Sunday, February 16th

Sunday, February 16th – Rev. Hikari Kokai Chang will bring the sermon, “Journey Home” from Jeremiah 31:7-10. See an introduction to Rev. Chang below. Communion will be served.  We will enjoy fellowship after the service.

Multi-generational-worship

THIS SUNDAY BEGINS – February 16th we will have multigenerational Sunday School from 9:30 in the cafeteria. Who is welcome?  All ages.  We will be creating, discussing, playing games, acting out bible stories and more.  If parents want their kids to join in on the fun at the multigenerational Sunday School while they attend the Adult Sunday School that will be at the Sacks – that`s great too.  These multigenerational Sunday School gatherings will be offered twice a month.  This will be in addition to the regular Wednesday evening offerings for ES, MS and HS.  The Sacks will host the Adult Sunday school, also at 9:30 am in their living room.  Their home is right across the Lutheran Campus from our sanctuary. Best coffee in town = ) Come and enjoy!  All are welcome.

The Rev. Hikari Kokai Chang is a regional missionary of The United Methodist Church serving as administrative and program director of the Wesley Foundation in Tokyo, Japan.  The Wesley Foundation is an independent organization engaged in activities of public benefit in Japan. It has strong ties to United Methodist Women and the General Board of Global Ministries. Rev. Chang was appointed in 2012 to lead the foundation toward official recognition as a public benefit entity under Japanese law. The foundation has a building with facilities for promoting educational and social activities in partnership with churches and other nongovernmental organizations. Hikari Kokai Chang was born in Japan and retains Japanese citizenship, although she is a member of the New York Annual Conference. She has served pastorates in Wakefield, Massachusetts, and Armonk and Oceanside, New York. She holds both Bachelor of Divinity and Master of Divinity degrees from the Tokyo Union Theological Seminary, and a Master of Sacred Theology degree from the Boston University School of Theology. At Boston, she specialized in pastoral care and counseling.  Born into the family of a pastor of the United Church of Christ in Japan (Kyodan), she was deeply nourished in faith by her parents and members of the congregations her father served. Interested in relations between religion and culture in Japan, she enrolled in the Tokyo Union Seminary and in the course of her study felt called to the ordained clergy. She was commissioned as a Kyodan local pastor. Feeling the need for more training, she enrolled in Boston University in 1986, there meeting the man she would marry, the Rev. Hak-Soon Chang, a native of South Korea. She became an elder in the New England Annual Conference in 2003 and later transferred to New York. Local church ministry, she says, made her increasingly appreciative of the diversity of cultures as God’s rich blessing. She understands mission as “sharing God’s love in the world” and believes each Christian is called to mission. “Throughout my life,” Hikari says, “I have experienced God’s unmistakable presence and amazing works in many different cultures. So I embrace these experiences and stories as a gift from God as I serve in mission.” The Changs have two children, Ji Ae Joanna, a young adult, and Shin Ae Susanna Chang, a teenager, a student at ASIJ.
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CHRISTIAN EDUCATION CORNER (we value your prayers & involvement in this vital ministry)  Contact Carrie Bennett for ES, Julie Rogers for MS, Amy Harbaugh for HS or Pastor Teresa at wtucrev@gmail.com with any questions.

Little Kids (1-5) Sunday School: February 16th during church
Topic: The Son Who Left Home  The Widows Offering    Teacher:  Allie

NEXT ES Youth Grades 2-5: Wednesday, March 5thth  at the Bennett`s home from 5-6:30 pm
Topic: The Parable of the Sower   Teacher: Steve   Dinner Responsibility: Bennetts

NEXT MS Youth: Wed. March 5th from 5-6:30 pm at the Rogers, Bible study, service project and pizza.

NEXT HS Youth: to be announced.

NEXT ADULT Sunday School: Parable studies, Sun. February 16th at the Sacks from 9:30-10:30 am
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Interested in becoming a member at WTUC? – please talk to Pastor Teresa about the upcoming membership class.
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Upcoming Preaching Ministry
February 23      Rev. Reita Yazawa
March 2             Pastor Teresa
March 5             Ash Wednesday service at Tang/Lee home, Pastor Teresa
March 9th         Pastor Teresa
March 16th       Rev. Jim, Communion
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Sea Glass necklaces made from broken glass found on the Tohoku seashore after the tsunami are being sold to benefit “2 Criminals” -  a movie produced by Paul Nethercott -  https://vimeo.com/channels/paulnethercott
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SNACK SIGNUP Sign up for snacks for fellowship time with Ann or on the list on the white board.  We greatly appreciate your contributions to our community life!
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WTUC  Announcements
*Any questions or concerns?  Feel free to email wtucrev@gmail.com anytime.
*Please enjoy and refer our website and FB page (West Tokyo Union Church) to others.  Please make any suggestions for additions to the Pastor Teresa and/or Steering Committee.  https://wtuc.net/
*If you’d like to be added to the WTUC church email list, please contact Gene Witt ewitt@asij.ac.jp
*If interested in joining the WTUC Prayer Chain, let Pastor Teresa or Prayer Chain Coordinator, Kayo Ozawa, know of your interest. Please submit prayers to wtucrev@gmail.com or Kayo Ozawa.
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Jeremiah 31:7-10
New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
7
For thus says the Lord:
Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob,
    and raise shouts for the chief of the nations;
proclaim, give praise, and say,
    “Save, O Lord, your people,
    the remnant of Israel.”
8
See, I am going to bring them from the land of the north,
    and gather them from the farthest parts of the earth,
among them the blind and the lame,
    those with child and those in labor, together;
    a great company, they shall return here.
9
With weeping they shall come,
    and with consolations I will lead them back,
I will let them walk by brooks of water,
    in a straight path in which they shall not stumble;
for I have become a father to Israel,
    and Ephraim is my firstborn.
10
Hear the word of the Lord, O nations,
    and declare it in the coastlands far away;
say, “He who scattered Israel will gather him,
    and will keep him as a shepherd a flock.”

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