by Kawakami Naoya, senior pastor
Sendai Shimin Church, Tohoku District
Touhoku HELP* has established the Endowed Course for Practical Religious Studies at Tohoku National University with donations from the Kyodan and others to train persons of various religious backgrounds to serve as chaplains for survivors of the Great East Japan Disaster. The role of “chaplain,” as practiced in ……
Assistance is being given for the recovery of oyster farming in the tsunami-affected region of Tohoku District’s Emmaus Ishinomaki Support Center. According to the report of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, the oyster culture facilities of the Ishinomaki area were almost all severely damaged by the great earthquake and tsunami in 2011. Over a year later, only 20 percent of the ……
by Iijima Makoto, executive secretary
Kyodan Great East Japan Disaster Relief
Planning Headquarters
The Kyodan Great East Japan Disaster Relief Planning Headquarters held three Christmas gatherings in the disaster area: at Kamaishi, Sendai and Ishinomaki. Of the three, the gathering at Heartful Tono in Kamaishi will be introduced in this article.
The Kyodan began it……
The first General Conference of the newly organized EMS (Evangelical Mission in Solidarity) was held in Herrenberg, Germany, Nov. 7-10, with the theme “Mission in Solidarity—in the Power of the Holy Spirit: Acts 1:8.” The Kyodan has been a constituent member of EMS since its creation, and it was my pleasure to attend the general conference as a Kyodan delegate.
Established in 1972 as ……
by Iijima Makoto, executive secretary
Kyodan Great East Japan Disaster Relief
Planning Headquarters
Last year I visited our friends in Christ at the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan, Nov. 9-16. Visiting Taipei, Chiayi, Kaohsiung, and Taitung, I went to express gratitude for the donations made for the Kyodan East Japan Disaster Relief Projects and to report on the work that has been……
The first Executive Council meeting of the 2013-14 biennium, which began with the General Assembly in October 2012, was held over a two-day period, Dec. 27-28, with all 30 members in attendance. Of special note is that Kondo Katsuhiko, president of Tokyo Union Theological Seminary, the only seminary established by the Kyodan, attended the meeting ex-officio. This was the first time in about 40 yea……
Those of us elected to the Clergy Committee at the 25th West Tokyo District General Assembly last May have planned a two-year study on the theme “Cultivating Clergy Spirituality.” Our first event will be a one-day training seminar atKunitachiChurchonSept. 5, 2012, to be led by Sakon Tomu, chaplain and associate professor atSeigakuinUniversityon “Learning from Prayers in the Old Testament.”
&nbs……
I was recently elected as the new Kyodan General Secretary at the 2012 General Assembly. For the last 18 years, I have been the pastor ofTokyoYamateChurch, and ever since the Great East Japan Earthquake onMarch 11, 2011, I have been heavily involved in relief efforts in the affected areas. I want to express my deep appreciation to the churches and individuals overseas who have stood with us throug……
During the summer and fall of this year, the Kyodan held two gatherings for youth and young adults. The first was the National Church Conference for Junior and Senior High School Youth and Young Adults, which was held at Megumi Chalet in Karuizawa, Aug. 21-23, on the theme “For evangelism inJapan– being called and sent out.” The purpose of this conference was to serve as a kind of precursor of a c……
by Kokai Hikari, Kyodan missionary
I, a native ofJapan, have been aUnitedMethodistChurchpastor for the past 14 years of my 25 years in theUSA. My husband, a native of therepublicofKorea, is also a UMC pastor. So we have served ten churches between us inNew EnglandandNew York. When I look back at my experiences as an ethnic minority pastor, it is true that the challenges have been many, yet the ……
