Monthly Archives: April 2011

Sunday, May 1st – 1st Sunday after Easter

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West Tokyo Union Church

Sunday, May 1, 2011 – 1st Sunday after Easter

Sunday School

ES Age 4 – Gr 2 – Meets at 9:30 in the cafeteria. Contact Lynn Loveman (lloveman@asij.ac.jp) or Amy Harbaugh (aharbaugh@asij.ac.jp) for more information.

ES Gr 3 – 5:  Meets at 9:30 in the cafeteria. Contact Kristi Hoskins (khoskins@asij.ac.jp) or Julie Rogers (jrogers@asij.ac.jp), Sunday School coordinators if you need more details or wish to help.

MS:  Meets at 9:45 in the cafeteria. Contact Ruth Ingulsrud (ruth@thirdculture.com) or Pastor Claudia (RevClaudia@aol.com) for more information.

Adult Intro to Bible Study:  Meets upstairs at 9:45.

Worship: 10:55

Old Testament Reading:  Psalm 118

Gospel:  John 20 : 19-31

Sermon:  “Leave Your Place of Hiding” – Rev. Claudia

Service to our congregation and community

Church Directory – Updated published directory is now available. Please get a copy from Toshi Sasao.

WTUC supports Second Harvest Japan where WTUC member, Ruby Sakuma, works as the Food Pantry Coordinator. Second Harvest Japan welcomes volunteers on Fridays and Saturdays to help with the preparation and distribution of food to the homeless.  Those who are interested may see Ruby  or go to the Second Harvest Japan website (2hj.org) to sign up.

Music at WTUC:  If you have favorite songs that you would like to sing, please send Carrie Bennett your requests.  bennettinkuwait@hotmail.com

Carrie is going to help coordinate music at WTUC.  Anyone interested in committing their vocal and musical talents TWICE a month email or see Carrie.

Interested in being a liturgist? Contact Betsy Terada.

Interested in joining the prayer chain? See Pastor Claudia or Kayo Ozawa, prayer chain coordinator.

Interested in becoming a Lay Eucharistic Minister? Contact Pastor Claudia.

Other

 Prayer requests – send to Pastor Claudia or Prayer Chain Coordinator Kayo Ozawa; kayo@ta2.so-net.ne.jp

 Website – www.wtuc.net

Church contacts:

Pastor:  Rev. Claudia Genung-Yamamoto; RevClaudia@aol.com

Steering Committee chairperson: Karen Seevers; kseevers@asij.ac.jp

Report of CCA Northeast Partner Delegation to Earthquake Disaster Area

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On April 11, the one month anniversary of the quake while waiting at the airport for the arrival of the Korean, Hong Kong, and Taiwan delegations:

Narita was not as crowded as usual since so many flights had been canceled with the decrease of travelers to Japan.

Delegation: NCC Korea General Secretary Rev. Kim Young Ju, NCC Hong Kong General Secretary Rev. Po Kam-Cheong, General Secretary of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan Rev. Andrew T.C. Chang, General Secretary of the Korean Christian Service Rev. Kim Il-Whan, Korean Methodist Church Ecumenical Desk Rev. Shim Bog Hyun,  NCCK Director of Department of Justice and Peace Lee Hunsam, Presbyterian Church in Korea Executive Secretary of Justice and Peace Rev. Lee Gil-Soo,  General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Korea Dept. of Social Service Ministry Rev. Seung Youl Lee, Taiwan Church Press reporter Alice Chen.  From Japan: the Acting General Office Secretary of NCC Japan Rev. Hiroko Ueda (UCCJ) and NCCJ International Churches in Japan Liaison and Japan Christian Activity Newsletter editor Rev. Claudia Genung-Yamamoto (UMC missionary).  After all had gathered, we loaded up into the chartered bus and late at 3:30 to go to Sendai.  We hoped it would be a five-hour trip, but a quake (6.1) hit Fukushima around 5:15 p.m. and we could not use the freeway anymore. So we slowly crept along side roads. A little after  9:00 p.m., we stopped for dinner on a side road at a small ramen shop which also served kimchee making  our Korean guests happy although we would have enjoyed anything.

After our late dinner, we got back on the road and traveled for some time, Rev. Po led us in prayer and soon after, we found the freeways had once again opened. Our arrival time at the ryokan hotel was around 11:45 p.m.

The next day we had a simple breakfast of rice balls and tea, as the hotel was not prepared to make elaborate meals.

Our first visit was to another ryokan hotel which has agreed to accept volunteer teams. We met Rev. Shouei Abe of the Nazarene Church and Korean missionary Rev. Keun Bae Lee who was to be the translator.  As we waited for our Korean translator, we saw a small number of local residents coming to take baths, as many places still haven’t had running water since the quake

We continued our journey to the city of Ishonomaki.  In Ishomaki, the March 11  tsunami was a muddy deluge  sweeping cars into various places and smashing cars into houses, some houses were standing but badly damaged on the second floor, but we also saw pulverized wooden houses.  Looking out from the bus windows we saw that roads had been cleared  but the houses and buildings still had debris everywhere.

Leaving the bus, we smelled an interesting mixture of sea air, ash, and trash.  Many workers had masks on as the air was not good to breathe.  There was also concern about the news that the radiation leak at Fukushima No.1 nuclear plant is now officially designated as a “7” on the international nuclear-events scale.

At the church we met to the Eiko church (UCCJ) where we met the pastor, Rev. Minoru Kobuna.

A Korean Christian news station came to the church. Rev. Hiroko Ueda shared her words of thank to Korean for all their aid to Japan.

Next, we viewed the devastation. The mud consisted partially of pulp, as there had been a paper factory nearby.  The church showed us the water marks from the tsunami. We toured the neighborhood and saw volunteers sent from Emmaus Center around the neighborhood. Many volunteers were using bicycles to get around.

One group was busy shoveling mud out of homes, clearing debris around homes, and trying to make a path for an abandoned car which had been washed between he two homes by the tsunami.   Their goal was to clear enough debris to remove and discard the useless car.

There were many abandoned cars which had flyers taped on the outside saying the car had been officially inspected and no one was inside.

The church had just opened the kindergarten the day before and had around 50 children, although some had not returned. The church membership was around 21, but one member had died in the tsunami. Walking around the area was like a war zone.  A few  aftershocks occurred as we continued to walk around. Running water had only been restored a few days beforehand.

We boarded the bus and ate our bentos on the bus as we went an hour away to Higashi-Matsushima to the Social Welfare Society at City Hall. Without the support of the government, it would be hard to do relief work. However, Higashi Matsushima City was prepared to take foreign volunteer teams later if a translator came with the team. The city official appreciated the prayers and support from Taiwan, Korea, and Hong Kong. Behind us was a banner from the children in Shokoku with messages like “let’s work together for a bright future” and “our hearts are one” and “lets work hard together to recover.”

Sendai to the Emmaus Center: The Emmaus Center was started 60 years ago by missionaries in Sendai. 10 years ago the ministry was handed to the Japanese church. At the Emmaus Center, there is a Christian book store, the Tohoku Kyodan (UCCJ) office,

(Rev. Takahashi is the director), and youth ministries led by Jeffrey (add his last name). We were warmly welcomed by the Acting Director, Rev. Yoshiya Matsumoto, UCC missionary, Rev. Jeffrey Mensendiek who is the director of the Sendai Youth Center and translated for the delegation from English to Japanese and Japanese to English. (Jeffrey grew up as a missionary kid in Sendai.)  There were other staff members and volunteers in the office so it was a hub of activity. The quake happened over Spring Break and four days alter relief efforts began. Jeffrey said; “None of us are experts, but we have gathered volunteers and have been reaching out to the community.” The Tohoku Office has approved activities and made a Committee for Church Relief.

The newly formed Sendai Alliance of Churches now has an office at the Emmaus Center. (The S.A.C. includes the United Church of Christ in Japan (Kyodan), The Evangelical Alliance Mission (TEAM), various other Protestant bodies including small independent churches, and the Roman Catholic Church. The Sendai Alliance sent out a team of volunteers whom we saw at Ishonomaki Church where the volunteers have been helping the families of the kindergarten, church members, and other neighbors in the community. Every Thursday night, 70-80 representatives from various churches gather to pray and discuss activities.

One such activity has been “praying for the dead” since so many people had to be buried so quickly. Buddhist priest and Christian ministers work together to say prayers beforehand.

Churches form Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong have sent much money, prayers, and support and in the future wish to send work teams through the Emmaus Center. The churches in Taiwan also sent bicycles which are badly needed as sometimes the volunteers had to bike 40 minutes out to the ocean area.

Although Sendai City Hall and the government do provide many services, the Emmaus Center finds the gap and begin their ministry there.

We had dinner with Rev. Yoshida and Rev. Kawakami with the Sendai Alliance of Churches and learned more about their relief work ministry and needs.

Donations are the primary need now and later work camps will be helpful.

Returning late to the hotel, we were exhausted but woke up early the next morning to go back to Narita praying that no aftershocks would occur. On the long ride back to Tokyo, the four general secretaries had a meeting at the back of the bus to discuss the upcoming meeting in Korea on May 5,6,7 where aid to Japan will be the topic. NCCJ looks forward to future partnership from ecumenical friends as we work together in relief work ministry.

Website for Emmaus Center: http://ameblo.jp/jishin-support-uccj-en/

Website for Sendai Christian Alliance: http://tohokuhelp.com/

Website for Second Harvest Japan: http://www.2hj.org/index.php/eng_home

 

Schedule of Visit to Japan Earthquake Disaster Area April 11-13, 2011

  • April 11 (Mon)
  • 12:10 Delegates of NCC Korea arrive Narita Airport
  • Lunch at Narita Airport
  • 14:35 NCC Hong Kong Rev. Po arrives
  • 15:30 To Sendai
  • April 12 (Tue)
  • 8:00 To Mastushima
  • 9:30 Meeting at Uchiumi-Ryokan regarding workcamps
  • 12:00 Lunch at Ishinomaki –Eiko Church http://tohoku.uccj.jp/i-eikou/
  • 13:00 Visit to Volunteer work, Emmaus Team of Kyodan (UCCJ) Tohoku District Center
  • 15:00 Meeting at Higashi-Mastushima at Social Welfare Society
  • With Mr.Chiba
  • 18:00 Meeting (and Dinner) with Sendai Christian Alliance for Relief Work in Sendai
  • April 13 (Wed)
  • return to Tokyo

Sunday, April 24th – Easter Sunday

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West Tokyo Union Church

Sunday, April 24, 2011 – Easter Sunday

A reminder: April 22nd – Good Friday service, 7:30 p.m. at Malcolm and Mio Foster’s home.

Please come to our SUNDAY EASTER BRUNCH, starting with our EASTER EGG HUNT at 9:30. Any high school or middle school kids who would like to help hide the eggs should come at 9:00.

Please bring a BREAKFAST DISH to serve your family and up to 6 others; also a BEVERAGE to share, if possible. You can start delivering food to the cafeteria at 9:00. Bring your own place settings and some flowers to help brighten up our EASTER DAY, too!

Most of all, invite a friend and enjoy the fellowship at WTUC!

Parking will be limited so please park next door at the Tokyo Union Theological Seminary’s parking lot or park in the back parking lot.

Sunday School – No Sunday School this week.

Worship: 10:55

Gospel: Matthew 28 : 1-10

Sermon:  “Easter People Raise Our Voices as One” – Rev. Claudia

Easter, the day that we observe the resurrection of Jesus Christ, corresponds to the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox. In 325 A.D., Constantine, emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, convened the Council of Nicea. Among the business before the council was to establish a uniform date for this festival. One difference of opinion about the celebration of Easter had concerned whether to commemorate the day in conjunction with Passover (held on the 14th-15th of the Jewish month of Nisan, which could fall on any day of the week) or on the first Sunday after the Passover. For many Christians who were not of Jewish descent this Sunday would have corresponded with their ordinary day of worship. For many, it was called “the Day of the Lord” because Jesus was raised on “the first day of the week,” according to the Gospels. Though nobody knows just how big a controversy this was, most scholars believe that the number of people opting for the observation of Easter in conjunction with Nisan 14/15 (called “Quartodecimans”) were relatively few and limited primarily to Asia Minor. This was not an “East vs. West” issue, nor was it centered on the spirituality associated with the Passover vs. secular feasts. The major issue regarding the celebration of Easter that led to different practices taken up by the council centered on whose system to use to ascertain the vernal equinox and the 14th/15th day of the month of Nisan. The issue was whether to use a Jewish system relying on a traditional cycle that added months periodically (leading to years when Easter would either be celebrated twice or occur before the vernal equinox) or to go with an independent calculation. The council did not decree what sort of calculation be used in every case, but dating of Easter to the Julian calendar did win out, in the end. Things were complicated by the extended use of the Julian calendar over the centuries and the introduction of a new Gregorian calendar, at the time of the Reformation, was intended to streamline and simplify the solar year even more. Though the Gregorian calendar is in place in most churches and secular institutions today, many Orthodox retain the Julian calendar or some reworking of it. That accounts for the different dates used to celebrate Easter now. To this day, we who are descendents of the Western line of Christendom, use a different calendar than the Eastern Orthodox churches. Sometimes our celebration of Easter falls on the same day, and sometimes it varies by as much as five weeks! This year and Orthodox and Western Easter fall on the same date, April 24. The World Council of Churches is in discussion with the Orthodox Church on officially establishing the same date to celebrate Easter.

Service to our congregation and community

Church Directory – Updated published directory is now available. Please get a copy from Toshi Sasao.

WTUC supports Second Harvest Japan where WTUC member, Ruby Sakuma, works as the Food Pantry Coordinator. Second Harvest Japan welcomes volunteers on Fridays and Saturdays to help with the preparation and distribution of food to the homeless.  Those who are interested may see Ruby  or go to the Second Harvest Japan website (2hj.org) to sign up.

Music at WTUC:  If you have favorite songs that you would like to sing, please send Carrie Bennett your requests.  bennettinkuwait@hotmail.com

Carrie is going to help coordinate music at WTUC.  Anyone interested in committing their vocal and musical talents TWICE a month email or see Carrie.

Interested in being a liturgist? Contact Betsy Terada.

Interested in joining the prayer chain? See Pastor Claudia or Kayo Ozawa, prayer chain coordinator.

Interested in becoming a Lay Eucharistic Minister? Contact Pastor Claudia.

Other

Prayer requests – send to Pastor Claudia or Prayer Chain Coordinator Kayo Ozawa; kayo@ta2.so-net.ne.jp

Website – www.wtuc.net

Church contacts:

Pastor:  Rev. Claudia Genung-Yamamoto; RevClaudia@aol.com

Steering Committee chairperson: Karen Seevers; kseevers@asij.ac.jp

Sunday, April 17th – Palm Sunday

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West Tokyo Union Church

Sunday, April 17, 2011 – Palm Sunday

Sunday School

ES Age 4 – Gr 2 – Meets at 9:30 in the cafeteria. Contact Lynn Loveman (lloveman@asij.ac.jp) or Amy Harbaugh (aharbaugh@asij.ac.jp) for more information.

ES Gr 3 – 5:  Meets at 9:30 in the cafeteria. Contact Kristi Hoskins (khoskins@asij.ac.jp) or Julie Rogers (jrogers@asij.ac.jp), Sunday School coordinators if you need more details or wish to help.

MS:  Meets at 9:45 in the cafeteria. Contact Ruth Ingulsrud (ruth@thirdculture.com) or Pastor Claudia (RevClaudia@aol.com) for more information.

Adult Intro to Bible Study:  Meets upstairs at 9:45.

Worship: 10:55

Old Testament Reading:  Psalm 118

Gospel:  Matthew 21 : 1-11; Luke 23 : 32-43

Sermon:  “Palms to Passion” – Rev. Dr. Jim Sack

April 22nd – Good Friday service, 7:30 p.m. at Malcolm and Mio Foster’s home.

April 24th – Easter; Potluck Brunch and Egg Hunt at 9:30 a.m. Church worship at 10:55 a.m.

If you would like offering envelopes, please contact Mark Hisamatsu.

Service to our congregation and community

Church Directory – Updated published directory is now available. Please get a copy from Toshi Sasao.

WTUC supports Second Harvest Japan where WTUC member, Ruby Sakuma, works as the Food Pantry Coordinator. Second Harvest Japan welcomes volunteers on Fridays and Saturdays to help with the preparation and distribution of food to the homeless.  Those who are interested may see Ruby  or go to the Second Harvest Japan website (2hj.org) to sign up.

Music at WTUC:  If you have favorite songs that you would like to sing, please send Carrie Bennett your requests.  bennettinkuwait@hotmail.com

Carrie is going to help coordinate music at WTUC.  Anyone interested in committing their vocal and musical talents TWICE a month email or see Carrie.

Interested in being a liturgist? Contact Betsy Terada.

Interested in joining the prayer chain? See Pastor Claudia or Kayo Ozawa, prayer chain coordinator.

Interested in becoming a Lay Eucharistic Minister? Contact Pastor Claudia.

Other

 Prayer requests – send to Pastor Claudia or Prayer Chain Coordinator Kayo Ozawa (kayo@ta2.so-net.ne.jp)

 Website – www.wtuc.net

Church contacts:

Pastor:  Rev. Claudia Genung-Yamamoto; RevClaudia@aol.com

Steering Committee chairperson: Karen Seevers; kseevers@asij.ac.jp

Sunday, April 10th – Fifth Sunday of Lent

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West Tokyo Union Church

Sunday, April 10, 2011 – Fifth Sunday of Lent

Sunday School

The WTUC youth are having a “yard” sale on Saturday, April 16th to raise money for tsunami victims.  If you have an item you’re interested in donating for us to sell, please bring it to church either on Sunday, April 3rd or Sunday, April 10th and Julie Rogers will collect it.  Place your name on the item so we can return it to you should we be unable to sell it.  The youth so far have gathered toys, kitchen items, small furniture, small appliances, and a few pieces of art.  Please contact Julie Rogers at jrogers@asij.ac.jp or call 042-406-5553 if you have questions about donations.  Thank you!

ES Age 4 – Gr 2:  Not meeting this Sunday.

ES Gr 3 – 5:  Meets during church. Contact Kristi Hoskins (khoskins@asij.ac.jp) or Julie Rogers (jrogers@asij.ac.jp), Sunday School coordinators if you need more details or wish to help.

MS:  Meets at 9:45 in the cafeteria. Contact Ruth Ingulsrud (ruth@thirdculture.com) or Pastor Claudia (RevClaudia@aol.com) for more information.

Adult Intro to Bible Study:  Meets upstairs at 9:45.

Worship: 10:55

Children’s Message:  Carrie Bennett

Scripture:  John 9 : 1-7

Sermon:  “Why There are Disasters, Tragedies and Pain in the World” – Rev. Claudia

Farewell to Sally and Dan Witmer

Anyone who would like to bring cookies, fruit, cheese or small finger food snacks for the fellowship time after church, please do so as we enjoy our time together in honor of the Witmers.

Upcoming Calendar – Dates to Remember

April 17th – Palm Sunday; Children process in with palms. Rev. Dr. Jim Sack preaching.

April 22nd – Good Friday service, 7:30 p.m. at Malcolm and Mio Foster’s home.

April 24th – Easter; Potluck Brunch and Egg Hunt at 9:30 a.m. Church worship at 10:55 a.m.

If you would like offering envelopes, please contact Mark Hisamatsu.

Service to our congregation and community

Church Directory – Updated published directory is now available. Please get a copy from Toshi Sasao.

WTUC supports Second Harvest Japan where WTUC member, Ruby Sakuma, works as the Food Pantry Coordinator. Second Harvest Japan welcomes volunteers on Fridays and Saturdays to help with the preparation and distribution of food to the homeless.  Those who are interested may see Ruby  or go to the Second Harvest Japan website (2hj.org) to sign up.

Music at WTUC:  If you have favorite songs that you would like to sing, please send Carrie Bennett your requests.  bennettinkuwait@hotmail.com

Carrie is going to help coordinate music at WTUC.  Anyone interested in committing their vocal and musical talents TWICE a month email or see Carrie.

Interested in being a liturgist? Contact Betsy Terada.

Interested in joining the prayer chain? See Pastor Claudia or Kayo Ozawa, prayer chain coordinator.

Interested in becoming a Lay Eucharistic Minister? Contact Pastor Claudia.

Other

 Prayer requests – send to Pastor Claudia or Prayer Chain Coordinator Kayo Ozawa (kayo@ta2.so-net.ne.jp)

 Website – www.wtuc.net

Church contacts:

Pastor:  Rev. Claudia Genung-Yamamoto; RevClaudia@aol.com

Steering Committee chairperson: Karen Seevers; kseevers@asij.ac.jp

Sunday, April 3rd – Fourth Sunday in Lent

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Sunday School

The WTUC youth are having a “yard” sale on Saturday, April 16th to raise money for tsunami victims.  If you have an item you’re interested in donating for us to sell, please bring it to church either on Sunday, April 3rd or Sunday, April 10th and Julie Rogers will collect it.  Place your name on the item so we can return it to you should we be unable to sell it.  The youth so far have gathered toys, kitchen items, small furniture, small appliances, and a few pieces of art.  Please contact Julie Rogers at jrogers@asij.ac.jp or call 042-406-5553 if you have questions about donations.  Thank you!

ES Age 4 – Gr 2: Meets during church this Sunday. Contact Lynn Loveman (lloveman@asij.ac.jp) or Amy Harbaugh (aharbaugh@asij.ac.jp) for more information.

ES Gr 3 – 5: Meets at 9:30 in the cafeteria. Contact Kristi Hoskins (khoskins@asij.ac.jp) or Julie Rogers (jrogers@asij.ac.jp), Sunday School coordinators if you need more details or wish to help.

MS: Meets at 9:45 in the cafeteria. Contact Ruth Ingulsrud (ruth@thirdculture.com) or Pastor Claudia (RevClaudia@aol.com) for more information.

Adult Intro to Bible Study: Meets upstairs at 9:45.

Worship: 10:55

Old Testament: 1 Samuel 16: 1-13

Sermon:  “The Lord looks at the heart” – Rev. Teresa

Guest Preacher: Rev. Teresa Sherrill is an ordained Mennonite minister.   Her husband, Rev. Dr. Mike Sherrill, is a chaplain and professor at Aoyama Gakuin. Teresa is the PTA Spiritual Life Coordinator at Christian Academy in Japan. They attend worship at  Kurume Bible Fellowship held at the auditorium at the Christian Academy in Japan school. Teresa sings in the Hallelujah Gospel Family’s Group and performs twice a year. Husband Mike plays drums for the Praise Music Band. The whole family attended WTUC from 2000-2002 before serving the Hokkaido Mennonite Conference from 2002-2008. When they were worshipping with us at WTUC, Mike and Teresa often preached for us. They have 3 children; Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Sophia.

“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in…” —Matthew 25:35

Please read the letter sent to the international churches from NCCJ. If anyone thinks they might be able to house a quake/tsunami, radiation evacuee; talk to Pastor Claudia.

Dear international church friends in Japan;

Greetings, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ  from the National Christian Council in Japan.

NCCJ (National Christian Council in Japan) has  become an indispensable ecumenical hub for sharing information, and dispatching goods and personnel to the worst-hit areas following the earthquake disaster in Japan. It is working in coordination with the newly established Christian Coalition in Sendai, which includes The Evangelical Alliance Mission (TEAM), the United Church of Christ in Japan (Kyodan),  the  Anglican Church of Japan (Nippon Sei Ko Kai), Japan Baptist Convention, Japan Baptist Union, Japan Evangelical Lutheran Association (JELA), the Korean Christian Church in Japan, various other Protestant bodies, and the Roman Catholic Church. The Sendai Coalition is using the Emmaus Center which also serves as the Tohoku (NE) District office and Student Center of the Kyodan as its base of operations. NCCJ is working with ecumenically diverse organizations to provide relief for those whose lives have been devastated by the quake, tsunami, and radiation threats from the Fukushima nuclear power plant.  We are especially concerned about those who are marginalized and have no other channel of support as we continue to consult with the churches represented in the Christian Coalition to determine priorities and avoid needless duplication.

The NCCJ office is now in the process of finding available housing for internally displaced persons through our national network of churches and organizations. Our home page will be providing regular updates (mostly in Japanese) with occasional English messages. Our home page is simply: http://ncc-j.org.  Our Housing Support Coordinator is Mr. Zen Koike, who speaks English as well as Japanese.

What we need to know from you and your church members are:

How many people are you willing to receive? Families OK? Children OK? Single people (male or female or either)?

Would the evacuee(s) or evacuee family have their own bedroom? Bathroom?

Does the evacuee(s) need to know  English or can you speak Japanese?

Would you prefer a Christian evacuee or is non-Christian OK?

Are you able to provide any meals or some meals? is there a convenience store or grocery store nearby where the evacuees that  you host could purchase food?

Where is your location and nearest train station?

What is the length of stay you could handle? (e.g. one week, three weeks, one month, three months, six months, etc.)

Are willing to offer for use a vacant house, residential quarters or apartment in the countryside, or in another part of Japan, that is semi-equipped or semi-furnished?

There may be other questions that follow, but we will try to match up your home with compatible individuals and families. We will continue to gather more information about people in need who must find a temporary places to live and we hope to assist them in rebuilding their lives as quickly as possible.

Call or email Zen Koike at: 090-7174-4077

zen@ncc-j.org
housing@ncc-j.org

Upcoming Calendar – Dates to Remember

April 10 – Fifth Sunday in Lent. Pastor Claudia preaching

April 17th – Palm Sunday; Children process in with palms. Rev. Dr. Jim Sack preaching.

April 22nd – Good Friday service, 7:30 p.m. at Malcolm and Mio Foster’s home.

April 24th – Easter; Potluck Brunch and Egg Hunt at 9:30 a.m. Church worship at 10:55 a.m.

If you would like offering envelopes, please contact Mark Hisamatsu.

Service to our congregation and community

Church Directory – Updated published directory is now available. Please get a copy from Toshi Sasao.

WTUC supports Second Harvest Japan where WTUC member, Ruby Sakuma, works as the Food Pantry Coordinator. Second Harvest Japan welcomes volunteers on Fridays and Saturdays to help with the preparation and distribution of food to the homeless.  Those who are interested may see Ruby  or go to the Second Harvest Japan website (2hj.org) to sign up.

Music at WTUC:  If you have favorite songs that you would like to sing, please send Carrie Bennett your requests.  bennettinkuwait@hotmail.com

Carrie is going to help coordinate music at WTUC.  Anyone interested in committing their vocal and musical talents TWICE a month email or see Carrie.

Interested in being a liturgist? Contact Betsy Terada.

Interested in joining the prayer chain? See Pastor Claudia or Kayo Ozawa, prayer chain coordinator.

Interested in becoming a Lay Eucharistic Minister? Contact Pastor Claudia.

Other

Prayer requests – send to Pastor Claudia or Prayer Chain Coordinator Kayo Ozawa (kayo@ta2.so-net.ne.jp)

Website – www.wtuc.net

Church contacts:

Pastor:  Rev. Claudia Genung-Yamamoto; RevClaudia@aol.com

Steering Committee chairperson: Karen Seevers; kseevers@asij.ac.jp