by Iizuka Takuya, director
Mitsukaido Church Volunteer Center
Pastor, Ryugasaki Church
On Sept. 10, 2015, flooding from heavy rain concentrated in the area of Joso City in Ibaraki Prefecture claimed the lives of eight people. Added to the loss of life was the loss of houses carried away by torrents of water and the flooding of countless homes.
Mitsukaido Church and Futaba Kodomoen Preschool and Kindergarten, which is connected to it, also suffered considerable damage from the flooding. The rain that fell on Sept. 10 broke through a river dike and flowed into the lower areas of the district where the church and nursery are located. The depth was reported to have reached 120 centimeters (almost 4 feet) by dawn on Sept. 11. Flooding reached 30~40 centimeters above the floor of the church, while it reached 50 centimeters above the floor of the parsonage. Mud and debris were removed; floors and walls were washed; and everything was cleaned. The carpeting inside the sanctuary was removed, and the flooring was cleaned and sanitized. New carpeting has been put down, and the sanctuary has been made ready for use again. Many things damaged by water had to be discarded.
After the water had receded, those affected gathered at Mitsukaido Church on the evening of Sept. 13, 2015, and after discussion decided together to establish the “Mitsukaido Church Volunteer Center.” Subsequently, volunteers have helped in the cleaning and disposal of waste at the church, the preschool and kindergarten, and in the homes of church members and others affected by flooding. The pastors of Mitsukaido Church, Kato Hisayuki and Kato Kiseko, relocated to Mitsukaido Elementary School following evacuation orders on Sept. 11 but were able to return to the parsonage on the evening of Sept. 14.
The flood came just after construction had begun on the new Futaba Kodomoen Preschool and Kindergarten building. Three of our buses and two automobiles cannot be used due to flood damage. Washing, sanitation, cleaning, and putting things in order are now our daily tasks. However, our most important challenge is restarting our nursery program.
Added to this, of course, is the continued work of addressing the damage suffered in the homes of our church members, our staff, and families connected to our preschool and kindergarten. There is also the continued work of cleaning, arranging, and dealing with the disposal of debris. We are steadily moving toward restoration, but completion will require a bit more time.
As a result of the flooding, people have lost family members and homes. As a church and nursery suffering from our own loss, we are striving to walk together with our neighbors who are also suffering. As a church and preschool sharing this pain and challenge, please hold us in your prayers. (Tr. JS)
—From Shinto no Tomo (Believers’ Friend)
November 2015 issue
『信徒の友』2015年11月号p24-25
茨城・水海道教会 二葉こども園
台風禍の大水害で教会と園舎が浸水
水海道教会ボランティアセンター統括主任、竜ヶ崎教会牧師 飯塚拓也
9月10日 に茨城県常総市を中心に大雨が襲い、死者8名 （9月16日 現在）が出たほか家屋の流出、床上浸水など多くの被害をもたらしました。この大水害によって水海道教会と関連施設の二葉こども園が大きな被害を受けました。10日 に降った大雨の水が、11日 の未明より教会と園がある一帯の低地に流れ込み、場所によって最大で120cmに まで達したそうです。
水が引いたあとの13日夕方に、関係者が水海道教会に集まって話し合い、同教会に「水海道教会ボランティアセンター」を設置することを決定しました。以降、 ボランティアが教会と二葉こども園、教会員・関係者宅の清掃と片付け、廃棄物の運搬にあたっています。加藤久幸・加藤輝勢子牧師夫妻 は、11日 の避難指示以降、近くの水海道小学校に避難していましたが、14日の夜より牧師館に戻りました。
教会は会堂が床上30～40cmまで、牧師館は床上50cmま で水に漬かったので床や壁を洗い、泥や汚れをふき取って清掃しました。礼拝堂内部の床はカーペットを全面撤去し、業者が21日～22日 にかけて消毒と清掃をした後、新たにカーペットを敷き直してようやく使用できるまでになりました。水に漬かった物のうち、廃棄せざる を得ない物が相当あります。
二葉こども園は新園舎建築の着工直後でした。それが、3台の園バスと2台 の乗用車が水の被害によって使用不能となりました。園舎の清掃と消毒、洗浄、片付けの毎日ですが、何より保育の再開が大きな課題です。
そのほかにも教会員や教会関係者の家、こども園スタッフや関係者の家にも、相当の被害があります。清掃、洗浄、片付け、廃棄処理の必要があります。徐々に復旧が進んでいますが、完了にはもうしばらく時間がかかる予定です。
今回の水害で家族を亡くされた方や家を失った方がいます。このような被災を受けた地域にあって、自らも被災した教会とこども園が地域 と共に歩もうとしています。痛みと課題を共にする水海道教会と二葉こども園のために、どうかお祈りください。(信徒の友11月号)
by Iwashita Hiroshi, member
Nagasaki Furumachi Church
My first encounter with the Christian faith came at the baptism of my mother, Iwashita Shizu. About ten years ago, she became ill and, upon going to the hospital, was diagnosed as having stage-three cancer. The attending physician advised that she only had a few months to live. Even so, my mother refused to give up hope. Even while suffering the pain of chemotherapy and two surgeries, she never gave in to despair. Even with temporary improvements, new cancers kept appearing. Nevertheless she remained positive and declared, “I’m going to get along well with this disease.” She continued to live day-to-day, valuing the life she had.
At that time, my mother met some women who were members of Furumachi Church. They invited her to attend worship services. She accepted, determined that even in such a crisis, she should value and enjoy life day by day.
A few days before my mother’s baptism, I was surprised to receive a message from her, telling me of her decision. But having seen the pain and suffering she had been through, I agreed to anything that would make her life happier. After her baptism, she attended worship services, met with other believers, helped with Sunday school and volunteered for service. She enjoyed life.
However, this happy time did not last long. Again the dread disease showed its fangs. As before, my mother fought hard to win another round with the disease, but her will was not enough. She died on Oct. 26, 2013. She was 64 years old. As a son, watching her faith as she struggled with disease and pain made me very proud of her.
The funeral was held in the sanctuary of the church, and though it was a funeral, it was warm and comforting. My desire to be baptized began the evening of the wake while I sat in the sanctuary, feeling the loss of my mother and regretting that I had not been all that I should have been to her.
Hearing the words of Pastor Fujii, “Death is not the end. Your mother is in the hands of God, so all is well,” made me want to inherit the same faith and follow it myself. After that I began attending church. Pastor Fujii and all the church members helped me. I was deeply touched by the warmth of all the members and began to experience what my mother had felt. Then, in September 2014, our whole family of four was baptized. I am full of gratitude to God who led me to this encounter. There remains much we need to know and learn, but as we continue in prayer as a family, we intend to keep moving ahead.
(Tr. GM)
—From Shinto no Tomo (Believers’ Friend)
November 2015 issue
特集 家族に信仰を伝えるキリスト教葬儀を通して
証し「死は終わりではない」の言葉に促され
母の葬儀を通して
岩下拓史 いわした ひろし／長崎古町教会員
わたしとキリスト教との出会いは、亡き母・静の洗礼式でした。母は、今から約10年前に 体調を崩し、運び込まれた病院でがんと診断されました。進行レベルはステージⅢ、主治医からの告知は数カ月の命という絶望的なものでした。
しかし、母は決して諦めませんでした。いつも前向 きに、つらい抗がん剤治療と２度の手術にも耐え、その絶望的な状況を脱することができました。それから、数回の再発を繰り返しながらも、変わらず前向き に、「病気とうまく付き合っていくの」と言って、人生の一日一日を大切に生きていました。
母が洗礼を受けたのは、古町教会員だったある女性信徒に誘われて教会に通うようになってからです。いったん命の危機を脱して、人生を楽しみながら大切に生きていた日々でのことでした。
洗礼式の数日前に母からの突然の報告を受け、最初 はとても驚きました。しかし、苦しい治療を乗り越えてきた母に幸せな時間を生きてほしいという気持ちから応援することにしました。受洗後 は礼拝への出席、 教会の信者さんとの交流や教会学校の奉仕、ボランティア活動など、楽しそうに過ごしていました。
ところが、そのような楽しい時間も長くは続きませんでした。やはりがんという病は恐ろしく、再び牙をむいた のです。母は、それまでと同じように今回も必ず乗り越えると、強い意志を貫き病気と闘いましたが、思いは届きませんでした。そして2013年10月26日、天国に旅立ちました。64歳でした。最後まで生きることを諦 めず、信仰をもって闘い抜いた母の生き方は息子として誇らしく思います。
葬儀は教会の礼拝堂で行われました。その葬儀は、葬儀だけれども温かく、心のこもった式でした。わたしが洗礼を受けたいと思ったのは、通夜を終えた夜、教会の礼拝堂で、母を失った悲しみ や、何も親孝行し てやれなかったことを後悔していたときのことです。藤井牧師の「死は終わりではなく、お母さまは神さまの御手の中にいるのだから大丈夫」 という言葉を聞 き、母を最後に救ってくれたキリスト教の信仰を、私も受け継いで歩みたいと思ったのです。
それから教会に通い始め、藤井牧師をはじめ、教会の皆さんに大変お世話になりました。皆さんの温かさに触れ、当 時の母の気持ちもよくわかりました。そして2014年9月、 家族４人で洗礼を受けることができました。このような出会いに導いてくださった神さまに心から感謝しています。これからも知るべきこと、学ぶべきことがたくさんありますが、家族全員で祈りつつ歩みたいと思っています。
A Special Feature of the Editorial Section of Shinto no Tomo (Believers’ Friend)
The Impact of Kirishitan* Funerals
During the Warring States Period
At the National Meeting of the All Japan Young Buddhist Association in 2003, held in Kyoto, keynote speaker Hiro Sachiya expressed the view that with the exception of the nobility or samurai class, it was very uncommon for Buddhists priests to officiate at the funerals of the common people before the Edo period. The reason why they began to carry out funerals for the common people was to suppress the Kirishitan movement in Japan. The Edo military government established a system whereby everyone had to be affiliated with a Buddhist temple as a danka (adherent), and by doing so, everyone was required to have a Buddhist funeral.
In Japan, traditionally, death was something to be loathed, and dead bodies were considered unclean. People feared being cursed by the dead, so they burned anything that had been used by the person while alive, crushed the bones, and stabbed the corpse so that it would not come back to haunt them. Finally they buried the dead person and placed a huge tombstone over the grave to prevent any remaining bitterness from breaking free.
Christianity was introduced to Japan during what is known as the Warring States Period, when such an understanding of death and the customs related to it were the norm. This period in Japanese history coincided with a time of climate change called the “Little Ice Age,” which had a devastating effect on Japanese agriculture. Crop failures occurred regularly; famine and epidemic disease became commonplace; and it is said that during this time, death was always close at hand. In addition, attempts to overthrow those with power and authority led to frequent conflict that wore away at people’s hearts, so that those who died in poverty, with no remaining family members, were simply thrown into holes or left lying in fields and mountains, as if simply thrown away.
Shortly after Christian mission work began in Japan, funerals of Kirishitan were taking place, and there is a record that indicates that more than 3,000 people attended one of these funerals. What most amazed those who were present was the singing of songs at a funeral. For the people of that time, who thought of death as something unclean, it was impossible to imagine singing songs of praise at a funeral.
There is also a famous episode concerning funerals involving the Kirishitan feudal lord Takayama Ukon. Once, a poor person died within his domain, and when Takayama heard this, he had a casket made, which he carried himself, and actually held a funeral for this person. His retainers were so moved by this that they dug the grave, and from that time on, it became the custom that the samurai retainers assisted at the funeral of anyone from their domain who died.
At the time, it was people of the lowest classes who carried the casket and who dug the grave. The class system was strictly adhered to, and it was unthinkable that a feudal lord would conduct the funeral of someone of his domain. The Jesuit missionary Luis Frois refers to this in his book The History of Japan as “an act rarely seen among the Japanese samurai, who were so proud of their status.”
At a time when the corpses of poor people without family to care for them were casually disposed of, as if they were garbage, this act of mourning the death of a commoner of the same domain must have moved people deeply.
Forty years after Francis Xavier introduced Christianity to Japan, the Christian population had reached 300,000. At the time, that was 2.45% of Japan’s total population. That is very impressive, considering that after more than150 years of Christian mission work in Japan, the Christian population now is less than 1%. Why did Christianity in this period touch the hearts of the people so deeply? I believe one reason is the Kirishitan funeral.
Whether rich or poor, the church funeral showed the same respect to all, and for those who experienced this for the first time, it was an enlightening experience that touched their hearts. There were some who chose to become Christians after experiencing a funeral. Missionaries were aware of this and gave funerals an important place in their mission. For that reason, they included traditional Japanese customs, allowed laypeople to take responsibility for planning funerals, and asked for contributions to help cover the funeral costs for those who had died in poverty.
Death was not seen as something unclean, and anyone of whatever rank would be mourned, with the soul being sent on its journey to heaven with hymns of praise. Many people must have found hope in that event. And even in today’s world, can we not say that that hope has not faded?
Funerals are to mourn those who have died. They are not evangelistic meetings. But the hope discovered in funerals when we put our whole heart into them results in the leading of some to Christianity. Is that not the same now as it was those many years ago? (Tr. RW)
—Shinto no Tomo (Believers’ Friend)
November 2015 issue
________________
*Roman Catholic Christians during Japan’s feudal period were referred to as Kirishitan.
『信徒の友』2015年11月号p14-15
特集 家族に信仰を伝えるキリスト教葬儀を通して
戦国時代キリシタンの葬儀が与えた衝撃
２００３年に京都で開かれた全日本仏教青年会全国大会で基調講演をしたひろさちや氏の論によると、貴 族・武士などの特権階級を除いて、江戸時代以前に僧侶が庶民の葬式を執り行うことはほとんどなかったといいます。ではなぜ行うように なったかというと、それはキリシタン弾圧のためでした。江戸幕府はキリスト教徒を排除するためにか檀家制度を創設し、すべての人に寺の檀家となって仏式葬儀を行うことを義務付けたのです。
また、古来日本人にとって死とはうべきものであり、死体はけが穢れそのものでした。人々は死者のたたりを恐れて生前使っていたものを焼き捨て、骨 を折り、遺体を刀で刺して死人が起き上がってこないようにしました。そして大きな墓石を置いて死者の怨念を閉じ込めたのだそうです。
このような思想的背景と慣習があった戦国時代にキリスト教が伝えられました。当時は世界的に小氷河期と も呼ばれる気候変動が起こっており、日本においても農業生産が著しく減少したころでした。不作が続き、飢饉や疫病の流行が日常的であり、人々にとっては死が極めて身近な時代だったといわれます。また、下克上とひんぱつ頻発する戦乱によって人心は荒廃し、貧しく身寄りのない者の死体は穴に投げ込まれ、野山に放置・遺棄され ることも少なくなかったといいます。
キリスト教の宣教が始まってまもなく、キリシタンの葬儀が執り行われ、見物人が3000人集まったという逸話があります。人々を驚かせたのは、葬儀で歌を歌ったことでした。死を穢れと考えていた当時の人にとって、賛美しながら人を弔うなど、思いもよらないことだったでしょう。
また、キリシタン大名だった高山右近のエピソードにも葬儀に関するものがあります。あるとき、領内で貧 しい領民が亡くなりました。それを聞いた右近は彼のためにひつぎ棺を作って自ら担ぎ、葬儀を執り行ったのです。それを見た家臣たちが感激して墓穴を掘り、以後、領民の葬 儀は武士が援助するのが習慣になったといいます。
当時、棺を担ぐのも穴を掘るのも最底辺の身分の者の仕事でした。戦国時代とはいえ身分の 違いは厳然とあり、まして領主が領民の葬儀を行うなど前代未聞のことです。宣教師ルイス・フロイスはその著『日本史』の中でこのことに触れ、「自負心の強いごうまん傲慢な日本人武士にしてはまれに見る行為である」と評しています。
貧しく身寄りのない者の死体が平気で放置・遺棄されていた時代に、このように盛大に一介の領民を弔った ことは人々に大きな感動を呼び起こしたに違いありません。
フランシスコ・ザビエルによって日本にキリスト教が伝えられてから40年後、キリシタン人口は30万人にのぼりました。当時の総 人口の２・４５%です。宣教１５０年を越えていまだ１%未満の現在と比べると、極めて印象的な数字です。なぜキリスト教がこのよう に当時の人の心をとらえたのでしょうか。その一つの理由に、こうした葬儀があったと考えられています。
貧富の別なく、いかなる人も尊敬をもって弔う教会の葬儀は、それを初めて目にした日本人の目には驚きで あり、心打たれる光景でした。葬儀を契機にキリスト教に改宗する者もいました。宣教師の側もそのことをよく理解していて、葬儀を日本宣教の中で重要なものと位置付けていたといいます。そのために部分的に日本の風習を取り入れさえしました。また葬儀のための信徒組織が整えられ、葬儀費用を賄うことができない人のための献金箱も用意されていました。
死を穢れたものと見ず、どのような人も分け隔てなく弔い、天国へと旅立った魂を賛美をもって見送る。そこに多くの人々は希望を見たのではないでしょうか。そしてその希望は現代においても決して色あせないのではないでしょうか。
葬儀は人を弔うために行われます。伝道のためではありません。しかし心を込めて執り行われる葬儀に現れる希望が、結果として人々をキリスト教へと導 く、それは現代においても同じなのではないでしょうか。 （編集部）
The Korean Christian Church in Japan (KCCJ) held its third international youth forum on “Minority Issues and Evangelism” at the Korean YMCA in Tokyo from Nov. 15 to 17, 2015. This event is held once every 20 years. In a situation where there seems to be no prospect of solving such problems as terrorism and the migration of refugees, or the issue of hate-speech here in Japan, young people from around the world came together in the name of Christ to consider these issues jointly and find new ways of thinking about solutions. There were participants from 52 denominations and organizations in Korea, the Philippines, Canada, and Germany, as well as from within Japan, including the KCCJ, the Kyodan, the Anglican Church, the Japan Baptist Convention, the Japan Evangelical Lutheran Church, Waseda Hoshien, YMCA, the Wesley Foundation in Japan, and the Student Christian Fellowship (SCF).
On the first evening, the young people exchanged greetings in halting English and offered opening prayers of joy for these encounters. Actress Maika gave a powerful performance based on the life of Chiri Yukie, the Ainu woman who wrote The Anthology of Ainu Epic Tales. The members of the audience felt as though they themselves had walked along with Chiri during her short life, while she valued all the experiences of her 19 years in the midst of the discrimination she experienced as an Ainu, as a Christian, and as a woman.
On the second day we visited Tokyo Number 5 Korean Elementary and Middle School, where we heard from the headmaster about the issues of being a minority educational institution in Japan. We visited classes and were warmly welcomed. We played soccer with the students, and when we left they waved to us from the windows. Later, at the site where Koreans were massacred at the time of the Great Kanto Earthquake in 1923, we recalled the smiling faces of those students as a Korean resident in Japan told us, “I am focusing my energies on making sure we do not forget the past, so that my grandchildren will not experience a similar situation.” At the site of a tanner’s workplace in a discriminated-against Buraku area, where discrimination has continued for several centuries, we could feel again the extent of human sinfulness and the greatness of equality in our Lord.
On the morning of the third day, as representatives from each country gave presentations, we shared the problems and the pain of discrimination. Themes were raised that go beyond national boundaries, such as the issues of refugees, sexual minorities (LGBT), and hate speech. In the afternoon, under the leadership of Kwak Jeoung-Hoon, a professional musician who is a KCCJ church member, we were separated into groups in which we created and performed rap songs. Although the content we were dealing with was very serious, there was also hope and cheerfulness as the young people experienced fellowship through our Lord. A young woman of Korean descent living in Japan sang, “When I was a child I hid myself; I always wanted to be ‘normal’.” There was loud applause from the audience and cries of “Amen!” as she related her experience of how she overcame that.
During morning and evening worship, which was offered in various languages, the young people played guitar and piano, used videos from Internet sites, and danced. The three days were filled with thanks to the Lord who gives us hope. The many young people who came together across denominational boundaries can feel proud and hopeful at what they accomplished. They did everything from the planning to the translation and implementation. I give thanks for the young people’s encounters and experiences and pray that the Lord will continue to bless them richly.
(Tr. SN)
From Kyodan Shinpo (The Kyodan Times), No. 4832･33
—Noda Taku, director
Student Christian Fellowship
在日大韓基督教会第3回「マイノリティ問題と宣教」国際会議 のユースプログラムが、2015年11月15日（日）午後～17日（火）に在日大韓YMCAに於いて開催された。20年に一度の開催である。テロや難民の問題、国内のヘイトスピーチなど差別の課題が解決する見通しのない中で、世界の青年がキリストの名によって課題を共有し、解決への想いを新たにされた。韓国・フィリピン・カナダ・ドイツ、国内からは在 日大韓基督教会・日本基督教団・聖公会・日本バプテスト連盟（・日本福音ルーテル教会・早稲田奉仕園・学生YMCA・ウェスレー財団・学生キリスト教友愛会（SCF）などの各教派・団体から52が参加者した。
・15日（日）夕刻、青年達はぎこちない英語での挨拶を交わし、出会いを喜ぶ開会祈祷を捧げた。演劇家：舞香さんによる、知里幸恵（「アイヌ神謡集」を著したアイヌ女性）を題材にした力強い演技に圧倒された。アイヌの民、キリスト者、女性として受ける差 別の中で、全てを大切に生きた19年間の短い命を、参加者たちは自らの歩みと重ね合わせた。
・2日目は墨田区の「東京朝鮮第五初中級学校」に赴き、日本におけるマイノリティの教育現場での想いと課題を 校長先生からお聞きし、授業を体験した。心からの歓迎を受け、生徒達と一緒にサッカーボールを追い、別れの時には窓から手を振り続け てくれた。差別という痛みの中での豊かな営みに心打たれた。その後、1923年関東大震災時の朝鮮人虐殺の現場で、在日韓国朝鮮人の方の「自分の孫がまたあのような目に合わないように、過去を忘れないように活動している」との想いを聞き、生徒達の笑顔が浮かんだ。被差別部落地区における皮なめしの現場では、数百年続く差別の歴史の中に、人間の大いなる罪性と主に在る平等の尊さを再確認させられた。
・3日目の午前には各国の代表がプレゼンテーションし、差別の課題と痛みを分かち合った。難民問題にLGBT（セクシャル・マイノリティ）、ヘイトスピーチなど、国を越えたテーマである。午後は 在日大韓基督教会の信徒でありプロミュージシャンの郭正勲さんの導きで、グループ毎に、一つのラップ（歌詞）を作り発表した。内容は重いが、主に在る青年の交わり が持つ希望と明るさがあった。在日朝鮮・韓国人として「子どもの頃は自分を隠し、“普通”にあこがれ続けた（が今は違うと／と苦悩を）歌った女性には、会場からは大きな拍手と、「アーメン！」と声があがった。
・朝夕の礼拝は、青年達がギターやピアノ、インターネット動画サイトやダンスを用い、様々な言語で捧げた。希望を与えてくださる主への感謝に満ちた3日間となった。
企画運営・通訳に至るまで教派を超えた多くの青年たちが自ら作り上げたことは誇りであり希望です。青年たちの出会いと体験とに感謝しつつ、主の豊かなる祝福を祈ります。野田沢（SCF主事）
The International Conference on Minorities and Mission sponsored by the Korean Church of Christ in Japan was held Nov. 18-21, 2015, at the Korean YMCA in Japan, located in Tokyo. The 133 participants included Kyodan Moderator Ishibashi Hideo and about 30 other members from the Kyodan.
The main theme of the conference was the discrimination experienced by Korean residents in Japan and other minorities who are in socially weak positions and who suffer from discrimination and anti-foreign sentiment—expressed especially in hate speech, in which epithets hurled at them, such as “Die!” and “Kill them,” are left unchallenged.
In his Bible study, General Chairman Kim Song-Jae showed that the “aliens” within Israel’s community and Abraham, Moses, and Israel (Jacob), who considered themselves aliens, were to become a source of blessing by transforming societal animosity into a warm reception. Lawyer Niwa Masao explained in his keynote speech that the effort to rewrite history through covering up responsibility for colonial occupation and World War II is the primary cause of hate speech.
On the second day, participants were separated into six groups to hear and discuss evidence presented on the following topics:
(1) Migrant Women and their Children: Experiences of
Discrimination,
(2) Historical Revisionism (Aggression against Ainu
People),
(3) Constitutional Reform and Article 9 (from the
Perspective of the Ryukyu Islands and Okinawa),
(4) The Danger of Exclusionist Nationalism,
(5) The Trauma and Shock of the Minorities (as the Target
of Discrimination and Hatred), and
(6) Can the Church become a “Community of Healing?”
On the third day, as concrete examples of churches standing up against discrimination, we heard and discussed various testimonies, such as
(1) The efforts of the World Council of Churches to
combat racial and other forms of discrimination,
(2) Future prospects from a German perspective,
(3) The efforts of American churches in dealing with
racial discrimination, and
(4) The dream of a just, democratic and symbiotic society
in South Africa.
Keeping in mind the words of Matt. 25:40, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me,” we passed 12 actions at the general assembly on the last day. Included was the release of a statement declaring that God works through aliens (foreigners and immigrants) to replace animosity with reconciliation, in accordance with the recommendation of the United Nations to build a road toward peace and working towards legislation to make hate speech a crime in our country as quickly as possible. With the signatures of our chairperson and other participants, every year we will insist that with “a signature for establishment of the Foreign Residents Basic Law,” we will strive even harder to make our intentions known. (Tr. WJ)
From Kyodan Shinpo (The Kyodan Times), No. 4832･33
—Kobashi Koichi, chair of the
Committee on Kyodan-KCCJ Cooperative Ministries
Member, National Council of Churches
「マイノリティ問題と宣教」国際会議開催
十一月十八日～二一日、在日大韓基督教会主催「マイノリィティ 問題と宣教」国際会議（教団やＮＣＣなどが共催）が在日本韓国YMCAに133名が集まり開催された。教団からは石橋秀雄議長をはじめ約30名が参加した。
在日コリアンなどマイノリティ（社会的に弱い立場に置かれている少数者）への差別・排外主義的言動、特に「死ね、殺せ」などのヘイト・スピーチ（憎悪表現・差別扇動）が放置されている現状が問題とされた。
金性済総会長による聖書研究では、1,イスラエル共同体の中の「寄留者」と2,アブラハム、モーセ、またイスラエル自身を寄留者と見做す伝承とが挙げられ、寄留者はその社会の敵意を歓待に変えることによって祝福の源となる、と説かれた。
丹羽雅雄弁護士の主題講演では、植民地支配・戦争・戦後責任という加害の歴史の抹消・修正・改ざんこそが、ヘイト・スピーチ～を生み出す主な原因となっている、と説かれた。
二日目は6グループで⑴（移住女性と子供たち）、⑵歴史修正主義（アイヌへの攻撃）、⑶憲法改正・９条 （琉球・沖縄から）⑷排外的ナショナリズムの危険性、⑸差別や憎悪の標的 となっているマイノリティのトラウマと衝撃、⑹教会は「癒しの共同体」になり得るのか、などの証言に聴き入った。
三日目は、差別に立ち向かう教会の具体例として、1,世界教会協議会の人種差別およびその他の差別に対する取り組み、2,ドイツからの観点と展望、3,米国教会の人種差別への取り組み、④民主的な南アフリカの公正な共生社会を夢見て、などの証言に全体として聴き入った。
これらに基づいて協議を重ね、最終日の全体会で、「はっきり言っておく。私の兄弟であるこの最も小さい者の一人にしたのは、私にしてくれたことなのである」（マタイ25:40）の御言葉に導かれて共同声明が採択され、神が寄留者（外国人／移民）の存在を通して私たちの内なる敵意の連鎖を断ち切り和解へ至る道を示されたことが確 認され、国連の勧告に従いヘイトスピーチなどを違法化する国内法を早急に整備すること等を日本政府に求めることなど、十二項目が決議され た。まずは議長と連名で毎年呼びかけている「外国人住民基本法制定のための署名」に一層力を尽くさねばならないことを痛感させられた会議であった。 （小橋孝一在日韓国朝鮮人連帯特設委員長・ＮＣＣ議長）
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