May Emmaus Newsletter (エマオ通信)

In the past 3 months I've had the opportunity to visit many different Kyodan (UCC-J) churches in Japan. I'm a little embarrassed to admit that in the U.S. I often skipped Sunday worship services and sometimes dreaded going to church. I think that many young people both in the U.S. and in Japan share my feelings that church services can be a little dull. Of course, this is not a reflection of the pastor or the congregation just that young people today live very busy lives and might rather spend a few extra hours sleeping or talking to their friends than in church on a Sunday morning.

I've had many conversations about this with my pastor at Sycamore Church in El Cerrito, California and she and I have become very good friends in the past few years. If it weren't for Pastor Sharon I would not be in Japan because she was the one who told me about this opportunity. I had doubts about whether I would be able to fulfill the duties of a missionary in Japan because I don't feel I've ever made church or Christianity a central part of my life. My favorite parts of church are volunteering as a youth counselor in Bible Day Camp or at our annual Bazaar in September. It was through each of these activities I always felt closer to God by actively working together with other members of God's family. Today, I am proud to see young people I watched grow up as members of the Sunday School or campers in Bible Day Camp now leading other youth as camp counselors. They are learning to give back to their community even if they don't always like to come to Sunday worship services.

I have no formal training in theology and do not plan to attend seminary. My future career goals include working with young people in urban environments to reduce pollution and waste. My hope is that I can encourage young people to take an interest in the cities where they live and learn to care for their communities. In pursuing this career path I've had the opportunity to travel to work with non-profit organizations in indigenous communities abroad as well as help to start a community-lead research project in my hometown Richmond, California. I've encountered God and the Holy Spirit in all of these places in a way that I might have never experienced otherwise.

Both my biological family and my church family have always been very supportive of these endeavors and they have blessed me with the chance to represent them here in Japan, the first member of Sycamore to be sent to Japan since its founding over 100 years ago.

I am grateful for the warmth and hospitality as I have in the churches here in Sendai. I have enjoyed the quality time I was able to spend in each congregation either in Church School playing with children, after-worship tea time, or udon lunches. I look forward to visiting many more in the future.

この３ヶ月の間に、私はいくつもの教会を訪ねる機会に恵まれました。ですが私はアメリカでは教会に行きたくなかったり、よく日曜の礼拝を休んだりしていたので、少し戸惑っています。アメリカでも日本でも、若い人たちは私が感じているように、教会の礼拝はちょっと退屈だと思っていると思います。もちろん、それは牧師や教会の人たちのせいではなく、最近の若い人たちは大変忙しくすごしており、日曜の朝に教会で過ごすよりももう何時間か寝ていたいとか友達としゃべる時間がほしいのです。

私はこのことについて、私の通う、カリフォルニアのシカモア教会のシャロン牧師とよく話しました。それで彼女と私はこの数年ですっかり友達のようになりました。シャロン牧師が今回の機会について私に話してくださらなかったら、私は日本に来ていなかったでしょう。私は今まで自分の生活の中心に教会やキリスト教をおこうと思ったこともなかったので、自分が「宣教師」として様々な義務を負わねばならないのではないかと疑心暗鬼になっていました。私が教会で好きなのは、聖書キャンプで若い人達のお世話や相談にのったり、９月に行われる教会あげてのバザーで働くことなどです。このような活動を通して、そして神の家族である、教会の皆と一緒に働くことを通して、私はいつも神さまに近づいた感じがするのです。今、私は私が教会学校や聖書キャンプで育っていくのを見てきた若い子達が、今度は自分たちがリーダーとなってキャンプのお世話などをしているのを誇りに思います。彼らはいつも日曜の礼拝に来るわけではなくとも、教会に何かを返していくことをちゃんと学んでいるのです。

私はきちんとした神学の教育を受けたわけでも、神学校に入るつもりもありません。私が将来目指しているのは、都市の環境の中で若い人たちと汚染や無駄をなくすための働きをすることです。願わくは、私が若い人たちを励まして、彼らが自分の住む街に興味や関心をもち、その街の環境をどのようにして守っていくかを学んでもらいたいと思っています。そのために、私はNGOと一緒に先住民族の村を訪ねたことがあり、そして私の住むカリフォルニアのリッチモンドで調査計画を始めるためのお手伝いをしてきました。私はそのような場所において、今までに経験したことがないような形で神に出会い聖霊に満たされるのです。

　私の二つの家族、つまり私の両親、そして神の家族である教会の人たちはどちらも、いつもできる限り協力をしてくれて、またシカモア教会が１００年以上前に創立して以来始めて日本へ行った教会員である私のために、日本にいても彼らと一緒にあるように、と祈ってくれています。

ここ仙台で私が訪ねたどこの教会でも温かく迎えてくださったことに感謝しています。どこの教会でも礼拝だけでなく、教会学校の子どもたちと遊んだり、礼拝の後のお茶の時間や昼食のうどんなど、とても豊かな時を過ごしています。ぜひもっと沢山の教会をお訪ねしたいと思っています。

May SHARE

New Connections

This week I received two e-mails, one from Jeffrey and another from my pastor at Sycamore Church in California, Rev. Sharon MacArthur. They had met for the first time at the Common Global Ministries Board (CGMB) meeting in Cleveland, Ohio. (CGMB is a partner of the Kyodon in the United States that commissioned both Jeffrey and myself.) They were both anxious to hear about the beginning of the new school year in Sendai and they both send their blessings and best wishes.
Sycamore Church was founded by missionaries from Japan in Oakland in 1904. During WWII Sycamore’s members were relocated to Topaz, Utah. As families moved back to the Oakland area after the war ended, a few church members were able to rebuild some of what was lost. But often the Nisei, second generation, rejected their Japanese heritage in order to show their loyalty to the U.S., the place of their birth. However, this meant that they also separated themselves from their Japanese-born parents. Today many Nikkei don’t have any connection to Japan or Japanese culture except through faith-based organizations like churches or temples. In 2004, Sycamore celebrated its 100-year history and the work we do in the Japanese-American community today including a bi-lingual preschool and Japanese language courses. Although Sycamore has continually received missionaries from Japan to serve the growing Japanese-speaking congregation, I am the first member of Sycamore to come to Japan.
So, I was happy to hear that Jeffrey and Pastor Sharon were able to meet in Cleveland and even happier to hear that Jeffrey, Kako, Hana, Tomo, and Stella will be able to visit Sycamore in July. I think this is just the beginning of new connections between the Nikkei community in the US and the Christian community here in Japan. I’m glad that my presence at the Sendai Student/Youth Center can be a part of that. (SKLT)


新しいつながり　

今週、私は２つのメールを受け取りました。１つはジェフリーさんから、もう１つはカリフォルニアのシカモア教会の牧師・シャロン・マッカーサー先生からです。彼らは、オハイオ州クリーブランドでのＣＧＭＢの会合で初めて会ったのです。（ＣＧＭＢとはアメリカにある日本基督教団のパートナー＝仲間です。ジェフリーさんも私もその団体から派遣されています。）彼らは２人とも仙台での新学期の始まりのことを聞きたがっていました。そして祝福と恵みを祈ってくれています。
　シカモア教会は1904年に日本からの宣教師達によってオークランドに創設されました。私の曾祖父母はそのメンバーの一員です。第Ⅱ次世界大戦の間、シカモア教会のメンバーはユタ州のトパーズという所に強制隔離収容されていました。戦後、家族達がオークランドの地域にもどってきたので、教会員たちは失われたものを再建することができました。が、日系二世の人々は自分たちの生まれた場所である合衆国に忠誠を示すため、日本人として受け継いでいくことを拒否しました。しかしこれは、彼ら自身が日本で生まれた両親からの隔絶をも意味したのです。今日多くの日系人は、教会やお寺のような信仰を土台とする組織を通して以外、日本や日本の文化と何の関係も持っていないのです。2004年にシカモア教会は100年の歴史と、バイリンガルの幼稚園と日本語コースを含む日系アメリカ人のコミュニテｲで私たちがしている業を記念して祝いました。シカモア教会は増え続ける日本語を話す会衆に仕えるために、引き続き日本から宣教師を受け入れています。私は日本にやってきた最初のシカモア教会員です。
　ですから私はジェフリーさんとシャロン牧師がクリーブランドで会ったこと、ジェフリーさん一家（ジェフリーさん、かこさん、ハナちゃん、友くん、Stellaちゃん）が７月にシカモア教会に行くと聞いてとても喜んでいます。これは合衆国にいる日系人たちと、日本にいるクリスチャンたちとの新しい関係―つながりの始まりだと思います。私は、自分が仙台青年学生センターにいることそのものがその一部を担っているのだと思うととても嬉しいです。（サンデｨー)

May Sycamore Tree

Dear Sycamore Family,
As I’ve been away for over 3 months now, something that’s been heavy on my mind is the meaning of mission work and then my role as a missionary. The word carries a lot of historical baggage and perhaps negative associations with some of the horrible atrocities done in the name of God. I didn’t really know what to expect before coming to Japan to work at the Sendai Student/Youth Center. I knew that I would be asked to fulfill the responsibilities of a missionary but there really is no concrete definition for what a missionary is. I’ve had many conversations about this with other missionaries and friends outside the mission field as well.
Missionaries do many different things all over the world. Many of them are teachers of music, language, mathematics, or theology. Others are staff for faith-based or community development organizations. Of course, there are also missionaries that serve their communities as ministers in local churches. These people come from all many different parts of Japan and the world to share in fellowship with other members of an inter-faith community. There is no one definition for what a missionary is or the work that a missionary does. One thing that I really appreciate about Global Ministries and the work of the Kyodon (United Church of Christ, Japan) is their dedication to social justice issues and standing up for the Burakumin people or protecting Article 9 in Japan’s constitution.
Last month, I gave the message at Sunday worship at Shuri Church in Okinawa. I talked about redefining what it means to be a young person, American, Christian, and a missionary through my words and actions. However, it it wasn’t as if I had any grand ideas that I would be the one to do this. The most important factor in my decision to come to Sendai was that I felt I was needed. The staff here at the Sendai Student/Youth Center asked for a Global Missions Intern to come because they needed a young person to help coordinate events for other young people; they’ve needed a young staff person for a very long time. To me, the most important aspect of the work of Global Ministries missionaries is the concept of critical presence. Critical presence means that a missionary is called to serve when and where they are most needed. Also, this has been a wonderful opportunity to strengthen the ties between Sycamore in Japan.
This conversation about mission work and missionaries is a very big topic. One that probably requires a longer discussion than I’ve started here so please don’t hesitate to write me questions, I’m still thinking through these issues myself.

With Love,
SKLT
Global Missions Intern (GMI) and
Assistant to the Director of the Sendei Student/Youth Center in Sendai, Japan

Read more at: What is Critical Presence?