September Emmaus Newsletter (エマオ通信)

Recently, I returned from Hawaii where I attended the biennial PAAM Convocation. PAAM stands for Pacific Islander and Asian American Ministries and is sub-group of the United Church of Christ representing the perspectives of churches in this community. My family's church, Sycamore Congregational Church, was actually the birthplace of PAAM over 30 years ago when the United Church of Christ (UCC) leadership realized there was a need for minority groups within it to have a voice.

As a young Asian American growing up in the US, I sometimes found it difficult to identify with other young people around me, especially other Christians. From watching television and listening to the radio as a child I learned that there were many different expressions of the Christian faith that were nothing like my own experiences with God. I wasn't baptized until I was 21 years old but I had been involved with the Sycamore Church youth group from elementary school through college even taking leadership roles in the adult activities as well.

I got involved with PAAM when I was in college by attending my first Convocation. I learned from some of the elders that they had also had their struggles with faith and the idea of mission. In most instances, missionaries had been very damaging to the culture and communities in their native countries or the countries of their parents. But as I continued to participate in PAAM activities I realized that a belief in God didn't have to mean sacrificing a rich cultural heritage. Today PAAM supports the work of organizations aiding survivors of hydrogen bomb testing on the Marshall Islands in 1954 by the US military. They also have a strong voice in the national UCC supporting mission work in Asia and the Pacific Islands.

While I was taking part in youth activities as a chaperone for youth ages 14-18, I realize that they were also learning the same lessons I did when I attended my first PAAM Convocation. They were becoming aware of work being done outside their communities and were able to find shared experience with other Asian American youths even though their ancestors didn't come from the same Asian country. It was a special chance for me to be able to share my work with young people in Japan and visiting small churches in Tohoku with young people from the U.S. At this year's Convocation, the youth and young adults outnumbered the adults for the first time in over 8 years. It was a sign that youths were still interested in exploring their faith but simply needed a space to do so.

最近、私はハワイから戻ってきました。ハワイでPAAMという、２年に１度開催される教会の協議会に参加してきました。「PAAM」とは太平洋諸島とアジア系アメリカ人の協議会という意味で、（Pacific Islander and Asian American Ministriesの頭文字）UCC教会（United Church of Christ：アメリカ合同教会）の中でアジア系の人達の視点を代表しています。私が育った教会である、シカモア組合教会は、実は３０年以上前にPAAMが発足した所であり、UCC教会で少数者たちの声を取り上げていく場が必要だということで作られたのです。

私はアメリカ人の若者として育ちましたが、私と同じ年頃の若い人たちと共通点を見出したり、他のクリスチャンの青年と意気投合できないと感じることがよくありました。テレビやラジオを通して子どもの頃からキリスト教信仰には多様な表現があることを知っていましたし、私自身もそう感じていました。私は２１歳の時に洗礼を受けましたが、私は小学校から大学までずっとシカモア教会の青年をリードし、大人になっても同じようにやってきました。

大学生になって初めて、このPAAMの集まりに出席しました。私は先輩たちから、信仰においていろんな葛藤があったことを伺いました。多くの場合、宣教師は祖父母や両親の出身地の文化やコミュニティを否定するものでした。でも私はPAAMの活動に加わるうち、神様を信頼することは、自分の中の豊かな文化遺産を犠牲にすることではないことがわかりました。現在、PAAMはマーシャル諸島で１９５４年に米軍が行った水爆実験の生存者を救済する団体を支援しています。また、UCC教会がアジアと太平洋諸島における世界宣教の業について強い発言力を持っています。

今回、私は１４歳から１８歳ぐらいの青年部の人たちのカウンセラーとして働きました。この若者たちが、私が感じていたことと同じ教訓を学んでいたことに気づきました。彼らは自分のコミュニティの外の現実を学ぶ機会にも恵まれています。また多様なアジア系アメリカ人の若者たちと、共有する事柄や経験を発見できていました。今回私は日本の若者と活動している内容や、東北の小さな教会を訪ねたことなどを話せてとても良かったです。協議会では、青年（３０歳まで）の参加が大人よりも上回りました。これは８年ぶりのことです。それは青年たちが今もなお自分たちの信仰を模索する場を求めていることの表れだったと思います。　　　

　　（翻訳：ジェフリー・メンセンディーク）

September Sycamore Tree

Dear Sycamore Family,

I’m sad that summer is almost over and somewhat relieved as well because I don’t think I have the energy to keep going on the same pace all year. This August I’ve traveled all over Japan including Hiroshima on the anniversary of the bombing, 2 summer work camps in Northern Japan, and Hawaii for the Pacific Asian American Ministries Convocation.

Jeffrey said that he and his wife, Kako were grateful that their children Hana and Tomo were able to make so many new friends at Bible Day Camp this year even though they started late. They also said they were singing A-la-la-la-la in the car all the way back to Claremont. Even though I couldn’t be at Bible Day Camp this year, Jeffrey was equally missed at the summer work camps here in Japan. Every year the student center sponsors a work camp to Okunakayama, a local small farming community in Northern Iwate Prefecture (about 3 hours north of Sendai by car).

After the war, the Japanese government encouraged people to set out on pioneer work in the rural areas of northern Japan because much of the farmland around the urban areas had been destroyed. Two of the sheep and lettuce farmers that organized to found Okunakayama in the 1950s just happened to be Christian and that had a profound effect on the development of this community. Our group were fortunate to have an evening with one of the women that was part of this group and learn a little bit about the history from her and looking through old photo albums.

Today the community is also home to the Canaan Bakery is a non-profit organization which sells handmade bread to the surrounding areas to help support the Okunakayama church and an assisted living facility for the mentally and physically disabled. One of the things that make this particular facility so amazing is the way its residents and staff members participate in every aspect of daily life. The residents help with work on the farm that grows their food, to bake bread in the Canaan Bakery, and to process wool from the sheep. After the wool is processed, some of the residents use the wool to make tapestries as part of their therapy, some of which are sold later to help support the facility. Finally, all the members of this integrated community attend church worship services on Sunday.

The name Okunakayama literally translated means “deep mountain” and one of the students pointed out that this name is a pretty accurate description both of the history, the people who live there, and the steep mountains that make up the surrounding landscape. The student center had been leading this work camp for over 10 years and everyone who has participated in the past has made a lot of fun and wonderful memories there, myself included. I have written more and posted pictures on my blog at http://skltstravels.blogspot.com

I miss you all so much and I can’t wait to see you at Bazaar!

With Love,
SKLT
Global Missions Intern and
Assistant Director of the Sendai Student/Youth Center in Sendai, Japan.