Making Paper Cranes: Toward an Asian American Feminist Theology (The Young Clergy Women Project)

Drawing on memories of making paper cranes with her mother at the kitchen table, Mihee Kim-Kort begins with one of her favorite stories from childhood about the tradition of making a thousand cranes. Intrigued by the symbol of the crane, she explores the migrations and movements of the community of Asian American women. What results is a theological endeavor that engages the social histories, literary texts, and narratives of Asian American women as well as the constructive theologies of feminist and liberation theologians. But, it is ultimately one young woman's embrace of living into this community and identity, and articulating a particular theology that is hopefully accessible to all who have experienced powerlessness and marginalization. Simply put, Making Paper Cranes is about Asian American mothers, daughters, sisters, and women who courageously discover the grace in the struggle, the survival, and the song.