Sunday, May 11th – Rev. Hikari Kokai Chang of the Wesley Center in Shibuya http://www.wesleyfoundationjp.com/en/aboutus.html will preach from Luke 15, with a sermon titled, Coming Home.  We will have a time of blessing our Mother`s/Caregivers during the service.  After the worship service let`s enjoy robust fellowship snacks.

ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL at the Sacks 9:30 AM

MULTIGENERATIONAL SUNDAY SCHOOL in the cafeteria 9:30AM

WORSHIP  11:00 AM  Blessing of mother`s/caregiver`s

FELLOWSHIP TIME (after the service – all are invited)

********************************************************************
Interesting article by Henri Nouwen on his reflection of Rembrandt`s, the Prodigal Son – http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/books/excerpts.php?id=21226

***
Our guest today:
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.

***
MULTIGENERATIONAL SUNDAY SCHOOL IS HERE! MULTIGENERATIONAL SUNDAY SCHOOL IS HERE !!
Upcoming Schedule for Sundays – May 11th, May 25th, June 8th and June 22nd.   Twice a month 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.  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 on these same dates.  Their home is right across the Lutheran Campus from our sanctuary.  Best coffee in town = ) Come and enjoy!  All are welcome.  Need more information, contact wtucrev@gmail.com any time =)
****
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 (1-6) Sunday School during church Topic: Dorcas, a Special Friend, Cornelius  Teacher: Allie

NEXT ES Youth Grades 2-5: Wednesday May 27th at the Bennett`s home from 5-6:30 pm  Topic: Parables Review  Teachers: Steve/Carrie   Pizza:  Norris/Loveman

NEXT MS Youth: Preparation for the Youth Service

NEXT HS Youth:  Preparation for the Youth Service

NEXT MULTI GENERATIONAL Sunday School – Sunday May 11th in Cafeteria from 9:30-10:30 am

NEXT ADULT Sunday School – Sunday May 11th at the Sack`s from 9:30-10:30 am

***
Upcoming Preaching Ministry and Community Events
May 11th     Rev. Hikari Kokai Chang, Mother`s/Caregiver`s Day
May 18th    Rev. Tim, Communion
May 25th    Multigenerational Sunday School, Rev. Jim
June 1st      Pastor Teresa, Youth Service, Communion
June 8th    Multigenerational Sunday School, Pastor Teresa, PENTECOST,  RED robust Fellowship Time – invite your friends!

***
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!

***
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.

***
Luke 15:11-32 (MSG) The Story of the Lost Son
11-12 Then he said, “There was once a man who had two sons. The younger said to his father, ‘Father, I want right now what’s coming to me.’ 12-16 “So the father divided the property between them. It wasn’t long before the younger son packed his bags and left for a distant country. There, undisciplined and dissipated, he wasted everything he had. After he had gone through all his money, there was a bad famine all through that country and he began to hurt. He signed on with a citizen there who assigned him to his fields to slop the pigs. He was so hungry he would have eaten the corncobs in the pig slop, but no one would give him any 17-20 “That brought him to his senses. He said, ‘All those farmhands working for my father sit down to three meals a day, and here I am starving to death. I’m going back to my father. I’ll say to him, Father, I’ve sinned against God, I’ve sinned before you; I don’t deserve to be called your son. Take me on as a hired hand.’ He got right up and went home to his father. 20-21 “When he was still a long way off, his father saw him. His heart pounding, he ran out, embraced him, and kissed him. The son started his speech: ‘Father, I’ve sinned against God, I’ve sinned before you; I don’t deserve to be called your son ever again.’ 22-24 “But the father wasn’t listening. He was calling to the servants, ‘Quick. Bring a clean set of clothes and dress him. Put the family ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Then get a grain-fed heifer and roast it. We’re going to feast! We’re going to have a wonderful time! My son is here—given up for dead and now alive! Given up for lost and now found!’ And they began to have a wonderful time. 25-27 “All this time his older son was out in the field. When the day’s work was done he came in. As he approached the house, he heard the music and dancing. Calling over one of the houseboys, he asked what was going on. He told him, ‘Your brother came home. Your father has ordered a feast—barbecued beef!—because he has him home safe and sound.’ 28-30 “The older brother stalked off in an angry sulk and refused to join in. His father came out and tried to talk to him, but he wouldn’t listen. The son said, ‘Look how many years I’ve stayed here serving you, never giving you one moment of grief, but have you ever thrown a party for me and my friends? Then this son of yours who has thrown away your money on whores shows up and you go all out with a feast!’ 31-32 “His father said, ‘Son, you don’t understand. You’re with me all the time, and everything that is mine is yours—but this is a wonderful time, and we had to celebrate. This brother of yours was dead, and he’s alive! He was lost, and he’s found!’”