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Diocese of Hokkaido and Diocese of Chubu

This past May 16th -18th, I attended the diocese service of the 145th anniversary of the establishment of the Diocese of Hokkaido along with their Minister’s Association.  I gave a lecture during the Minister’s Association and a sermon at the diocese service, and was able to understand from experience the atmosphere of the Diocese of Hokkaido.  I reported a bit about the Diocese of Chubu as well.  There are often difficulties in understanding other dioceses, but I felt that we might be able to better understand each other through these exchanges no matter how small it is. 

In fact, there had been a relation between the Diocese of Hokkaido and Diocese of Chubu during the early missionary stage.  The missionary activities of the Diocese of Chubu were started in 1875 in Niigata through P.K. Fyson, a missionary from the Church of England who later became the first bishop to the Diocese of Hokkaido.  Therefore, it can be said that the two dioceses of Chubu and Hokkaido are connected through the works of Revd. Fyson. 

Revd. Fyson engaged in mission work for seven years in Niigata, and it is noted in “The History of the Diocese” that there were about ten baptismal candidates.   One of them was Revd. Tetsuya Makioka, who had later worked in Chubu, and the other was Mr. Seigoro Akutagawa, who later became a missionary to the Diocese of Hokkaido.  He also worked on Ainu missionary under Revd. Batchelor.  That is one relation we have between the Diocese of Hokkaido and Chubu.  (I also had the privilege of meeting the grandchildren of Mr. Akutagawa.)  I am grateful to such a precious experience.       

The Commemorative Holy Eucharist for the ministers of the Diocese who have passed away will be held on July 10.  That day marks the 1st memorial year since the passing away of Bishop Toshiaki Mori.  His wife, Atsuko, and younger sister and younger brother are also scheduled to attend.  Since the Bishop’s funeral had been held in Tokyo, this day will also be taken as a memorial service.  I hope you will all join us on this day.

Recommending Anointing

This past April 18, on Holy Thursday, the Holy Eucharist was held to consecrate holy oils.  The holy oil is used for anointing during the “Ceremony of the Visitation of the Sick” in the Book of Common Prayer.  The Book of Common Prayer says, “the Church has been anointing the sick with oil and has prayed for the recovery of the body and the spirit,” but it actually comes from the Book of James in the New Testament, “Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord.  And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven.”  The gospels also tell about the healing of the sick by the apostles through the anointing of the oil; this is one of the important works of Jesus Christ. 

The purpose of anointing is to give comfort, but in many cases, it is practiced when a person is in a state of a serious health condition.  Although used in some cases, it should by no means be used as an anointing of the dying.  Its purpose is to pray for the recovery of the body and soul, and may be used for any illnesses.  It may also be used when one has a fever from a cold.  Anointing is not magic.  The importance is to pray in the name of the Lord Jesus.  He will be with us through that prayer and give strength for the sick to become better physically and spiritually to be able to rise.  May the holy oil be widely used.

On April 6, the retired Revd. Akira Muraoka who was living in Osaka, passed away at the age of 91.  He transferred from the Diocese of Osaka to the Diocese of Chubu in 1986, and practiced his missionary and pastoral activities mainly in Ueda and Karuizawa.  He also built the foundation for the current Karuizawa Shaw Memorial Church.  May his soul rest in peace.

The Rt Revd Peter Ichiro Shibusawa

Like a Stump of a Tree

Several years ago, thick branches had fallen down after another, so two large fir trees were cut to prevent any future accidents.  The land became a bit bare, but more sunlight was shining in on the front side of the chapel, and it no longer froze in the winter time.  The stump can be seen right outside the rector’s office.  After a while, I came to realize that an interesting phenomenon occurs daily with the stump.  On numerous occasions, I see people counting annual growth rings, or even sitting down and taking a break on the stump.  Young people and children enjoy taking pictures on their smartphones posing on the stump.  In spring and fall, there are people sitting down reading books sitting down for quite some time, while others are drawing pictures. However, the most interesting thing is that although less than half of the visitors actually set foot inside the chapel standing right in front of the stump, visitors from all around the world, of all ages, beyond gender and sexuality are drawn toward this stump.  I even feel that stumps have some sort of strange power that stimulates human instincts.

What I recollect from the stump is a slide show I saw at Sunday School when I was a child, “That’s Why the Tree was Happy.”  I later learned that this was based on Shel Silverstein’s picture book, “The Giving Tree,” which was a bit talked about when Haruki Murakami translated it about 10 years ago.  It is a story about a boy’s life from his childhood to his later years depicting the relationship between him and an apple tree.  The tree continues to give its own fruit, branches, and trunk to the boy when asked for in certain stages as the boy grows up to be a man, and the story ends with the tree providing the now grown-up boy a stump to sit and rest.  The giving tree repeats the phrase, “And the tree was happy.”  I think this storybook should be read from different points of view, but when I first saw this slide show at Sunday School, it left a strong impression on me even as a child.  I understood that God is of a presence as pure as this apple tree.  In particular, the last scene where the boy, now an elderly man, given a stump to sit, left a deep impression on my mind.  And, the image of God I felt at that time seems not to have changed fundamentally even now. 

Each gospel says many people always gathered in the place of the Lord Jesus.  He welcomed them with love, and taught that each one of them was living within the blessings of God.  He then said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28) The overflowing love of the Lord Jesus for people lead to the way of the Cross in the form of dedicating himself in the end.  Even in the extreme state of loneliness and suffering, the love of the Lord Jesus for the people does not change.  Far from it, he even prayed for the weak (us) who betrayed the Lord many times and lived a self-centered life. “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34)

The longest ever 10-day Gold Week has finished.  There were again many tourists around the stump which became one of their many moments in life.  Over time, it will probably be forgotten from people’s memories.  However, I saw in the figure of the stump, always accepting quietly and unconditionally the one scene in the precious life of each one of us, overlap with the Lord Jesus.  I hope to be as close as I can be to that stump. (Bible citations take from the Japan Bible Society Common Bible Translation)

Revd Timothy Hirozumi Doi
Karuizawa Shaw Memorial Church

To be Present

At the end of February, a rector of another diocese who was two years my senior in theological school, passed away.  I was able to make arrangements to attend the wake.  We were together in school for only one year and moved on to different dioceses, so we did not have much opportunity to see each other.  We were not so close, yet he was a person who made me able to feel that closeness, where we would naturally confirm each other’s well-being when we occasionally met.  It was only one theological school year, but the experience of being within the same time and place may have created this sense of proximity.
 

The other day, when I went to service at the church whereI am in charge of, a certain elderly person consulted with me whether she should further attend church services.  It seems she has been suffering from a mild hearing loss, and it has become difficult for her to hear the sermons.  I understand that she feels a certain amount of inconvenience not being able to hear the sermons clearly, but I asked her to continue attending the services for it is a place where God and Jesus are together with us.  (She is also considering about using hearing aids.)  

Jesus promises, “I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”  (Matthew 28:20), and in the Old Testament God says, “I AM WHO I AM.” (Exodus 3:14) God the Father and Jesus, and of course, the Holy Spirit is there, and with us.

The church, and the service that takes place within, is a space where God is present.   And for us to be present at that place is the best shortcut ever to be able to meet God and Jesus and to receive the power of the Holy Spirit.

The Rt Revd Peter Ichiro Shibusawa

“Lord, where are you going?”

I cannot forget this one particular intense scene from “Quo Vadis,” a famous novel written by the Polish novelist, Henryk Sienkiewicz, where Apostle Peter and a boy rush south on Appian Way before dawn to flee from persecution by Nero and are arrested by the authorities.

A mysterious sphere of light approached from the morning mist, and there appeared a figure.  It was unmistakably Jesus Christ.  The aged Peter kneeled, reached out, and asked while crying.  “Quo Vadis, Domine?” (“Lord, where are you going?”)  Then a sad but with a clear voice said to Peter, “If you are going to abandon my people, I am going to Rome to be crucified once again.”  The boy walking along with Peter did not see anything nor hear anything.  Peter, having fallen as if he were unconscious, got himself up, raised his shaking hand holding a cane, and headed back to the city that he had just escaped from.  Looking at this, the boy asks Peter, “Quo Vadis, Domine?”  Peter answers in a small voice, “To Rome.”  After returning to Rome, Peter is martyred just like Paul.  He was crucified upside down at his own request.  (This story is said to have been written based on the legend created around the end of the 2nd Century.)

  Every time I recall this scene, I feel my heart pounding and tremoring, but after I become calm, I feel as if I am being scolded, but on the other hand also encouraged. 

“What is truth?”

We are about to welcome Holy Week.  This is the last question asked by the Roman governor Pilate at the palace after summoning Jesus.  However, it seems that Pilate questioned and spoke on the spur of the moment and was not serious.  Rather, truth cannot be so simple.  That is how I imagine he would have felt.  Until he had reached his current position, or even more after being in his current position, he may have been living in a world where sharp trickeries flew around, and falsehood and fraud were the very common knowledge.  Afterwards, Pilate obviously loses his interest to this question. 

“I am the way and the truth and the life.”  (John 14:6)

Meeting Jesus is an experience in life where one’s way of life and values are inspired, but on the contrary, it is also a dangerous experience where the various things which one has made as its own are destroyed.  However, isn’t there a bit of a surprising feeling as if a possibility for something new is given or might be born?  These thoughts and wishes well up as if one could somehow be of help and do something for Jesus. 

Even if my encounter with Jesus be a bitter experience, I think it is an encounter where hope and possibility are given to lead a life as a new human being.

“What is truth?”

We know.

“Who is truth?”

Revd Eliezer Shiro Nakao
Ichinomiya Holy Light Church

Deacons and “Taikobo”

On the 16th of last month, an ordination of the two candidates for the Holy Orders, Reiko Yamato and Takaaki Yamato, was held.  According to the Acts of Apostles, deacon is a duty which arose from food distribution problems.  Greek-speaking Jewish Christians complained to Hebrew-speaking Jewish Christians about the less amount of food being distributed to the widows of their companions.  The post of the deacon was placed to deal with this problem.  How to equally distribute food.  That was the immediate task of a deacon.  It was an extremely realistic duty.

That reminds me of the story of “Taikobo” posted on a certain information magazine in Ueda City.  According to the Chinese story, back when Zhou, the King of China, was talking to one old fisherman of extreme erudition, the King realized that this man indeed was who his father, King Taiko, had looked forward to meeting someday.  Therefore, he called him “Taikobo” (Taiko=the name of the King’s father; bo=look forward to), his teacher, and respected the man.  Since then, a person who fishes is called “Taikobo.”

However, it is said there is another story to the history of Taikobo that he was a butcher.  Watching him carve and serve meat to about ten people, Taiko was very pleased and employed him.  In those days, a cook who can properly distribute meat was much respected.

Considering that the origin of deacons come from how fairly food was shared, it is quite interesting that the story overlaps with the that of Taikobo as a cook.  Regardless of food, it is quite difficult to maintain fairness, especially among people, if anything.  I hope the two newly ordained deacons be filled with “spirit and wisdom” as were the first deacons and be able to sufficiently fulfill their important duties.

The Rt Revd Peter Ichiro Shibusawa

The Meaning of the Church Unchanging for 90 years

Okaya St. Barnabas Church, on last November 16th, was registered as one of the “Registered Tangible Cultural Asset” of the country.  It was evaluated as a structure inheriting the traditions of the Church of England, as well as an architecture relating the local historical culture, such as the tatami-style chapel built upon the requests of female factory workers who once supported Okaya’s silk-yarn production.  Due to such, it was reported on all newspapers and television.

90 years ago, on November 20, 1928, Okaya St. Barnaba’s Church was consecrated.  Reverend Hollis Corey, a missionary from the Anglican Church of Canada, was doing evangelical work in the region of Lake Suwa at the time, and was forced to make a decision as to where to build the church in the Suwa Region.  Although Missionary Society of the Church of England in Canada (MSCC) had ordered to build a church in Kamisuwa, an area more famous as a lively spa resort area, Revd. Corey thought of building a church for those who carry the heaviest burdens in the Suwa area, the female factory workers of Okaya Silk Factory.  The Missionary Association, on the other hand, opposed the fact that the female workers are seasonal workers and not fixed, therefore, will not be financially supportive nor be able to maintain the church.  However, Revd. Corey responded by saying, “Money issues will somehow be taken care of by God.”  

At the factory, work is 16 hours a day, either standing up or sitting on a hard wooden-chair.  We wanted them to feel as if they have returned to their home at least when they are at church, so Japanese tatami-mats were laid in the sanctuary.  Koyoshi Fukazawa, a congregant from that time used to say, “When I would rush to church, a blue-eyed priest would be waiting for me below the stairs, and thanked me for coming and hugged me.  I could hardly understand the sermon, but the warmth felt from the hug would move me to tears.  Church was certainly heaven.”  

On February 2 this year, a baptismal confirmation ceremony was held at Okaya St. Barnaba’s Church for Ms. Wang Xu, who has come to work in Japan from China. She is from Qingzhou City, Shandong Province, China.  She has been working at a piston ring manufacturing factory in Okaya since 2016.  There are about 60 Chinese female workers at the factory.  She continued attending this church which she happened to find passing along the way.  Her return to China in March was decided, and at her request, we decided to hold her baptismal ceremony.  Currently, since there are no Anglican churches in China, I was worried about her not being able to receive the rite of confirmation.  However, Bishop Peter Ichiro Shibusawa came to Okaya to hold her baptismal and confirmation ceremony.  She is not fluent in Japanese, so I used the Japanese-Chinese baptismal and confirmation liturgies translated by Reverend David Shintaro Ichihara.  To my questions, she would respond in Chinese.  Her Christian name is “Maria.”  The cathedral was filled with an indescribable emotion.

A reporter from the Chunichi Newspaper asked what this church had meant to her.  She replied, “This church was the best place.  Friendly and warm, I always felt relaxed.”

Okaya is no longer a female silk-reeling factory workers town.  However, currently there are many female foreign workers from China and other countries who live here.  With also the joy of being approved as a historic cultural asset, I would like to thank that this church is continuing, not as a historical asset from the past, but for the mission in commonality with 90 years ago.

Rev Prof Dr Francis of Assisi Renta Nishihara
Rector in Charge, Okaya St. Barnaba’s Church

“Dare to Sing a New Song to the Lord”

Last December 1, the 20th Anniversary Service of the Ordination of Women as Priests was held at St. Andrew’s Cathedral, Diocese of Tokyo.  Usually, it is rare that women priests come together all at once, so it was quite spectacular.  I was again reminded of how many women priests we have in Nippon Sei Ko Kai and felt reassured.

The Reverend Canon Terrie Robinson from the Church of England (Director for Women in Church and Society at the Anglican Communion Office) gave the sermon and spoke of several points.  The ones which especially struck me were …

“We (women) have come from a place of exile, a place where we were not permitted to serve God fully as witnesses…but, this will help us to understand the individual who is classed by others as an ‘outsider’.  This will help us to stand in solidarity with any community in our world that is pushed to the margins,” “As Christians, we know that…transformation requires a willingness…to let go of old certainties so that we are able to grasp what is new and full of possibility,” “In all our Churches around the Anglican Communion, changes in practice, including steps towards women’s ordination, have often been accompanied by anxiety and fear.  Sometimes we need to let go of old ways of thinking and behaving…so that we are free to discover and grasp the truth that shall make us free.”  And lastly the Reverend’s closing words were, “Do not fear! Dare to sing a new song to the Lord!” 

I believe that everyone is invited to do service.  Fear comes with change.  However, when you believe in God and take in that change with prayers and courage, the grace of God full of blessing will be given.  I think the ordination of women priests teaches us this fact.

The Rt Revd Peter Ichiro Shibusawa

“Even if it’s Small”

When I awake in the morning, I sometimes have this feeling in my bed, “Oh, it has snowed, hasn’t it?”  There’s a little bit of brightness than usual, and that feeling of quietness is only felt when there’s snow on the ground.  I used to look forward to the snow when I was a child.  “What should I do today?”  It still remains as a pleasant memory in my mind when classes used to be suddenly switched to playing on school grounds with the snow.  However, circumstances slightly differ when you become an adult.  Is my commuting train running?  Do I need to plow the snow?  Worries come before anything.  In actuality, there had been a record high snowfall in Karuizawa five or six years ago.  The scenery outside became more of a concern rather than beautiful overnight.  Actually, there was a stretch of trucks not being able to drive over the mountain pass and people were not even able to go outside of their houses.  As soon as snow was in the state of lull, everyone started snow shoveling to let the snowplows through.  This took quite a while.  Children were beginning to play in the piled-up snow.  Even though their hands and faces were red from the cold, children were sleigh-riding with cardboard boxes and making igloos.

As I was looking at the faces of children playing, and Just when snowplowing was about to finish, I happened to notice the fallen snow on my clothes.  Usually, I would just brush off the snow without even thinking, but on this particular day, the snow had caught my eye.  I was able to see the snowflakes clearly.  It was my first-time with such an experience.  Having seen the snowflakes, I remembered reading as a university student an essay about snow written by a physicist, Ukichiro Nakaya.  In the middle of the cold weather, several kinds of snowflakes seen under the microscope were depicted and the writing said, “Snow is a letter from heaven.”  I feel that a letter from heaven is also a letter from God.  Sometimes there are soft words, and other times there are harsh words.  It might just be the receiver’s selfish thought that one feels the words are harsh.  There may be times when you feel the words are harsh due to various unwanted ties from one’s current position.  In any matter, God has thrown us letters and has continued to send them to us.  Have we accepted those letters?  Have we just gone through the ones that are convenient for us?  I need to reflect on myself.

Even though “each letter from heaven” is small, it can entirely cover the world overnight.  The work of each one of us might be small, but isn’t it the continuation of our work that is important?  Not just keeping the words of God in the Bible, but I want to show it in the works of everyday life. 

Through the letters of God, I pray that there will come a day when this world be covered with light.  And, as for it to be covered with light, I want to walk together with the church.  Snow disappears with the coming of spring.  Without erasing the words of God, I will continue waiting patiently.

Revd Francis Kazuaki Enatsu
Ueda St. Michael and All Angels’ Church

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us (John 1:14)

I met my friend from youth for the first time in years.  This person, a little older than me is someone whose husband passed away unexpectedly when their children were still young.  She then took over the judicial scrivener’s office that her husband had started, raised her children, and lived together with her mother-in-law.  While I was watching her gentle smile, I wondered how much joy she had experienced on top of much sorrow and suffering.

Living in a society where cruel words of self-responsibility fly around and inequality of wealth and unjust suppression have become more serious, Christmas is once again on its way.  The birth of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is a great gospel to all.  Who can deliver the light of Christmas to those with deep sorrow?  There is a great paradox lying there.  You tried to comfort the other, but you were the one comforted.  You tried to help the other, but you were the one helped on the contrary.  Haven’t you had these kinds of experiences?  

Jesus is calling to us to break away from any obsessions with immediate interests or seeking our own glory, and to live in greater joy.  The light of Christmas might come through to us by our trying to follow Jesus’ way of life where he showed us true nature of God’s love, “rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.”

Christmas is a time of joy, hope, and appreciation.  God came as human to a place where people were living in darkness.  He himself became poor, lived a life of love and joy, and saw his ultimate death on the cross.  God resurrected this Son, Jesus Christ, and placed him at the right hand in heaven.  We trust him as our Lord and hope to follow him even if we may wander from time to time.

Revd Isaac Yukio Ito
Naoetsu St. Sophia’s Church, Takada Advent Church, Iiyama Resurrection