Between the end of April and June 26, all 17 Kyodan districts held their respective 2010 annual assemblies. There are several aspects of this year's assemblies that I would like to highlight.
1. Delegates were elected in each district for the upcoming 37th Kyodan General Assembly in late October. However, Okinawa District will again decline to send delegates to the assembly. Of course the district……
The Kyodan's Missional Planning Conference was held March 1-2 at Fujimicho Church in Tokyo under the theme "Confirming the Kyodan's Eclesiology Today." There were 85 persons in attendance at the beginning of the conference. With the exception of Kyoto District, all 17 Kyodan districts were represented. However, the attendees from the Kyushu and Okinawa districts were not district representatives b……
With gratitude we come to the end of our celebration of the 150th anniversary of Protestant mission in Japan, which has included over a hundred events of various types and has resulted in two commemorative publications: Christ, Our Only Salvation: 150 Years of Mission in Japan and Commemorative Report: For a New Expansive Vision.
The first publication, Christ, Our Only Salvation: 150 Years of Miss……
by Hirata Kazuko, member
Committee on Education, Osaka District
Director of Christian Education, Handago Church
Included among the many ministries of the Kyodan Committee on Education is the important work of supporting church school Christian education. A Christian Education Seminar is conducted biannually. The previous one was held in March 2008 in Shikoku District, where those who serve in chur……
"Learning from our Catholic Brethren," a seminar for laity and clergy sponsored by the Commission on Ecumenical Ministries, was held on Sept. 5, 2009 at the Kichijoji Catholic Church in Tokyo. There, we listened to a presentation on Catholicism by the head priest, Father Miyazaki Yasushi. We often associate Catholicism in Japan with the kakure (hidden) Christians (hiding from persecution during th……
But I am among you as one who serves.(Luke 22:27)
by Higashi Joshua, professor
Shokei Gakuin University, Sendai
Anny Syrena Buzzell (Aug. 3, 1866-Feb. 5, 1936) was the second daughter born to the Oliver Buzzell family in Lowell, Massachusetts. Later, in 1877, the family settled in the village of Juniata, Nebraska. Both of Anny's parents were descendants of the Huguenots, early French Protestant Ca……
by Oshikiri Minori, member
Higashi-Nakano Church and
Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office Study Group
Last November, the "Friends of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office" Bible Study Group published a small booklet. A year earlier, Ichijo Hitoshi, a member of the group who had struggled with illness for four years, passed on to his heavenly reward while clutching his beloved Bible close to his……
Ever since 1998, the number of suicide deaths in Japan has continued at the high level of over 30,000 annually. To meet this critical situation, the Japanese government promulgated the "Basic Law against Suicide" in 2006 and took measures to implement it, but to this day the high level has not been reduced. The above number also means that annually more than double or triple that number of bereave……
A one-day Seminar for Pastors was held at Asagaya Church in Tokyo on Sept. 15, 2009, with 33 people from 30 churches and Tokyo Union Theological Seminary, including 2 lay persons, in attendance. The theme of the seminar was "Death and Funerals Today," and the featured speaker was Kaku Shuichi, director of the Christian Counseling Center. Having served several churches as a pastor of the Japan Evan……
I recently represented the Kyodan at the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan's 55th Annual General Assembly, which was held at Chang-June Girls High School in Tainan, Taiwan under the theme "Let cultures flourish; Let God's justice take root." The more than 500 delegates in attendance engaged in a lively discussion of the various agenda items, and I sensed their deep commitment to engage actively in eva……
