Lydia Shiu

Pastor, Director of Social Justice and Action

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Lydia was born in South Korea and moved to the United States when she was 9 years old. She moved around from Georgia, to Kansas, and to California throughout her childhood. She has a B.A in Political Science from UCLA and worked in political campaigns after college. She obtained a Masters in Divinity from San Francisco Theological Seminary and is now ordained in the PCUSA (Presbyterian Church of USA). Also, she is the co-founder of the Progressive Asian American Christian Facebook Group.

She grew up as a pastor’s kid, teaching Sunday School, playing the piano for the church choir, and was the president of her youth group. But in college, she felt distant from church and began to have doubts and questions about Christianity all together. She went through seasons of deconstruction and reconstruction in seminary where liberation and womanist theologies helped her wrestle and reckon with faith. After seminary she worked at City Church of San Francisco for 7 years where she worked with community groups, organized retreats and led events on topics like singleness, womanhood, and faith intersecting with vocation.

At Reservoir, she works in engaging faith with social justice and action through the Faith Into Action network. She leads Reservoir’s Equity Diversity and Inclusion (REDI) Team. She also oversees the Kids and Youth Ministry. She loves to preach and teach about the Bible as it relates to our everyday lives. And in her personal life she most enjoys mindfulness practices, yoga, and being present with her husband and two kids.