he was going to cause more trouble by speaking out.

“These moments really reflect the cruciform reality that Chinese Americans experienced 141 years ago,” Davison, who is Chinese American, told ENS. “I intentionally designed this Stations of the Cross to help everyone understand that what happened to Jesus happened over and over again throughout history and is happening now with immigrants at detention centers.”

Davison noted that the ICE detention center can be seen from Chinese Reconciliation Park.

“With the prayer stations, we entered history so that we could go deep into the place where the violence happened and turn our attention to the place where the violence is happening now,” she said.

Lagman described the gathering and origami crane project as “really transformative.”

“People learned some of their ancestral history that they hadn’t considered before or looked at with that lens, in that context, and to do it with community,” Lagman said. “This experience is something that they are reflecting on and will continue to reflect on for a long time.”

–Shireen Korkzan is a reporter and assistant editor for Episcopal News Service. She can be reached at skorkzan@episcopalchurch.org.