West Tokyo Union Church Weekly

Sunday, February 22, 2015

Pastor:  Rev. Teresa Thompson Sherrill     wtucrev@gmail.com

THIS WEEK: Sunday, the 22nd –

9:30-10:30 AM – ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL in the Sacks` living room. 9:30-10:30 AM – MULTIGENERATIONAL SUNDAY SCHOOL in cafeteria.

11:00 AM – WORSHIP

FELLOWSHIP TIME: after the service

Sunday, February 22nd – During the 11 AM worship, Rev. Dr. Paul Shew will preach from 1 Corinthians 3:1-9,18-23 bringing a sermon titled “Human Wisdom and God’s Wisdom.” After the worship service will be a robust fellowship time. All are welcome!

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about the preacher – Rev. Dr. Paul Tsuchido Shew is missionary of the United Methodist Church, and serves with Rev. Dr. Mike Sherrill at Aoyama Gakuin, where he is university chaplain, faculty in the College of Literature, and Gakuin Dean of Religion. He felt called to Christian ministry in Japan when he was a high school exchange student in Sendai, and has served in churches and Christian schools in the Tokyo area since 2000. His research fields are modern history of Christianity, Christian education and comparative religious studies. He and his wife, Mari, live with their three children in Musashino-shi with Mari’s parents.

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CHRISTIAN EDUCATION CORNER (we value your prayers & involvement in this vital ministry)  Any questions, please contact Pastor Teresa at wtucrev@gmail.com, or Julie Rogers for HS; Amy Harbaugh and Steve Bennett for Upper ES and Lower MS, grades 4-7; and Carrie Bennett for Lower ES, grades K-3.

Little Kids: all are welcome to enjoy books and colouring materials during the service.

ES – Tentative swim and devotions dates – March 18th (PACT) 5:00pm, April 8th (PACT) 5:00pm, May 13th (PACT) 5:00pm, June 3rd 5:00 pm

MS/HS – Sunday, March 1st, they are traveling to Tokyo Union Church to worship with them

Next MULTIGENERATIONAL and ADULT Sunday School – 2/22, 9:30-10:30am

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Upcoming Preaching Ministry and Community Time

February 22nd  Multigenerational and Adult Sunday School, Rev. Dr. Paul Shew      preaching

March 1st          Rev. Dr. Jim Sack preaching, Communion

March 8th         Multigenerational and Adult Sunday School, Pastor Teresa preaching

March 15th       Pastor Teresa preaching

March 22nd     Multigenerational and Adult Sunday School, Makoto Fujimura preaching http://www.makotofujimura.com/, Communion will be served

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MULTIGENERATIONAL SUNDAY SCHOOL!! ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL!!

We have Multigenerational Sunday School from 9:30 in the cafeteria the second and fourth Sundays of the month. Who is welcome? All ages. We will be creating, discussing, playing games, acting out bible stories and more. At the same time, the Sacks host the Adult Sunday School, also at 9:30 am in  their living room. The method used is the, “Swedish Bible study method,” interacting with the texts for the service through our own life experiences. Their home is right across the Lutheran Campus from our sanctuary.  Best coffee in town = ) Come and enjoy! (At times Adult Sunday School is held in the Upper Room, on the 2nd floor above the Sanctuary.) All are welcome. Need more information, contact wtucrev@gmail.com any time = ) Sunday School schedule:  2/22, 3/8, 3/22, 4/12, 4/26, 5/10, 5/24, 6/14 and 6/28.

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AFARI, American Friends of ARI (Asian Rural Institute), is an organization of friends, former volunteers, expats who came to know ARI through T.U.C. and mission co-workers who have deeply respected the mission and people of ARI since its founding in 1973. Each year since 2004, AFARI has sought gifts of frequent flier miles (mostly on Delta/NWA and United, but also from other airlines that carry passengers from parts of Asia, the Pacific Islands and Central/South America to Tokyo.) If you or a family member have enough miles for a one-way or round-rip flight that could be used to bring a participant from Kathmandu, Myanmar or Manila (for example), please be in touch with pamhasegawa@gmail.com at your earliest convenience. The Hasegawa family, T.U.C members from 1985-89, enjoy a lifelong bond with A.R.I. For the last 10 years their family has given at least one ticket a year to support the travel of a participant whose organization did not have the funds for air fare. AFARI members in North America agree, “It has been a joy for us to contribute to the mission of ARI in this way and we would invite you to join us, if you can, in making your own contribution of FF miles.”  

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WTUC  Announcements:

  *Questions or concerns?  Feel free to email wtucrev@gmail.com anytime.

  *Please enjoy and refer our website https://wtuc.net/ and FB page (West Tokyo Union Church) to others.  Please make any suggestions for additions to the Pastor Teresa and/or Steering Committee.   

  *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.

  *Sign up for snacks for fellowship time with Ann or on the list on the white board for next year. We appreciate your contributions to our community life!

  *Each week we will be setting up the chairs for worship and preparing the sanctuary, anyone around at 10:30am is invited to be involved in the fun = )  Each week we will also return our sanctuary to it`s classroom style after the fellowship time.

*Interested in baptism or membership, please contact Pastor Teresa.

*Interested in a paid position setting up and/or taking down the chairs of our sanctuary?  Contact Pastor Teresa at wtucrev@gmail.com

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1 Corinthians 3:1-9, 18-23

3 And so, brothers and sisters,[a] I could not speak to you as spiritual people, but rather as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. 2 I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for solid food. Even now you are still not ready, 3 for you are still of the flesh. For as long as there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not of the flesh, and behaving according to human inclinations? 4 For when one says, “I belong to Paul,” and another, “I belong to Apollos,” are you not merely human?

5 What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, as the Lord assigned to each. 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7 So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 8 The one who plants and the one who waters have a common purpose, and each will receive wages according to the labor of each. 9 For we are God’s servants, working together; you are God’s field, God’s building.

10 According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building on it. Each builder must choose with care how to build on it. 11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— 13 the work of each builder will become visible, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each has done. 14 If what has been built on the foundation survives, the builder will receive a reward. 15 If the work is burned up, the builder will suffer loss; the builder will be saved, but only as through fire.16 Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?[b] 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.

18 Do not deceive yourselves. If you think that you are wise in this age, you should become fools so that you may become wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written,

“He catches the wise in their craftiness,”

20 and again,

“The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise,

    that they are futile.”

21 So let no one boast about human leaders. For all things are yours, 22 whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all belong to you, 23 and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.