The second Executive Council meeting of the 39th biennial Kyodan General Assembly period was a special session held on Feb. 10, 2015 at the Japan Evangelical Lutheran’s Tokyo Church, with 29 members in attendance.*

As this was an extraordinary meeting, there were only four agenda items: determining subsidies for evangelism, work on remodeling the Japan Christian Center building to bring it up to earthquake standards, the selection of an Executive Committee member, and continued relief efforts related to the East Japan earthquake.

At the beginning of the meeting, Moderator Ishibashi Hideo reported that a prayer meeting had taken place on January 29 on behalf of the Japanese hostages being held by ISIS in Syria. With respect to the subsidies for evangelism, applications were received from 14 districts. At the subcommittee meeting on Feb. 6, each application was reviewed and all were accepted, with the total subsidies for all of the programs amounting to 51,253,000 yen.

Of the total planned budget for the earthquake retrofitting of the Japan Christian Center building, which is expected to be 280 million yen, it was decided that the Kyodan’s upper limit for its portion of the cost would be 60 million yen but that it would also loan the building maintenance union an additional amount of up to 40 million yen.

Regarding the selection of a new Executive Committee member, Sugimori Yoko was chosen to replace a member who had resigned after being elected to the ten-member committee at the first Executive Council meeting. It was also decided to provide funds for the rebuilding of churches and parsonages that were damaged due to the East Japan Disaster in the form of loans totaling 200 million yen from the denomination’s church building fund, with repayment over a 15-year period. Executive Secretary Iijima Makoto reported that for fiscal years 2015 and 2016, a total of 350 million yen was budgeted for ongoing relief efforts, and loans would be necessary for that purpose. (Tr. TB)

—Kato Makoto, executive secretary

*Due to the limited space in the temporary headquarters building, this nearby church is sometimes rented.

第39総会期第2回（臨時）常議員会報告

　第39総会期第2回（臨時）常議員会が、2月10日、日本福音ルーテル東京教会会議室にて、常議員29名の出席で開催された。

本常議員会は臨時であるため、伝道交付金決定、日本キリスト教会館耐震工事、常任常議員選出、東日本救 援対策の４件のみの審議となった。

会議の冒頭、石橋秀雄議長は、シリアで武装勢力に拘束された日本人解放のための祈祷会を2月29日に開催したことを報告した。

伝道交付金については、交付申請を14教区から受付け、2月6日の小委員会審査を経て、本常議員会においてすべて申請通り交付を決定した。申請総額は5125万3千円である。

日本キリスト教会館耐震改修工事費用概算目論見書では、費用として2億8千万円が見込まれている。これに対して教団負担分6千万円を限度として支出し、会館管理組合へは4千万円を限度として融資することを可決した。

常任常議員選出に関しては、第1回常議員会で選出した常任常議員1名の辞退申し出を事情止む得ないものとして承認し、新たに杉森耀子(Sugimuri Yoko)常議員を選任した。常任常議員の定員は10名。

東日本大震災救援対策に関しては、被災教会会堂・牧師館再建の貸付資金として、会堂共済組合より2億円を借り入れることを決定した。返済は貸付先からの返済金を順次充て、15年で完済する計画である。飯島信担当幹事からは、15，16年