On Oct. 9, 2017, the Tokyo District 500th Year Reformation Commemoration and Gospel Evangelism Convention was held in Goucher Memorial Chapel at Aoyama Gakuin University. Sponsored jointly by Tokyo District and the Tokyo Association of Laypersons, the convention was planned as an event to commemorate the Reformation, calling together not only churches in Tokyo but also the various churches in the suburbs. It was a half-day meeting, structured in three parts.
For the first part, “Commemorative Worship,” Yamakita Nobuhisa, chair of the Kyodan Board of Publication's Board of Directors, gave the message. He informed us that looking back at the amazement and love revealed in the meeting of Jesus with the paralyzed man and his four friends can be seen as the basis of what occurs in the midst of present-day progress and not just what occurred during the Reformation in the past.
“The Commemorative Concert,” the second part, was performed by the Japan Bach Collegium. Suzuki Masato led the group with their four soloists, accompanied by organ, as they presented Bach compositions. With the guidance of Suzuki’s commentary between the compositions, we were able to trace the praise of the churches born during the Reformation. At the end of the concert, the performers and concert attendees united their voices in praise, singing “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.”
In the third part, the “Sharing Time,” reports were presented by Kyodan youth participants in both the Japan/Germany and Japan/Taiwan Youth Mission programs, and an appeal was made for the Kyodan Young Adult Convention to be held in the spring of 2018.
It was a large gathering, even for the Tokyo District, as there were 150 churches represented among the 822 participants. There were 126 participants who did not register a church affiliation, so there were probably many seekers and future believers among them. This not only will bring encouragement to pastors and believers but also appropriately relates to Gospel evangelism! (Tr. RT)
—From Kyodan Shinpo (The Kyodan Times)No.4872
雨天、曇天の多かった10月、珍しく晴天に恵まれた9日に「東京教区宗教改革500周年記念・福音伝道大会」が青山学院大学ガウチャー記念礼拝堂で開催された。教区主催、東京信徒会共催による大会で、東京のみならず首都圏の諸教会に呼びかけて宗教改革を改めて覚える行事として企画された。3部で構成された半日のプログラムだった。
1部「記念礼拝」は、出版局理事長・山北宣久(Yamakita Nobuhisa)氏が御言葉を取り次いだ。キリストと中風の人、4人の友人の出会いに示される驚きと愛に立ち返ることが、宗教改革を過去のものとせず現在進行中のこととして捉えることの根源にあると知らされた。
2部「記念演奏会」は、バッハ・コレギウム・ジャパンによって行われた。鈴木優人氏が、メンバーの声楽ソリスト4名と共に、オルガン演奏によってバッハの楽曲を披露した。鈴木氏が曲の合間に入れてくれる解説に導かれて宗教改革で誕生した教会の讃美をたどることができた。演奏会最後には「神はわがやぐら」によって出演者たちと会衆が共に力強い讃美を捧げた。
3部「交わりのとき」には、夏に行われた教団・日独、日台の両ユースミッション参加者の報告、また来春行われる教団・教会青年大会のアピールがあった。
150教会、出席者822名は東京教区としても大きな大会となった。出席教会名が未記入だった126名の方々の中には多くの求道者、未信者の方たちが含まれていたことであろう。このことは、大会で教職、信徒が励まされるのみならず、福音伝道にふさわしいことであった。(教団新報4872号より)
