by Kuyama Yasuhiko, missionary pastor
Japanese-American Church
Los Angeles, California, USA
Whatever the denominational affiliation, Japanese American Churches are entering the final stage of their life cycle. There are no more first-generation Japanese (issei). The core members of the church were second-generation Japanese (nisei) but they are now about 80 years old or older. For many reasons, there are only a few third-generation (sansei) churches that can create the critical mass to maintain or expand the church. Furthermore, those who came to the United States after World War II as marriage partners are typically in their 70s and have many language and culture issues. More than half of them are divorced, and they are facing old age.
It is becoming increasingly difficult to minister in the Japanese language, even with the support of an English division in the church or with denominational help. Japanese language ministry has been sustained as an oyako-ko (respecting parents) ministry for the last 20 years by the nisei generation, but that era is now over. Additionally, many missionaries from Japan have a hard time comprehending the complicated psychological aspects of Japanese Americans. Due to their internment experience, Japanese Americans typically emphasize their Americaness, but at the same time they live in an ambivalent situation in which, in order to maintain their identity, they also exhibit a fondness for their own culture. At one time, they identify themselves as Americans, while at other times, Japanese-Americans or Asian-Americans, which complicates their relationships with Japanese-American churches. Many pastors involved in Japanese language ministries have found that this difficult cultural situation, along with the financial uncertainties and often difficult relationships with English divisions, have worn them down.
This way of looking at things, however, is from the standpoint of just maintaining our existing congregations. Obviously, it is important to provide quality pastoral care for existing congregations while we continue to evangelize. In addition to Sunday morning worship, I lead five group meetings, do visitation, and help several community organizations work on solving problems in our community. This, however, is insufficient to deal with the realities we face. The church needs to return to its original mission and find new ways to communicate the gospel while clarifying our ministries. Here in Los Angeles, if we broaden our vision, we can see that there are many people who desperately need the love of Jesus Christ. Many of them are new immigrants who are working hard to make a living, despite being looked down upon by others. Since we too have experienced immigration, we can identify with the problems and pains they are experiencing.
When I first came to this downtown church and began searching for direction in my ministry, I became acquainted with Father Greg Boyle, a Jesuit priest, who was involved in an ex-gang rehabilitation program. He was very supportive, and we worked together by inviting ex-gang members who desired to leave that life to my Sushi Chef School. He was instrumental in helping me find my way in ministry. “Do whatever comes from your heart, and God will bless you for that,” he said as he encouraged me. The key is to focus on the ministries that communicate Christ’s love as you follow your heart.
Japanese language ministry is unique in some senses. We use two languages and two cultures daily and have a very unique interface. Just as in the story of Joseph, we feel that God has sent us in advance to preserve others’ lives. We have introduced the Boys Town program to Japanese childcare agencies in Japan as we believe that Boys Town provides the best social skills program for abused and neglected children. Many businessmen, former university librarians, and school teachers have not only translated an unbelievable amount of manuals and textbooks but are also serving as oral translators. After six years, we have been able to establish our own non-profit foundation, separate from the church and just for ministries, which now serves as the sole liason between the Boys Town organization and Japan.
As our church is located close to one of the worst slums in the United States, our non-profit organization is planning a summer program for the children of homeless families. About 70 percent of the breadwinners in these families are working, but their incomes are very low, so it is very easy for these children to be drawn into gangs during summer vacation since there are no programs that they can afford. Hope is a precious commodity here in downtown Los Angeles. We really want to provide a quality skill-based program for these children that can give them hope and are looking for corporate sponsorship now. We also want to restart our Sushi Chef School soon, which we had to close due to recession. There are many young people who would not get involved in crime if they only had a job.
The urgent question the church faces today is how we are going to communicate the love of Christ that transcends all races and peoples. I am convinced that the way forward is not to be inward-looking and focused on self preservation but instead to be outward looking. For it is through reaching out to those in need of Christ’s love that those who are in tune with those ministries are drawn into the church, and we are all spiritually transformed. I think that the kind of missionaries we will need in the future are those with the talents to be “sactified entrepreneurs.” We need persons who are able to help the church create and actualize ministries that communicate the love of Christ.
アメリカの日系教会は、どの教派をとっても、そのライフ・サイクルの最終段階 にさしかかっています。既に一世はなく、日系教会の中心となってきた二世も80代の後半から90歳 代になりました。三世は、日系人以外との結婚率が非常に高く、 三世が中心となる教会で教会形成に必要なクリティカル・マスを形成出来る教会は非常に限られています。 更に、現在70歳を迎える戦後の国際結婚者はその 半数以上が離婚しており、その子供たちとの関係も言葉や文化の問題を抱えながら高齢化を迎えています。
このような中での日本語ミニストリーについて言えば、従来の英語部や年会から の援助で維持する事は既に不可能と言わなければなりません。過去20年 の日本語ミニストリーは二世の「親孝行」のメンタリティーによって維持されてきました。しかし、そのような時代は既に終わっています。更に、 日本からの宣教師に理解しがたい、日系アメリカ人の複雑な心理もあります。日系アメリカ人は、戦争中の強制収容の経験から、対外的には自分達 は同化したアメリカ人である事を強調しながら、アイデンティティーを保持するのに必要な自分の文化に対する愛着というアンビバレントな状況の 中で生きているのです。ある時は、アメリカ人、あるときは日系人、ある時はアジア系アメリカ人の立場をとりますので、のこの複雑さは、日系教 会にかかわる上で非常に難しいものです。多くの日本語ミニストリーに携わる牧師は、日系教会のその文化的な難しさ、経済的な不安定さ、英語部 との関係に神経をすり減らして疲れ果てる事になります。
しかし、それは既存の教会の維持を中心に考えた場合です。勿論、現在の教会を 形成し維持しながら、伝道を続ける事は日系教会にとって不可欠です。私も、礼拝と５つの組会、訪問、そしてコミュニティーの問題処理を繰り返 しています。しかし、それだけでは現実に対応する事は出来ません。教会は、その本来の使命に戻り、そのミニストリーを明確にしながら、新しく 福音を伝えていく事を求められています。私達のロスアンゼルスでも、目を広げてみれば、主イエスの愛を必要としている人は、数えきれない程い ます。多くの新しい移民は、見下げられ、排斥を受けながらも、必死に生きています。私達もまた、同じ移民の経験から、その問題と痛みは私達と 共通ものである事にすぐ気づかされます。
私は、ダウンタウンの教会に赴任した時に、今後のミニストリーについて方向を 模索し、イエズス会の司祭で、ギャングの更生に尽力されているボイル神父を尋ねました。私の行っていた「寿司シェフ・スクール」に更生を希望 する元ギャングを招待した事から親しくして下さったのです。神父は、私の迷いを払拭して下さいました。「心からしたいと思っている事をしなさ い。神様は祝福してくださいますよ。」と神父は励まして下さいました。心の赴くままに、自分が感動している、キリストの愛を伝えるミニスト リーに集中する事こそが、「鍵」なのです。
私達の教会は、私達のユニークな二つの言語と文化の間を行き来する、経験を活 かして、日本の虐待され、育児放棄された子供たちの為に、アメリカの最も優れたボーイズタウンのプログラムを紹介する事を始めました。商社員 や、大学の図書館司書、教員経験者が、膨大な教科書はマニュアルを翻訳し、通訳を始めました。６年を経て、私達は教会とは別の非営利法人を設 立し、ボーイズタウンの対日プログラムの全責任を負っています。また、私達の教会が全米で最悪と言われる貧民街の近くにある事から、この非営 利法人は、ホームレスの子供たちの為の夏期プログラムを計画しています。ダウンタウンのホームレスの家族は、その７割は働いていますが、収入 が少なく、学校が休みになる時期に子供たちがギャングに入りやすいのです。社会の底にあって希望を失いかけている子供たちにキリストの愛と希 望を届けなければなりません。また、景気後退で雇用者がいない為に、中止されている、私達の教会の特徴的なプログラムである、寿司シェフ・ス クールも再開しなければなりません。仕事があれば、犯罪を起こさないですむ若者が多くいます。
教会は、人種や民族を超えるキリストの愛をどのようにこの世界に伝えるのかを 問われています。内向きの自己保存に集中するのでなく、外に目を向け、キリストの愛を必要としている人々へのミニストリーを続けることこそ が、私達を霊的に活性化させ、ミニストリーに賛同する人々を教会に招き入れることになると確信しています。
おそらく、これからの宣教師に必要なのは聖なる起業家としての能力だと思いま す。主イエスの愛を伝えるミニストリーを具現化していく力と才能が今後の教会に必要とされるのではないかと考えます。
Born on September 14, 1827, in what is currently the state of West Virginia, Elizabeth Anne Priscilla Edgar Randolph was an educator in the United States before being commissioned as a missionary to China. Upon her return from China to the United States, Mrs. Randolph stopped in Japan for a short visit of rest and recuperation from the harsh conditions of China. However, her short stay in Japan turned into four years, in which she founded the Women’s Kibokwan which is the present-day Kinjo Gakuin. Her principle of education is still alive today in the spiritual legacy of the school’s foundation.
Randolph was a school teacher for about 30 years in the states of Alabama, Georgia, and Kentucky. In 1871 she revealed her desire to become a missionary to Rev. Stuart Robinson of the Second Presbyterian Church in Louisville, Kentucky. She met with the Executive Committee concerning her application for missionary service and was appointed as a missionary to China. Randolph was sent to Hangzhou, China in 1872 to take up the position of principal at a women’s boarding school.
In 1888 she was compelled to return to the United States for health reasons. On her way home, she decided to visit Mrs. Rambus, her best friend and a former missionary to China, in Kobe. When Randolph discovered that the Japanese climate was good for her health, she moved to Nagoya, having been invited by Robert E. McAlpine, an American Southern Presbyterian Church-related missionary.She became an English teacher at Kibokwan, a boys’ English-language school which was directed by Ban’no Kaichi , pastor of the Japan Christ Nagoya United Church (currently the Kyodan’s Nagoya Church). While teaching at that school, Randolph saw the low position held by Japanese women with her own eyes.
Realizing the need for women’s education, Randolph decided to open an English class for women in January 1889. With the closing the boy’s Kibokwan in August, she accomplished her goal in September 1889 with the opening of the Women’s Special Kibokwan with an inaugural class of three female students. She had two classrooms built at her own expense and made it a rule to be self-supporting and independent. Her golden rule was this: “Fear God and devote your life to serve Him by training women to make loving people their life’s work.” This was her education principle and is precisely the spiritual legacy of Kinjo Gakuin.
In the year following the school’s opening (1890), the Women’s Special Kibokan was combined with the Kofu Women’s School (the Cumberland Presbyterian Church), and the name was changed to Kinjo Private Women’s School. The number of students increased, and a new school building was built making it a favorable start. Unfortunately, some parts of the school building were damaged by the Nobi Earthquake that occurred in October 1890. Randolph’s health began to fail again due, in part, to the aftershocks, so she had to return to America in 1892.
Randolph was very strict regarding education. She reportedly made the students memorize new English vocabulary every day, and those who failed a recitation were put in the back row. But the students did not complain and made great efforts so as to be able to sit in the front row. It was Randolph’s personality that whetted their appetite for study. Although she could speak Chinese, she had trouble remembering students’ names as she was poor at Japanese. However, it is said that she always called her students “daughters,” and the students had warm feelings and affection for her and would rush towards her to get ahead of others in wanting to be helpful to her.
Although she stayed in Nagoya for only four years, the seeds of women’s education that she planted during that time and her achievement in building the foundation of Kinjo Gakuin are her great legacy. Kinjo Gakuin University’s Randolph Memorial Auditorium was constructed as one of the memorial projects for the 100th anniversary of the school’s founding, so that the name of Randolph would be passed down through the generations as one of the educators of women in Nagoya. (Tr. SM)
―From Kinjo Gakuin Daigaku Monogatari
(Story of Kinjo Gakuin University)
アニー・プリスキラ・エドガー・ランドルフは、1827年９月14日、現ウエスト・パージニアル１
生まれ、約30年間にわたりアラバマ州、ジョージア州、ケンタッキー州で学校の教師を務釛て
いました。1871年に外国伝道局に宣教師を志願すると翌年の1872年に中国派遣宣教師の
任を受け、中国杭州に渡ったランドルフは寄宿女学校長に就任し、女子教育に従事してきました。
1888年、ランドルフは健康を害して強制帰国を命じられ、帰路につきます。その途中のこと、元中国宣教師の親友ミセス・ランパスに会うため神戸 に立ち寄り、しばらく滞在。日本の気候が自分の身体に良いことを知ったランドルフは、米国南長老教会宣救師マカルピンの誘いを受けて名古屋に移住 し、日本基督名古屋一致教会(現日本基督教団名古屋教会）牧師、阪野嘉一が館長だった男子英語塾「翼望館」の英語敬師を務めることとなりました。 そこで、女子教育に生涯を捧げてきたランドルフは、ロ本の女性の地位の低さを目の当たりにします。女子教育の必要性を悟り、1889年1月に女性 の英語クラスを開くと8月には男子の「爽望館」を閉鎖し9月に女性のための「女学専門糞望館」に改組、3人の女生徒を迎え、「女学専門翼望館」を 開校しました。そのとき彼女は自費で2間の教室を建て、自給独立を原則とし蛍した。ランドルフの想いはただひとつ、「神を畏れ、神への奉仕にその 生涯を捧げる、つまり人を愛することをライフワークとする女性の育成」。これが彼女の教育方針であり、それこそ金城学院の建学の精神でした。
開校の翌年(1890年)に「女学専門翼望館」はカンバーランド長老系の「紅楓女学校」と合併し、同年４月に校名を「私立金城女学校」と改称。 生徒数は次第に増え、1891年に校舎が新築されるなど順調なスタートを切りました。しかし残念なことに、|同年10月の濃尾大地震によって校舎 の一部が損壊。ランドルフもその余震の影響で健康を害し、1892年、帰国を余儀なくされます。
彼女は教育に対して大変厳しい方でした。生徒たちには毎日新しい英単語を覚えさせ、翌日暗唱できない生徒を後ろの席に変え、生徒たちは反発する ことなく、最前列に座れるように一生懸命勉強したと伝えられています。生徒たちの勉強意欲を高めたのは、ランドルフの人柄にありました。中国語は 話せても日本語が苦手で生徒の名前がなかなか憶えられなかったランドルフは、いつも生徒たちを「娘」と呼び、生徒たちは温かみと親しみを感じ、先 生のお役に立ちたいと、先を争って彼女のもとに走っていったといわれています。
ランドルフの名古屋滞在は、わずか4年間でした。しかし、この間に女子教育の種を蒔き、金城学院大学の基礎を築いた功績は偉大です。金城学院は 創立100周年記念事業のひとつとして「金城学院大学ランドルフ記念講堂」を建設し、名古屋の女子教育者の－人としてランドルフの名を後世に伝え 続けていきます。（『金城学院物語』17-18頁）
by Nomoto Shinya, board chair
Education Association of Christian Schools in Japan and Doshisha University
This organization, referred to in this address as “the association,” has continued for 100 years. On this occasion, more than anything else, we need to give thanks to God our Father for guiding us through these years.
The seed of the gospel was planted in Japan some 150 years ago, and Christian schools and educational institutions began springing up in each district. However, as soon as they had begun to grow, they were forced to struggle against nationalism. This period also coincided with the beginnings of the ecumenical movement around the world, and so it was in such a situation that the association was born through the prayers, cooperation, and solidarity of the leaders of these schools.
In the first half of the 20th century, overwhelmed by the waves of history, both of Japan and of the world, and forced to cooperate with Japan’s war effort, the Christian schools faced a terrible ordeal. However, in the second half of the 20th century, they received cooperative support from both churches and mission organizations in the West, and as a result, democratic education began. Effort was made to incorporate moral education based on Christianity through mutual association, support, and fellowship among the member schools.
At present, in the association, there are 97 governmentally recognized school corporations, which include a total of 282 institutions with schools from elementary through university, with approximately 346,000 students. This is despite a Christian population of less than one percent, clearly showing that the principles and results of Christian education are generally held in high regard in Japan.
However, the history of those who have gone before us is a history of struggle. When we remember those of our predecessors who literally gave their lives in order to fulfill their calling from God, I feel a strong sense of gratitude and respect. At the same time, looking back at that history of struggle, we cannot overlook God’s blessing interwoven with that history. On this occasion, we are eager to learn about this history from the completed chronological index and, by next year, the compilation of original source documents of the 100-Year History of the Education Association of Christian Schools in Japan. Then, by extension, we may see our path forward and, I think, see our history interwoven with both joy and pain.
Further, even though each school in the association is based on Christian principles, they each have their own histories and traditions, and so they have varying understandings of Christian teaching. For this reason, it has been difficult to achieve a common opinion on issues and, I believe, this will continue to be true in the future.
However, in order for the association to be able to continue, as we must face our present reality and issues, and as we accept our weakness before God and each other, we must respect each other’s differing opinions and positions as we seek unity. That unity, of course, must be a unity based in spiritual union.
Today, as we approach the 100th anniversary of the association, I believe that we should not think of this as a mere point in the passing of time, not a “chromos” but a true “kairos,” in which we can receive anew the gospel of Christ and affirm together the spiritual union we have already received. We should use this opportunity to deepen our unity and fellowship.
As we look back on our past history, both the struggles with the narrow-minded nationalism that was forced upon us, as well as in times when things were more favorable, we need to learn from the experiences of our predecessors in the association, how they sought to fulfill their calling to bring to fruition the freedom and love based on the Gospel of Christ and also the reasons why they could not. We should learn again from the firm resolve, faith, and wisdom of the teachers who went before us in the past 100 years. We should make our own that firm resolve that they have passed on to us. Further, ought we not to confirm that we are being led by the hand of God, which guides history, and use this opportunity to deepen our faith and solidarity? (Tr. GM)
―From Kirisutokyo Gakko Kyoiku
(Christian schools and education)
100周年記念式典式辞―スピリチュアル・ユニオンとしての一致を
野本真也 キリスト教学 校教育同盟理事長・同志社理事長
キリスト教学校教育同盟（以下、教育同盟）は、 ここに結成１００周年を迎えました。わたしたちは何よりもまず、ここにいたるまでの歴史の歩みを導いてくださった父なる神に、心から の感謝をささげたいと思います。
教育同盟は、日本に福音の種が蒔かれ、各地でミッション・スクールやキリスト教学校が芽 を出し、成長し始めるや否や、国家主義との厳しい闘いを強いられる中、また世界的なエキュメニカル運動が高まる中で、同志的な結束を 願う先達たちの祈りと努力によって誕生いたしました。それ以来、20世紀前半の時代に は、世界と日本の歴史の荒波に揉まれ、戦争への協力を余儀なくされるなど、厳しい試練にさらされました。また、20世紀後半の時代には、欧米のキリスト教会とミッ ション団体の強力な援助を受けつつ、民主主義教育をはじめ、キリスト教を徳育の基本とする教育を担う加盟校への支援と相互の交わりに 努めてまいりました。
現在、教育同盟には、97の学校法人、小学校 から大学までの２８２校が加盟しており、約34万６千人の児童、生 徒、学生が学んでいます。この事実は、いわゆるキリスト教人口が１パーセントにも満たない状況にもかかわらず、キリスト教（主義）学 校の教育方針と成果が一般に高く評価されていることを端的に表していると思われます。
しかし、ここに至るまでには、先達の苦闘の歴史がありました。時には、文字どおり存亡を かけて、神から与えられた使命を担い続けてくださった、今は天上に召された多くの先達の方々を想い、尊敬と感謝の念を強く覚えます。
それと同時に、その苦闘の歴史の背後には、神の祝福の歴史があったことも決して見逃すこ とはできません。わたしたちは、このたび完成した『キリスト教学校教育同盟百年史 年表』から、また来年度完成予定の『百年史通史 編』と『資料編』から、先達の苦闘と神の祝福の織りなす歴史を読み取りたいと思います。そしてその歴史の延長上に、わたしたちの進む べき道もまた示され、託されている使命を担う喜びと苦しみの織りなす歴史を展望したいと思います。
そのうえ、教育同盟の加盟校は、各々固有の歴史と伝統をもつキリスト教主義の学校であ り、それゆえに、キリスト教理解そのものもまた多様であります。それだけに、意見の一致を見ることが困難である場合さえ、これまでも ありましたし、またこれからもあり得ると思います。
しかし、まさにこうした現実と困難な課題をかかえているからこそ、また、わたしたちが神 の前に、そしてお互いに弱さをかかえているからこそ、異なる意見と立場を尊重し合い、一致を願い求めていかなければ、同盟が存続して いくことはできません。そして、その一致は、何よりもまずスピリチュアル・ユニオンとしての一致でなければなりません。
わたしたちは、１００年目を迎えた今日というこの時を、単なる時間の流れの区切り、クロ ノスとしてではなく、まさにカイロスとしてキリストの福音を改めて受けとめ直し、わたしたちにすでに与えられているスピリチュアル・ ユニオンを確認し合う、その好機とし、相互の交わりを深めていきたいと思います。
そのために、過去の歴史において、ときには偏狭な国家主義との闘いを強いられる中で、あ るいは逆に、順風の吹く時代環境の中で、教育同盟と加盟法人各学校の先達が、キリストの福音にもとづく自由と愛の現実化のために、ど のような仕方で使命を果たそうとしてきたか、また果たし得なかったかを学びたいと思います。そしてこれまでの１００年の歴史の中か ら、先達の堅い志と信仰と知恵を学び取り、わたしたちもまたそれらを継承していく決意を新たにし、さらに歴史そのものが見えざる御手 によって導かれていることを確認し、わたしたちの信仰と連帯を強める契機としようではありませんか。
（『キリスト教学校教育』）
by Tim Boyle, missionary
Kwansei Gakuin, Nishinomiya
For five nights in November 2010, Japanese television showed a ten-hour-long dramatic series entitled “99 Years of Love, the Japanese-Americans.” It was a powerful and emotional drama that brought back memories of watching Alex Halley’s Roots some 30 or more years ago, with its portrayal of the African-American saga.
The plot is quite true to history, with the unavoidable exception that all the Japanese-American characters are able to speak perfect Japanese but not very good English―necessitated by the parts being played by Japanese actors for a Japanese audience.
The story begins in 1911, when Hiramatsu Chokichi, a young man from a poor farming family, comes to Seattle to seek his fortune. He overcomes many obstacles through sheer determination and good luck, and after many years, builds up a thriving farm. He and his wife Tomo, who came to the U.S. as a “picture bride,” introduced by photograph and arranged by a marriage broker, are blessed with four children. But in 1940, as U.S.-Japan relations sour and anti-Japanese sentiments soar, they decide to send their two young daughters, Shizu and Sachi, to live with relatives in what they thought would be the safety of Japan, while they and the two older boys, Ichiro and Jiro, guard the farm and wait for things settle down.
Pearl Harbor and the outbreak of war, however, ruin their plans. Together with 120,000 fellow Japanese-Americans along the West Coast, they are forced to sell their farm for next to nothing and are herded into Manzanar Relocation Center, one of the hastily construction camps in the interior. Their two daughters likewise face severe hardship in Japan, with Shizu ending up in Hiroshima, where she survives the A-bomb, and Sachi in Okinawa, where she barely escapes with her life. They are briefly reunited, but Shizu dies of radiation exposure and Sachi, feeling she has been utterly abandoned by her family, disappears in the postwar chaos.
During the war, many people viewed the Japanese-Americans as enemy aliens, so to prove that he is a loyal American, Ichiro volunteers to serve with about 1,000 other nisei (second-generation Japanese) in the 442 battalion, which becomes the most highly decorated unit in U.S. history. Ichiro loses his life, saving his fellow soldiers, but more than anything else it was his heroics, along with that of the others, that changed the attitudes of U.S. society toward the Japanese-Americans.
In the story, the Hiramatsu farm had been basically stolen by a white man who hated the Japanese, but on learning that Ichiro had given his life in the dramatic rescue of his beloved Texas regiment (the “Lost Battalion”), he repents and as an act of contrition, gives the family back their farm, which then serves as a base where other Japanese-Americans can get back on their feet. Then in 2010, Sachi comes back to the U.S. for the first time in 70 years and is reunited with Jiro, thus completing the cycle of “99 years of love,” and learns of Ichiro’s ultimate sacrifice. “Greater love has no man than he lay down his life for his friends.” (Jn. 15:13) The sacrifice of Ichiro and his fellow Japanese-American soldiers had overcome the curse of prejudice and discrimination.
It is a powerful story that portrays the insanity of both racism and war, and with the inclusion of the atomic bomb, also the horrors of nuclear weapons. It appeals to President Obama’s pledge to rid the world of nuclear weapons and sends a powerful message of peace.
The beginning scenes can be viewed on the following website: http://www.dramacrazy.net/japanese-drama/99-nen-no-aijapanese-americans-episode-1/ The English subtitles are quite good, and there are links that enable the entire show to be viewed in successive episodes.
______________
Adapted from an article by the author published in the weekly Kwansei Gakuin University Bulletin
rom April 26 to April 29, I attended the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Taiwan. There was heated discussion at the assembly, but what surprised me most was seeing, for the first time, assembly members taking blood tests. With health notebooks in hand, they got their blood tests; and the following morning, based on the results, those assembly members who had a reading that was marked in red received advice about consulting a doctor. Those who were elected as assembly officers were given the privilege of getting a health check. Furthermore, between the most animated discussions, there was a lottery in which a digital camera and a bicycle were awarded. There were also times of great laughter.
The PCT General Assembly was held on the 9th floor of the Mackay Memorial Hospital. The meeting place was a theater-shaped chapel that will seat 500 persons. The Presbyterian Church of Taiwan operates three large hospitals, and because of this, local church apportionments represent only four percent of the total budget, which I frankly found quite enviable.
The PCT and the Kyodan have concluded a mission covenant, mutually sending out missionaries, and this interchange has a long history. Recently, PCT representatives visited the Kyodan in regard to the devastation caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake. The PCT has already contributed 35 million yen and has promised to contribute an additional 20 million yen.
Japan is facing its greatest crisis since World War II, and developing a strategy for dealing with this disaster has also become an issue of greatest importance for the Kyodan. An emergency response headquarters has been established, and a concrete emergency plan has been formulated to grapple with the issue of raising 2.2 billion yen from both within and outside Japan. I am deeply moved that in the midst of this crisis, the PCT has offered fervent prayers and aid, and furthermore, that earnest prayers were offered up at the assembly.
On behalf of the Kyodan, I expressed to the assembly that in addition to being thankful for the PCT’s support, we hope from here on also to deepen the relationship of both of our churches. (Tr. RT)
―Ishibashi Hideo, Kyodan Moderator
台湾基督長老教会総会出席
４月２６日～２９日まで台湾基督教長老 教会(Presbyterian Church of Taiwan)の総 会に出席した。
熱い議論がなされる総会であったが、第一 に驚いたことは議員達が血液検査を受けている 姿を最初に見たことだ。健康手帳を持ち、血液検査を受け、翌日にはその検査を元に、数値が赤でしるされている議員は医師と面談をするよう にとのアナウンスがあった。総会議員に選ばれると健康チェックの特典が付く。さらに、白熱の議論の間にお楽しみの時間もあり、抽選でデジ カメや自転車が当たる。大笑いする時間もあった。
台湾基督長老教会の総会は、馬偕病院の９ 階の礼拝堂で開催された。この会場は５００名 くらい入る劇場形式の礼拝堂であった。
台湾基督教長老教会は病院を経営してい る。三つの大きな病院を経営し、その為に各教会 の負担金は全体の予算の４パーセントで良いとのこと、素直に羨ましいと思った。
同教会と日本基督教団とは宣教協約を結 び、お互いに宣教師を派遣し合い、その交流の歴 史は長い。今回の東日本大震災においても真っ先に日本基督教団にお見舞いに来て下さった。すでに３５００万円の献金をして下さり、さらに ２０００万円の献金をしてくださるという約束をして下さった。
日本は戦後最大の危機の中にあり、日本基 督教団もこの災害の対策が最重要な課題となっ ている。救援対策本部が設置され、国内、国外合わせて２２億円の救援対策を具体的に取り組む計画を立てた。この危機の中にあって、日本基 督教団への熱い祈りと支援が、台湾基督教長老教会からいただき、さらに総会においても熱い祈りを捧げてくださり、感動した。
日本基督教団として、台湾基督教長老教会 からの支援を感謝すると共に、今後とも、両教 会の関係を深めて行くことを総会で表明した。
石橋秀雄
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