The work of the General Secretariat Office is quite varied, and one important function is its work in relating to church bodies outside the Kyodan. Our relationship with the “Group of Three” Korean Churches [The Presbyterian Church of Korea (PCK), The Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea (PROK), and The Korean Methodist Church (KMC)] together with the Korean Christian Church in Japan (KCCJ), is increasingly getting stronger.
The Kyodan had formulated a mutual mission agreement with the three Korean churches (PCK, PROK, and KMC) in 1992, but after 1999, we had not held a joint conference until 2016. Likewise, even though the Kyodan and the KCCJ established their mutual mission agreement in 1984, sufficient exchanges between clergy have not been developed. However, during 2014 and 2015, former General Secretary Nagasaki Tetsuo led the way in finally initiating substantive dialog on the subject of clergy exchanges. In addition to Nagasaki Tetsuo, Kyodan Secretary Kumoshikari Toshimi, Executive Secretary of General Affairs Dohke Norikazu, and Executive Secretary for Ecumenical Ministries Kato Makoto were selected to represent the Kyodan in the consultations, which first began with several meetings with the KCCJ. The conclusion of those initial consultations was that the three Korean churches should also be invited to participate in these consultations, so in 2016, formal discussions between the three Korean churches (PCK, PROK, and KMC) and the two Japan-based churches (Kyodan and KCCJ) began.
One topic of discussion is the two routes by which a clergy member of a different denomination can become a Kyodan pastor. One is to come in as a missionary sent by another church. Such a person is sent by the home church or denomination to work as a Kyodan clergyperson in a Kyodan church or related school or other institution. Another route is for such a clergy person to transfer his or her ordination to the Kyodan. The first route is handled by the Commission on Ecumenical Ministries, while the second goes through the Commission on Ministerial Qualifications. Recognition of missionary status is almost always done through documentation, but for the transfer of ministerial qualifications, the process involves the various regulations of the Kyodan Constitution and bylaws, together with interviews, and so on.
For overseas pastors working in Japan, there is another significant issue. When someone is sent from overseas as a missionary to Japan, documentation from the sending body is sufficient to obtain a religious worker’s visa. However, when it comes to the transfer of ministerial qualifications, it is much more difficult to get such a visa. Depending on the circumstances, it may be necessary to apply for a different kind of visa. It is to discuss these various issues that we are now continuing these dialogs between the two Japan-based churches and the three Korean churches.
I would also like to report on the “Minority Mission Center.” This new office is focused on the work of the KCCJ and was established at the Japan Christian Center on April 8, 2017 in the former office of the KCCJ and its general secretary. The impetus for establishing this center was the International Conference on Minority Issues and Mission held at the Korean YMCA in Japan, Nov. 18-21, 2015. Working under the slogan “Living Together under a Big Tent,” this conference initiated numerous efforts to deal with the problem of “hate speech” and other forms of discrimination faced by foreigners living in Japan—particularly Koreans in Japan.
The Kyodan is cooperating with this effort by sending one member to the Minority Mission Center Borard of Trustees
and two members to its Executive Committee. We pray that the grace of God will reign over the earth. (Tr. TB)
—Acting General Secretary Dohke Norikazu Executive Secretary of General Affairs
総幹事室より 道家紀一（総幹事事務取扱）
総幹事室の働きは多岐 にわたりますが、教団の外の教会（教派）
すでに、韓国３教会（PCK PROK KMC）とは1992年に宣教協約を結んでいますが、1999年
他の教会（教派）から 教団の教師になるのには、二つのルートがあります。
また、別の問題として、
これらの問題を協議するため、韓国３教会（PCK PROK KMC）と日本２教会（UCCJ KCCJ）とは、今、協議を始め ています。
もう一つの事柄としては、「マイノリティー宣教センター」
日本基督教団からも理事１名と運営委員２名を派遣して、
by Takiyama Kiyomi, pastor, Takanosu Church, Akita Prefecture, Ou District Director, Kodomoen Shalom, Certified Nursery School and Kindergarten
My father used to declare, “I want to be working as a pastor until the day I die.” Ironically, just as he had said, he finished his earthly journey when he was 58 years old as the head pastor of Fukushima Shinmachi Church. My father was a happy-go-lucky kind of fellow who really loved children and liked to talk with people but did not like going to the doctor. He was so happy the day of my graduation from college, but that very night a stroke caused by arrhythmia took him away to heaven. It was just four days before Easter.
On that Easter Sunday my mother, the assistant pastor, gave the message instead of my father, who had almost always preached the sermons. Before that day, I had seen my mother stand at the pulpit only a few times. I do not remember the content of the message, but I will never forget the sight of my mother, illuminated by the light coming from the crystal glass of the chapel, looking straight ahead while speaking.
My parents were the kind of people who got really excited every Sunday. My mother used to get up especially early on Sunday mornings and sing hymns. I generally hid under the covers, but as her voice gradually got closer, I would jump out of bed. For me, the hymns that my mother sang were not a lullaby, but an alarm clock. My father had a habit of saying, “The job of a pastor is the best job!” He was the kind of person who, whenever he was asked about his sermon, would not stop talking.
I do not remember ever being told that I should become a pastor, but at some point I began to feel, “It is unnatural for me to live life as something other than a pastor.” I had been thinking, “Someday I will dedicate my life. Until then, I will do what I like.” But when I lost my father, I made up my mind and said, “Now is the time!” Right away, I got an application form and headed to an interview with a committee from Tohoku District in order to apply for the “C-course” examination.* The answer of the committee members was, “You are too young. But if you go to seminary, we will give you a recommendation. You need to study.” When I think about it now, all I can do is just blush. But at that time, I was ignorant of the fact that I did not know anything at all. Angrily, I headed for home.
I could not endure leaving my home in Fukushima, so I procrastinated about going to seminary and got a job at a nearby juku (cram school). Work was enjoyable, and every day was comfortable. But somewhere in my heart there was a sense of impatience. I thought, “I should not be doing this.” However, I could not break away from what I was doing. I kept saying to myself, “One more year,” until six years passed.
Then the East Japan Disaster happened. March 11, 2011 was supposed to be a normal day without anything unusual happening. It started out no different from usual. I left home, cleaned my workplace, and began to prepare for my lessons. At 2:46 p.m. as the ground shook violently, everything changed. It was announced that everyone should return home, so I went home and found my mother cleaning the church sanctuary. But our house was a mess! My mother was worried and said, “I wonder if we can hold the worship service this Sunday.” I looked at her, dumbfounded, and thought, “She really thinks of nothing else but church.” After my father had passed away suddenly, she was worried about the worship service even as she was crying. And now, even during the Great East Japan Disaster, she was more worried about the worship service than about our own home, even though we had just had a sudden earthquake. Watching my mother, I saw that she had a divine and unwavering calling to be a pastor.
Every day, in the newspaper and on television, there were reports about the people who had died. I heard the names of people who were younger than I was. I am sure that each person had been spending that day no differently from any other day. However, days that are no different from other days do not last forever. Life in this body is going to come to an end someday. That “someday” will surely come, and it will come suddenly. As I faced the reality of so many deaths and became conscious of my own mortality, I started to think about what I wanted to do before I die. At the time of death, what would I be thinking? As I considered that, the answer was very clear to me. “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you.” (Jer. 1:5)
Five months have now passed since I graduated from seminary and was called to Takanosu Church. As the church had been without a pastor for three years, I was appointed right away. My first Sunday in the pulpit was March 27, which strangely enough was Easter Sunday, and I recalled the sight of my mother, standing at the pulpit. This church is just a small group of seven church members, but they support me, a novice evangelist, both physically and spiritually. They are patient and polite with me, so I am getting along fine. Also Kodomoen Shalom, a church-related center for early childhood education and care, has welcomed me warmly as its director. I am really grateful. I think that I am protected like this due to much prayer behind the scenes.
“But by the grace of God, I am what I am.” (I Cor. 15:10) The Lord is with me, so I will keep trusting in the Lord. I will endeavor to do my daily work, which has been given to me today. (Tr. KT)
—From Shinto no Tomo (Believers’ Friend), October 2016 issue
*Without attending a seminary or theological school. C-course candidates are required to pass all of the exams within a certain number of years after beginning the program.
p7
神に呼 ばれて：いつか終わる生涯ー自分のやることは何か
瀧山喜与実 秋田・鷹巣教会伝道師、幼保連携型認定こども園 しゃろーむキリスト教主事
牧師であった父は、福島の教会で現役のまま58歳で急 逝しました。副牧師の母は、4日後のイースターには講壇に立ちま
この体にはいつか終わりが訪れます。
「生涯現役牧師」（死ぬまで牧師でいたい）と宣言していた父は、
私の両親は日曜日になると張り切る夫婦でした。母は、
「牧師になるように」と言われた覚えはありませんが、
福島の家を離れるのは忍びなく、
そして、東日本大震災が起こりました。
３月11日は何の変哲もない1日のはずでした。いつもと変わ らずに家を出て、いつもと変わらずに職場の掃除をし、
新聞やニュースでは、亡くなられた方の報道が連日なされました。
この体にはいつか終わりが訪れます。「いつか」
「わたしはあなたを母の胎内に造る前から あなたを知っていた」（エレミヤ書１・５）
神学校を卒業し、鷹巣教会に派遣され、5カ月が たちました。鷹巣教会は３年間無牧だったので早めに赴任し、３月
「神の恵みによって今日のわたしがあるのです」（Ⅰコリン ト15・10）。共 におられる主に依り頼みつつ、与えられた今日1日の務めに励みた
by Otomo Satoshi, pastor, Nakamuracho Church, Tokyo
Professor, Tokyo Union Theological Seminary
My hometown is Kuroishi in Aomori Prefecture. Some 140 years ago, in 1878, three students from Toogijuku School, which had just been established in Hirosaki, came to Kuroishi and boldly began Christian evangelism. That was the beginning of Kyodan Kuroishi Church. One anecdote from that time is found in a book written in 1880 by an English traveler named Isabella Lucy Bird entitled, Unbeaten Tracks in Japan (published by Kodansha). She said that while she was staying in Kuroishi, these three young men from the former samurai class arrived and enthusiastically told her in broken English that they were there to communicate the Gospel to the people of Kuroishi. Thus, during this time of great upheaval in Japanese society soon after the Meiji Restoration,, a U.S. missionary had gone to the far north snow country of Aomori and made known the Gospel of Christ. These young men, who had gladly received the message, then were baptized and soon went out on their own to evangelize the surrounding areas, and Kuroishi Church was born.
It was in that small church that my faith was nurtured. I became a pastor and am now taking on the responsibility of raising the next generation of evangelists. The question I also ask myself is whether I have been able to inherit the evangelistic passion of those young men of long ago.
Isabella Bird was the daughter of an Anglican Church vicar, and when she traveled to Japan in the early Meiji Era, she wrote this concerning the few Japanese Christians that existed then: “These converts to the Christian faith were not simply converts, they were evangelists of high moral character, and in that there is great hope for the future of Japan.” However, she also warned that while the Japanese were adopting Western civilization at a prodigious rate, they were also resistant to Christianity, and their society and politics were in danger of moral decline due to materialism. She stressed the importance of communicating the gospel to the Japanese, expressing her hope that all Japanese who received baptism would themselves become evangelistic in their proclamation of the gospel. She concluded that hope for the future of Japan really lies in that. This message really speaks to us today as well.
It has been over 150 years since Protestant evangelism began in Japan, and yet the Christian population of Japan has not reached even one percent. While the numerous mission schools in Japan have had a positive effect, the total number of baptized Christians who attend worship services is still less than one million. Moreover, it has even been gradually declining in recent years. This decline is most apparent in rural churches. While evangelists are certainly necessary to revive the church, more important is the work of the laity. There are some types of evangelism that only lay people can do—namely, living a life that “releases the fragrance of Christ.”
One laywoman who is a pediatric doctor in a rural town has a box of Gideon Bibles in the waiting room of her clinic, with a sign on it saying, “Take as many copies as you want.” Worried mothers who bring their sick children to the doctor and are encouraged by her kindness often take a Bible back home with them. Some of them are moved by the words they read and think they would like to visit the church this doctor attends, so they bring their children with them. Some of those have then been baptized and become active members of that church.
Another laywoman married a Japanese man who was very much against her becoming active in church, even forbidding her to attend services. So on Sunday mornings, she would sit in the corner of the living room reading her Bible and, with tears in her eyes, softly singing hymns. Their three children grew up, watching their mother do this each Sunday. They saw their beloved mother treasuring this so much that they went to church themselves, and this eventually led to all three being baptized, which in turn led to their father changing. He also eventually was led to Christ and became a baptized Christian.
Last year, I experienced a totally unexpected stroke. Being faced with the possibility that my life would soon be over, I was forced to think seriously about what I should do with the rest of my life. I told of my experience in an article in a certain magazine, where I mused, “If I only have a short time left in life, I would want to use that time for the Lord and not myself. I would want to use it for evangelism, and I wonder if others think the same way.” As a result of that article, one pastor’s wife was encouraged to enroll in Tokyo Union Theological Seminary.
If each layperson would get involved in the kinds of evangelism they can do, we would see a revival of the Japanese church. I want to communicate the Gospel message and to do that as a joint project with all of you as we think together about what each of us can do.
—Shinto no Tomo (Believers’ Friend), Feb. 2017 issue
Summarized by KNL Editor Kawakami Yoshiko
(Tr. TB)
生き方を通して福音を証ししよう
小友 聡 お とも さとし／ 東京・中村町教会牧師、東京神学大学教授
私の出身は青森県の黒石です。今から140年前の1878（明 治11）年、弘前に設立されたばかりの東奥義塾の学生３ 人が黒石にやって来て、果敢にキリスト教の伝道を開始しました。
私はこの小さな教会で信仰を育まれ、牧師となって、
バードはイギリス国教会の牧師の娘でした。彼女は明治初期の日本 を旅し、当時まだわずかの日本人キリスト者たちについて、
日本のプロテスタント伝道が始まって150年たちましたが、
ある地方教会で、小児科医院の女医さんが待合室に国際ギデオン協 会の新約聖書をたくさん置き、「ご自由にどうぞ」
昨年私はまったく予期せず脳梗塞の発作に襲われました。人生の終 わりを突然突き付けられ、
信徒の皆さんが、それぞれできる仕方で 伝道を担ってくだされば、日本の教会は復興できるのではないでし
by Kato Makoto, executive secretary
The 62nd (2017) General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan was held April 18–21 in a large conference room at Mackay Memorial Hospital in Taipei. I attended at the invitation of the PCT as a Kyodan representative, together with Kyodan Moderator Ishibashi Hideo and Hayashida Yoshiyuki and his wife Kyoko, former missionaries to Taiwan. Following the opening worship service led by Rev. Suda Tada, moderator of the previous PCT General Assembly, those of us from overseas churches gave our greetings. First was Rev. Hayashida, presently the pastor of Uneno Church in Kawanishi, Hyogo, Japan. The Hayashidas had served the Japanese church in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, from 1983 until March 2017. The PCT covered their expenses to attend and gave them this opportunity to speak to the assembly. The fourth and final greeting was that of Kyodan Moderator Ishibashi, who expressed his deep gratitude to the PCT for exchanges with the Kyodan and particularly for its great support for the victims of the Great East Japan Disaster of March 2011.
One of the distinguishing features of the PCT is the large number of pastors of aboriginal ethnicity. As a result, the handbook used at the assembly included Scripture readings in Amis, Bunun and seven other representative native languages. The assembly itself was conducted in Mandarin Chinese, but one could hear the Taiwanese language being used as well. Delegates’ statements and remarks were limited to three minutes, and since the remaining time for each delegate was displayed on a screen above the platform, no one spoke overtime.
On the first day, the new moderator was chosen by ballot, with Rev. Chen Ming-Chin being elected. The main agenda on the second day was the ratification of the executive secretaries at the church headquarters, and while there was some heated discussion concerning that, the slate was approved. The new associate general secretaries chosen were Rev. Tsai Nan-Hsin and Rev. Eleng Tjaljimaraw, while Rev. Joshua Lian was selected to be the executive secretary for the Ecumenical and International Committee. Executive Secretary Ching An-Yen, who played such a vital role in the deepening of relations between the PCT and the Kyodan during the past four years will be stepping down at the end of June.
The PCT is deeply divided over the issue of sexual minorities. There was passionate debate with no unity evolving, so the matter is shaking the foundations of the denomination.
Our schedule was such that we needed to bid farewell on the third day of the conference, but former General Secretary Andrew Chang made arrangements for Ishibashi and myself to drive through the Keelung area of northern Taiwan together with Rev. Lee Mneg Jer and his wife, who were the former PCT missionaries to the Kyodan’s Tokyo Taiwanese Church. I was so thankful that we could have good fellowship on the way to the airport. (Tr. TB)
台 湾基督長老教会総会出席
報 告 加藤 誠幹事
2017年4月18日（火）～21日（金）まで台北市Taipei Cityあるマカイ記念病院 大会議室を会場にして第62回台湾基督長老教会Presbyterian Chruch in Taiwan総会General Assemblyが開催された。教団からは石橋 秀雄教団総会議長、林田義行元宣教師・林田響子夫人、加藤誠世界宣教幹事が出席した。第61総 会期議長のSuda Tada牧師による開会礼拝後、海外の 来賓挨拶が行われた。トップバッターは林田義行牧師（畦野教会）であった。林田牧師夫妻 は2017年3月まで台湾の高雄で1983年 以来日本人教会を牧会された元宣教師である。今回はPCTが費用を全て負担して台湾に招 き、総会で退任の挨拶をする機会を与えてくださった。4番目、つまり最後の来賓挨拶は 石橋議長であった。石橋議長はこれまでのPCTとの交わりに感謝し、特に2011年3月に起きた東日本大震災で被災された方々への支援を感謝した。
台湾基督長老教会の特色の一つは原住民の牧師が多数存在すること
初日の選挙の結果、新議長にRev. Chen, Ming-Chinが 選出された。
台湾基督長老教会は性的少数者の事柄で教団全体を揺るがすほど意
こちらのスケジュールの都合で3日 目に総会は失礼したが、フライト前にRev. Andrew Chang前 総幹事の計らいで、台湾北部の基隆Keelungへ のドライブに東京台湾教会派遣宣教師の李孟哲(Lee Mneg Jer)牧 師夫妻、石橋議長と共に連れて行っていただき、
by Takada Teruki, staff Kyodan General Office, Tokyo
A three-day missionary conference was held at the base of Mt. Fuji at Torchbearers Yamanakako from Monday, March 20 (a holiday), with the theme, “Joy at the Household of God” (Acts 2:42-47). Including missionary families and Kyodan staff, a total of 37 persons attended, among whom 23 were missionaries.
The Site: Torchbearers Yamanakako
The Torchbearers, which originated after World War II from the mutual friendship between the churches of British Wales and Germany, was founded for the purpose of opening Bible camps throughout the world. The one in Japan is a retreat established in an area located one kilometer from the shore of Lake Yamanaka and made to resemble closely the forests of Germany and the countryside of Canada. The wooden building felt soothing to me. The fragrance and heat of the wood burning in the fireplace warmed not only the participants’ bodies but also their hearts. This was different from a hotel or a Japanese inn. The immediate feeling of “narrowness” sensed by those who came—that very cozy closeness of space—shrank the distance between the participants, and relaxed relationships were instantly formed. In the midst of this cozy atmosphere, free of tension, the messages at the worship services and the testimonies reverberated deep within our hearts, and we experienced a noticeable rise in our ability to concentrate.
The Schedule
The message at the opening worship service on the first day was offered by Pastor Imaizumi Nobuhiro of Mukonoso Church (in Hyogo, near Osaka), and following a delicious supper, we split into small groups to introduce ourselves and pray for one another. It snowed from the morning of the second day. That morning, testimonies were given by Elizabeth Mbundu and Karen Strydom, teachers at Kyoai Gakuen High School, and following breakfast, under the direction of Kyodan Executive Secretary Kato Makoto, there was a treasure hunt and a ping-pong tournament. During individual free time that afternoon, we went to a nearby hot spa and other places. The evening campfire was canceled due to snow, but instead we warmed up the meeting room and held a candlelight service during which Nishinasuno Church (in Tochigi) Pastor Ban Hyung Wook and Sheila Norris, a teacher at Kwassui Women’s University (in Nagasaki), gave testimonies of their personal struggles of evangelizing in Japan.
From the morning of the third day, the weather was fine. The program began with the testimony of Uotsu Church (in Toyama) Pastor Ruth Ester Waehrer, followed by a worship service commemorating deceased missionaries led by Kobe Jesus Band Church Pastor Claudia Genung-Yamamoto and a communion service, with Rev. Thomas Goetz of Hokusei Gakuen University (in Sapporo) officiating. During the final meeting, the next year’s planning committee was chosen. Then Rev. Akiyama Toru, chair of the Kyodan’s Commission on Ecumenical Ministries, gave the message at the closing worship service. Throughout the entire meeting, Josephine Kimura of Ferris Girls’ High School (in Yokohama) provided the music.
The Participants
From Hokkaido in the north to Kyushu in the south, attendees were able to gather together from throughout the country. First-time participants were Mrs. Carol Imaizumi from Mukonoso Church, Rev. and Mrs. Lee Meng Jer from Tokyo Taiwan Church, Rev. Lin Mei-Ying from Saitama Chinese Worship Mission Church, missionary Karen Strydon of Kyoai Gakuen Gakuen, and Yuka, the adopted daughter of missionaries Jonathan and Satomi McCurley. There was sparse participation by missionaries from Korea and Taiwan and only Akiyama Toru, moderator of Kanto District, who also serves as chair of the Committee on Ecumenical Ministries, represented the Kyodan districts.
The Special Blessings of this Missionary Conference
I have worked in the Kyodan Office for the past ten years, but I have never before experienced as great a blessing as I did at this missionary conference.
1. The site was separated from daily life, a place free from our regular work and interpersonal relationships.
2. On the contrary, the institution was in the middle of nature, and when you tuned your ears to God’s Word, strangely it was a place where that Word reverberated in your heart.
3. Again, this time especially, there was a blessed chance to hear the testimonies of senior missionaries who had given their lives and struggled for a long time during their mission work in Japan. Sheila Norris’s testimony about her work of teaching and overcoming difficulties particularly struck my heart.
For this reason, participants soon opened their hearts, and as if they had been acquaintances for many decades, they were mutually able to deepen their trust relationships. It was a heart-cleansing experience.
The Planning Committee
What we must not forget about the missionary conference is the existence of the planning committee. On the last day of the 2016 Missionary Conference, held in Sendai one year ago, the following four persons were chosen and have borne that heavy responsibility:
1. Rev. Imaizumi Nobuhiro (United Methodist Church), Mukonoso Church),
2. Rev. Timothy Appau (All African Baptist Fellowship, Asian Rural Institute),
3. Rev. Chang, In-Hye (Korean Methodist Church), Hizume Church), and
4. Ms. Devora Umipig-Julian (UMC, Yoyogi Uehara Church).
At the initiative of Secretary Kato during the first consultation held in the Kyodan conference room in July 2016, the place, theme, and Bible passages were decided. Then while staying overnight at the site of Torchbearers Yamanakako, the committee proceeded to draft the schedule as well as to decide the division of responsibility. During the five days prior to the conference, when we were so busy with preparations, the flexible coordination of Devora Umipig-Julian was particularly helpful, for which I am very grateful. (Tr. RT)
２０１７年３月２０日（月・祝日）から３日間、富士山の麓、
１．トーチベアラーズ山中湖
第二次世界大戦後、英国ウェールズとドイツとの間で、
２．スケジュール
初日、武庫之荘教会・今泉信宏牧師の説教で開会礼拝をささげ、
３．参加者
北は札幌・函館・弘前から西は長崎まで、
４．今回の宣教師会議での特別な恵み
私はこれまで10年間、教団事務局で働いてきたが、
①そこは日常から離れ、普段の仕事や人間 関係から解放された場であった。
②加えてその施設は、大自然の中にあり、
③更に今回は特に、日本での宣教活動に長い間、
こういう訳で、参加者はすぐに心を開き、
５．企画委員
宣教師会議で忘れてならないのが企画委員の存在である。１年前、
Rev. Imaizumi Nobuhiro (UMC, Mukonoso Church), Rev. Timothy Appau (All Africa Baptist Fellowship, Asian Rural Institute), Rev. Chang, In-Hye (KMC, Hizume Church), Ms. Debora Umipig-Julian (UMC, Yoyogi Uehara Church).
加藤幹事のイニシアチブの下、2016年7月教団会議室での第一
教団事務局職員 高田輝樹
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