Over the past two years, I have been a part of almost every activity at the Student/Youth Center from participating in study tours and work camps to sometimes cooking dinner on Friday nights. But, my work here as an intern has also included so many things that happen outside of the center's regular working hours like conversations over coffee at a nearby cafe, visiting small churches outside of Sendai, or organizing a trip to visit my family in California.
Through this ministry I've had the chance to see centers in other parts of Japan like the Tokyo Student Christian Fellowship and the Douhoku Center in Hokkaido. During the winter holidays, several students and I volunteered with a homeless ministry distributing warm clothing and curry rice. In the summer, we took a group of young people to Kesenuma to plant trees as part of a larger festival to raise awareness about environmental issues. These are just a few examples of the diversity of activities that the Emmaus center can offer to young people a chance to make friends outside of school or have fun learning new things. But it's also a place where they can go when they are sad or in trouble.
While I’ve been blessed to have been able to encounter and experience all of these different ministries throughout Japan I think that the individual students I shared them with will be what I remember the most. So, I thought I’d share some of their stories.
"Besides the center, there I wouldn't have any other place where I could make female friends. All my other friends at school are male and they don't have any female friends either. At school I don't have any reason to go talk to people outside of my classes. But at the center there isn't just a mix of male and female but people from different universities, different majors, and even a lot of people who are working. In the classes at the center none of those things matter, you can just talk and have fun together."
"For the first 2 years of college my life was basically go to school, study, and then go home and play video games all night. I didn't really have friends outside of the people I played video games with, and for my first two years I didn't have that many. After school we would play video games and when we met at school we would talk about games. My life was all about video games until my third year of college when I started to get behind in my classes. I wouldn't get enough sleep so I would miss lectures. That's when I started coming to the student center. Meeting new people and making friends other than the ones I play video games with opened a whole new world to me. It also gave me a new place to talk to other people about the things that were bothering me."
"I grew up in a Christian home and our family belonged to a small church with only a handful of members and very few children my age. I moved to Sendai to for high school and I lived with my older sister. Once I was away from home I got really busy with school and circle actvities and most of my friends from school aren't Christian. So, I didn't really have much energy or motivation to go to church. But, I also didn't have many people my own age that I could share my faith with. My mother heard about the center from the pastor at our church and she told me to go. After I went a few times I started to make friends and I found out there were other young people that were Christian. I went to church in Sendai with some of the friends I met at the center and after that I started to go more often. I never realized that going to church could be so much fun."
"Before I started coming to the student center there were so many things I didn't know about. On Friday nights we always eat things that I've never tasted before in my life. Sometimes I can't eat the curry because it's too spicy but other things like chai and spice cookies are really delicious. Before I came to the center I didn't know anything about the Bible or hymns, I thought the Bible was one really long book. At the center I read the Bible for the first time. I still don't know that much about Christianity but I know that the people at the center are really nice. When I had some trouble with school the staff really helped me out a lot. Now that I'm working most of my other friends from school are busy with work or have moved away from Sendai. But, when I come to the center I can always meet friends there and I can talk about the things that happened to me over the day. If I didn't come to the center I wouldn't have anywhere else to go where I can just be."
Showing posts with label Emmaus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Emmaus. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
April Emmaus Newsletter (エマオ通信)
What are these centers?
As I’ve been working at the Emmaus Center for the last year, I find that describing what I do each day at the Sendai Student Center is often very difficult. Most young people who come from the U.S. to work in Japan are English teachers and so my friends and family often assume that I am teaching English. Also, I’ve sometimes felt isolated from the larger community of missionaries working here in Japan because the bulk of them are pastors and teachers. So, how to explain what it is that I do here in Sendai…
This center is a very unique place that doesn’t have very many analogs elsewhere. When explaining to people from the U.S. I’ve sometimes compared the student center to the YMCA or YWCA in the way that we teach various classes in the evenings which are open to the community. I’ve also heard students describe the center as a college circle where there are students from all different colleges participating in activities together. The center has resources from different college, universities, church groups and NPOs, so it is also like a resource center where people from all these different groups can get information about all these activities in Sendai.
On the recent spring study tour to Hokkaido our group had the chance to stay at the Douhoku Center in Nayoro. The Douhoku Center was founded by missionaries from Canada to serve rural farmers in northern Hokkaido. Talking to the staff of the Douhoku Centre, Robert Witmer and Kuriko Fujiyoshi, was a great chance for me to talk to other center staff about what it is that we do. Witmer-sensei described these centers as amphibious, a place that exists in between the church and the wider community. In our daily lives we live, work, and play in a wider world filled with concerns about how we will raise our children or nourish our bodies. The church is an important place where we can nourish our spirits but often it doesn’t have the resources to serve rural farmers and young people in their daily lives where people most need the Spirit in their lives. It’s hard to explain what it is that we do at each of these centers in a practical day-to-day sense but our work is simply another side of teaching everyday in schools and preaching in churches on Sunday mornings. Although the Douhoku Centre and the Sendai Center’s activities are completely different, they share in common this amphibious nature. We live in between these two worlds and bridge the gap between them.
Sandy
「センター」って何？
青年学生センターで働いていて困っていることが一つあります。それは、友人などに自分のしている仕事をなかなか説明できないことです。アメリカから日本に来ている若い人のほとんどは学校などで英語を教えています。ですから、多くの友人や親戚は私が日本で英語の教師をしていると考えています。また、日本で出会う宣教師たちの多くも教師であったり牧師であったり。自分と似たような境遇にいる人と会うことがないことで寂しく思うこともあります。仙台で自分のやっていることを人にどうやって説明したらよいのでしょう？
実にこのセンターは特殊な場であり、他に類のない場所と言えます。知人に青年学生センターを説明するときよく、ＹＭＣＡやＹＷＣＡのように夕方にいろんなプログラムを提供して地域に開かれている場所だと説明します。また、センターに集まる若い人たちからは、ここはいろんな大学から人が集まって何かを一緒にするサークルのようなところだ、という説明を聞いたことがあります。センターは様々な大学、短大、教会、ＮＧＯなどとつながりを持っているので、いろんな情報が集まってそれぞれの団体がこの仙台という街で何が起こっているのかを知る接点になっているとも言えます。
この３月に北海道名寄市にある道北センターに泊まることができました。このセンターは昔カナダの宣教師によってはじめられたもので、農村の人々を応援することを目的としています。そこで働くウィットマー宣教師や藤吉栗子さんとお話をする機会を通して、「私たちはセンターで何をしているのか」について共に考えることができました。ウィットマー先生はセンターとは教会と地域社会との間にある存在、水陸両生(amphibious)であるという言葉を使いました。私たちが日常的に生きている社会の中にはいろんな関心事が飛び交い、子育てから自分の健康にいたるまで様々です。既存の教会は自分自身の魂を潤す大切な場でありますが、農村の人たちや一般の青年たちを具体的に励ましたり応援したりするほど力はありません。そのような中で、センターの働きは学校での勉強、教会での礼拝と並んで社会の人々に霊的な励ましを与えているところです。道北センターも青年学生センターもそれぞれに違う働きをしていますが、でも、この水陸両生的性質においては似ています。センターは二つの世界の間にあり、二つをつなぐ懸け橋なのです。
サンドラ･久美子・リー・武井（サンディー）
（翻訳：ジェフリー・主事）
As I’ve been working at the Emmaus Center for the last year, I find that describing what I do each day at the Sendai Student Center is often very difficult. Most young people who come from the U.S. to work in Japan are English teachers and so my friends and family often assume that I am teaching English. Also, I’ve sometimes felt isolated from the larger community of missionaries working here in Japan because the bulk of them are pastors and teachers. So, how to explain what it is that I do here in Sendai…
This center is a very unique place that doesn’t have very many analogs elsewhere. When explaining to people from the U.S. I’ve sometimes compared the student center to the YMCA or YWCA in the way that we teach various classes in the evenings which are open to the community. I’ve also heard students describe the center as a college circle where there are students from all different colleges participating in activities together. The center has resources from different college, universities, church groups and NPOs, so it is also like a resource center where people from all these different groups can get information about all these activities in Sendai.
On the recent spring study tour to Hokkaido our group had the chance to stay at the Douhoku Center in Nayoro. The Douhoku Center was founded by missionaries from Canada to serve rural farmers in northern Hokkaido. Talking to the staff of the Douhoku Centre, Robert Witmer and Kuriko Fujiyoshi, was a great chance for me to talk to other center staff about what it is that we do. Witmer-sensei described these centers as amphibious, a place that exists in between the church and the wider community. In our daily lives we live, work, and play in a wider world filled with concerns about how we will raise our children or nourish our bodies. The church is an important place where we can nourish our spirits but often it doesn’t have the resources to serve rural farmers and young people in their daily lives where people most need the Spirit in their lives. It’s hard to explain what it is that we do at each of these centers in a practical day-to-day sense but our work is simply another side of teaching everyday in schools and preaching in churches on Sunday mornings. Although the Douhoku Centre and the Sendai Center’s activities are completely different, they share in common this amphibious nature. We live in between these two worlds and bridge the gap between them.
Sandy
「センター」って何？
青年学生センターで働いていて困っていることが一つあります。それは、友人などに自分のしている仕事をなかなか説明できないことです。アメリカから日本に来ている若い人のほとんどは学校などで英語を教えています。ですから、多くの友人や親戚は私が日本で英語の教師をしていると考えています。また、日本で出会う宣教師たちの多くも教師であったり牧師であったり。自分と似たような境遇にいる人と会うことがないことで寂しく思うこともあります。仙台で自分のやっていることを人にどうやって説明したらよいのでしょう？
実にこのセンターは特殊な場であり、他に類のない場所と言えます。知人に青年学生センターを説明するときよく、ＹＭＣＡやＹＷＣＡのように夕方にいろんなプログラムを提供して地域に開かれている場所だと説明します。また、センターに集まる若い人たちからは、ここはいろんな大学から人が集まって何かを一緒にするサークルのようなところだ、という説明を聞いたことがあります。センターは様々な大学、短大、教会、ＮＧＯなどとつながりを持っているので、いろんな情報が集まってそれぞれの団体がこの仙台という街で何が起こっているのかを知る接点になっているとも言えます。
この３月に北海道名寄市にある道北センターに泊まることができました。このセンターは昔カナダの宣教師によってはじめられたもので、農村の人々を応援することを目的としています。そこで働くウィットマー宣教師や藤吉栗子さんとお話をする機会を通して、「私たちはセンターで何をしているのか」について共に考えることができました。ウィットマー先生はセンターとは教会と地域社会との間にある存在、水陸両生(amphibious)であるという言葉を使いました。私たちが日常的に生きている社会の中にはいろんな関心事が飛び交い、子育てから自分の健康にいたるまで様々です。既存の教会は自分自身の魂を潤す大切な場でありますが、農村の人たちや一般の青年たちを具体的に励ましたり応援したりするほど力はありません。そのような中で、センターの働きは学校での勉強、教会での礼拝と並んで社会の人々に霊的な励ましを与えているところです。道北センターも青年学生センターもそれぞれに違う働きをしていますが、でも、この水陸両生的性質においては似ています。センターは二つの世界の間にあり、二つをつなぐ懸け橋なのです。
サンドラ･久美子・リー・武井（サンディー）
（翻訳：ジェフリー・主事）
Sunday, November 23, 2008
November Emmaus Newsletter (エマオ通信)
Every year around the Advent season I am always overwhelmed by the concept of peace. When I try to envision in my mind what peace is I feel discouraged by all the obstacles we would need to overcome in order to achieve it. Since this year was also an election year in the U.S. and I’ve been living in Japan, the idea of world peace has been on my mind a lot because the results of this historic election impacts the entire world.
On Election Day, I had been asked to share some of my experiences from the Student Center’s spring Study Tour to Okinawa with the Tohoku Kyouku Okinawa Committee. In March, while visiting Henoko looking over into Camp Schwabb, the US Marine base there, we were told that these soldiers were most likely on their way to Iraq. Because of Okinawa’s strategic location in Asia and the fact that Japanese government has continued to support U.S. military bases financially since WWII, Okinawa provides the ideal base for soldiers before their deployment to Iraq and the Middle East.
The Ryukyu Islands have a rich and beautiful culture and I was fortunate to be able to visit them this spring. I’ve also been blessed to be able to meet community leaders in Okinawa that are working to heal from the destruction caused by WWII and continues today from the presence of U.S. military.
This spring I realized that few Japanese and even fewer Americans have seen the impacts of the war in Iraq on countries like Japan that have no direct military interest in the Middle East. If we all were a little more educated on how war affects not just our enemies but our allies as well we might see the urgency in finding a more peaceful solution.
So, as Advent is approaching and I try to envision a world full of hope, peace, joy, and love, I’m starting to feel less overwhelmed and a little more hopeful because there are other people in this world who are thinking about how achieve peace too.
毎年アドベント（待降節）になると、私は平和という概念について考えます。まず、平和という現実を考えたときに、そこにいたるまで乗り越えなければならない様々な障壁があることに気付き、落胆してしまいます。今年は特に、この日本からアメリカの選挙を見つめていました。歴史に残るこの選挙が世界平和にどのように影響を与えるか思わずにはいられませんでした。
丁度、アメリカの選挙当日に東北教区の沖縄委員会の席で話しを頼まれ、青年学生センターの沖縄スタディツアーを通して感じたことをお話しする機会がありました。３月に辺野古を訪れた際、金網の向こう側にキャンプ・シュワブを見ることができました。案内の方によると、キャンプ・シュワブの海兵隊員はイラクに向かうだろうとのことでした。沖縄はアジア地域において戦略的に優れていること、また日本が第２次世界大戦以降継続して米軍を経済的に支えてきたことなど、米国にとって沖縄はイラクや中近東に米軍を派遣する基地として理想的な場所なのです。
私は今年の沖縄への旅で琉球の美しく豊かな文化に触れる機会を与えられました。また、地元で活動されているリーダーたちとお会いし、彼らが第２次大戦から来る破壊、現在も駐留する米軍の存在から来る破壊の傷跡を癒そうとしている姿を見ることができました。
私にとって衝撃的だったことは、イラクでの戦争がどれほど日本をも巻き込んでいるかについて、多くの人が意識していない（日本人もアメリカ人も）現実があることです。日本は直接的に中近東に軍事的関わりがないのにです。戦争は相手国のみならず、同盟国をも影響する。このことを私たちがより深く考えるなら、より平和的な方法を求める必然性が私たちの内に明確にされるのではと思うのです。
アドベントの時は迫ってきていて私は希望、平和、喜び、愛が満ちあふれる世界を想像します。前より少し希望を感じるようになっている自分があります。それは、この日本で平和をもたらすために働いているいろんな人と出会ったから。この世界で平和を作ろうとして一緒に働く人たちに励まされます。
On Election Day, I had been asked to share some of my experiences from the Student Center’s spring Study Tour to Okinawa with the Tohoku Kyouku Okinawa Committee. In March, while visiting Henoko looking over into Camp Schwabb, the US Marine base there, we were told that these soldiers were most likely on their way to Iraq. Because of Okinawa’s strategic location in Asia and the fact that Japanese government has continued to support U.S. military bases financially since WWII, Okinawa provides the ideal base for soldiers before their deployment to Iraq and the Middle East.
The Ryukyu Islands have a rich and beautiful culture and I was fortunate to be able to visit them this spring. I’ve also been blessed to be able to meet community leaders in Okinawa that are working to heal from the destruction caused by WWII and continues today from the presence of U.S. military.
This spring I realized that few Japanese and even fewer Americans have seen the impacts of the war in Iraq on countries like Japan that have no direct military interest in the Middle East. If we all were a little more educated on how war affects not just our enemies but our allies as well we might see the urgency in finding a more peaceful solution.
So, as Advent is approaching and I try to envision a world full of hope, peace, joy, and love, I’m starting to feel less overwhelmed and a little more hopeful because there are other people in this world who are thinking about how achieve peace too.
毎年アドベント（待降節）になると、私は平和という概念について考えます。まず、平和という現実を考えたときに、そこにいたるまで乗り越えなければならない様々な障壁があることに気付き、落胆してしまいます。今年は特に、この日本からアメリカの選挙を見つめていました。歴史に残るこの選挙が世界平和にどのように影響を与えるか思わずにはいられませんでした。
丁度、アメリカの選挙当日に東北教区の沖縄委員会の席で話しを頼まれ、青年学生センターの沖縄スタディツアーを通して感じたことをお話しする機会がありました。３月に辺野古を訪れた際、金網の向こう側にキャンプ・シュワブを見ることができました。案内の方によると、キャンプ・シュワブの海兵隊員はイラクに向かうだろうとのことでした。沖縄はアジア地域において戦略的に優れていること、また日本が第２次世界大戦以降継続して米軍を経済的に支えてきたことなど、米国にとって沖縄はイラクや中近東に米軍を派遣する基地として理想的な場所なのです。
私は今年の沖縄への旅で琉球の美しく豊かな文化に触れる機会を与えられました。また、地元で活動されているリーダーたちとお会いし、彼らが第２次大戦から来る破壊、現在も駐留する米軍の存在から来る破壊の傷跡を癒そうとしている姿を見ることができました。
私にとって衝撃的だったことは、イラクでの戦争がどれほど日本をも巻き込んでいるかについて、多くの人が意識していない（日本人もアメリカ人も）現実があることです。日本は直接的に中近東に軍事的関わりがないのにです。戦争は相手国のみならず、同盟国をも影響する。このことを私たちがより深く考えるなら、より平和的な方法を求める必然性が私たちの内に明確にされるのではと思うのです。
アドベントの時は迫ってきていて私は希望、平和、喜び、愛が満ちあふれる世界を想像します。前より少し希望を感じるようになっている自分があります。それは、この日本で平和をもたらすために働いているいろんな人と出会ったから。この世界で平和を作ろうとして一緒に働く人たちに励まされます。
Thursday, September 25, 2008
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）
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）
Monday, May 26, 2008
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.
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。
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