Message – Page 3 – Diocese of Chubu, Nippon Sei Ko Kai

“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 2^nd 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

The Meaning of the Church Unchanging for 90 years

Okaya St. Barnabas Church, on last November 16^th, 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

“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

All Saints’ Day

November 1 is called All Saints’ Day, a celebration day to honor the souls of all saints. It commemorates the souls of all deceased Christians, and it is a day to pray to God. The following day, November 2, is All Souls’ Day, and in commemoration of all the faithful departed, we pray to God. November is also said to be All Saints’ Month.

At church during Sunday services, we always pray to God for all departed souls, but we remember especially in November of those lost ones to have them rest in peace. It is similar to “obon” in Japan, a Festival of the Dead.

Nobody knows, for certain, about the life after death. While some people believe that everything will be lost, others believe that the body will be lost but the soul remains. There’s no evidence in any of these, but since ages ago, it has been believed that the soul lives on after death as many people wish, expect, and hope.

If there is nothing afterlife or if it is a nihilistic world, we are now desperately living heading towards a nihilistic world without any kind of hope. Life would be a very empty one. Furthermore, funerals, grave visits, memorial services, and Christian memorial worships will have no meaning.

The Bible tells us that the soul of the deceased rests in peace, and before long at the last moment, gives its testimony to God, the creation of life.

Therefore, we, who are currently alive, pray for the deceased and to God to welcome the soul of the deceased. At the same time, while we are still alive, we live with hope, praying for guidance and protection, to be able to live a fulfilling life so that God would be happy. Let us pray for the many souls of the deceased.

Revd Timothy Kimihiro Shimada
Nagano Holy Savior’s Church, New Life Chapel, Inariyama All Saint’s Church

Would St. Francis Preach Bees?

For about ten years until this March, I served as a managing priest to Fukushima Church in Kiso Town, Nagano Prefecture. One day, as I was giving a sermon at this church, a small long-legged wasp flew in out of nowhere. Then, without a doubt, the atmosphere in the church changed completely. Until then, only my voice giving a sermon echoed silently inside the church, with the congregation listening. We understood each other even just with an eye contact, and it was a time where we shared the Words. However, with the appearance of the small bee, everything changed. From the expression of the people, I could clearly hear the voices of their hearts crying, “Bee! What shall we do? We’re in the middle of a sermon…” As I heard these silent voices and looked into their eyes, fear close to threat and confusion was evident. And to the congregation, the bee’s buzzing, which could not have been louder than me, was far greater than my voice during the sermon. But even I, who was preaching, felt the same as the congregation. Everything was engulfed by the bee.

Contemplating between my mission and responsibility to continue talking about the Words, I stopped my sermon and said, “There’s a bee, so let us all step outside.” As the nervousness was at once removed within the church, one person opened the window, took a newspaper in one’s hand, and guided the small, yet the powerful bee outside. After the bee was gone, the church retrieved its quiet atmosphere, as it had been prior to the bee appearing, and I restarted my sermon. However, as I continued with my sermon, I was starting to recollect about an incident at Fukushima Church that had occurred to me when I was a child.

As a matter of fact, Fukushima Church is my mother church, and I had been there with my family since childhood. I have taken part in the Holy Eucharist there, but taking part meaning I was running around the church, like that bee, spoiling the mood during prayers. It was just a mess, so I heard. Then, one day, my mother, who just had it with my behavior, took me outside during the Holy Eucharist, and we stayed outside until the service was over. Afterwards, my mother said to my grandmother, “My child is so noisy and he’s going to be in the way of everyone’s prayers, so I’m thinking about taking a little break from going to church.” After hearing this, even I at a young age, knew that this was not looking good. Then my grandmother said to my mother, “What are you talking about? No one more than a child is in need of the Words of God. And the Holy Eucharist is important to children. So, keep bringing your child to church, and there is no need to take him outside during the communion.” Hearing my grandmother’s words, my mother was very surprised, yet a little relieved and said “Yes, I guess you’re right.” As I was looking on to what was happening and from my grandmother’s words, I instantly realized how much the Holy Eucharist is important to my grandmother, my mother, and the people at church. And above all, for myself even as a child, too.

As I overlapped the figure of myself as a child taken outside the church to the bee that was guided outside, I thought to myself, “If it had been Saint Francis, who was said to have preached to the little birds, would he have preached to that bee? I bet he would have done it.”

The story of St. Francis calling all creatures even other than humans as brothers and sisters, and loving and respecting them, hence being able to communicate with animals’ hearts, preach to the birds, and convert the wolf, is exceedingly famous. But when I think back on my grandmother’s words, I feel St. Francis was able to preach them because he understood the heart and words of the birds and wolves.

“It is absolutely necessary for all creatures to be guided by the words of God. Creatures are not to be limited only to people, but also to every creature that cannot understand the words of human beings. If all creatures need to be guided by the words of God, I will even preach to the birds and wolves. Even if the birds and wolves do not understand the words I speak, the words I speak are that of God. I believe in the absolute nature of the words of God, and its greatness in power. If the words are of God they will be understood by all creatures. And if they are the words of God, the birds and wolves will surely feel something. That is why I preach to the birds and the wolves.” So, that’s how he believed it, and that is why he continued to preach to the birds and wolves. And if the bees were here, he probably would have preached them too.

It is important that all creatures continue to be within the grace of God and be showered by words of God. We easily assume that “children do not understand sermons,” “Holy Eucharist is too difficult for children,” or “children might get bored” and as a result, children’s places are outside the church. Are we not letting the children hear the words of God? The words of God and the miracles of the sacrament go far beyond our understanding and imagination, reaching the children in a more clear, certain, and unexpected manner. If the Holy Eucharist is the absolute faith of us adults, it should also be the same for children. However, there are places other than the Holy Eucharist that are easily prepared for children. Looking at this I feel, “For whose sake are the children plucked out of the Holy Eucharist? For children who are bored or for adults who prefer to worship peacefully and quietly?

As Lord Jesus has embraced and blessed the children in the center of adults, we should always have the children be the center of the Holy Eucharist. I hope it becomes a place where “children should be” and “ought to be.”

Revd Joseph Daisuke Shimohara
St. Matthew’s Cathedral, Nagoya St. John’s Church

On the Other Side of the Voice

There is an opportunity for me to talk to the bride and groom during the orientation held before the wedding ceremony. I still get nervous until the time the couple arrives. Through the wedding application form that is provided beforehand, I try to picture the two of them as to who and how they are. However, that often leads to a stretching of imagination with inaccurate information. Wedding photographers say they do not want any kind of image or information regarding the couple before the photograph shooting because they prefer to take pictures just the way the two or the family is. I want to follow that same style, but I tend to think about unnecessary information prior to meeting the couple. Nevertheless, it is the two who are more nervous than me.

With both of our tension unwinding little by little, and by the end of the wedding rehearsal, I feel relieved to see the happy faces on the couple knowing that they have taken a step forward in their wedding preparation. I had felt a similar kind of nervousness when I used to go and talk to the patients at hospitals. Previously, I would visit the hospital rooms almost everyday praying that the patients are not suffering from repeated pain or exhausted from their rehabilitation therapies. Even if I had visited the patients upon hearing their conditions from the nurse practitioner or had estimated the right timing for visitation, patients would repeatedly refuse to see me, and I would be down about it. There would be times when I would end up walking past the hospital rooms for not wanting to disturb any meetings or wake up the patients. I would come to myself with a question thrown at me such as “Are you the chaplain in the hospital?” Even now, it suddenly occurs to me after the ceremony when the groom says, “My gratitude to the chaplain and all the staff” and then I am made to realize that the groom is talking about me.

I am reminded again at the meaning of my being there in that very moment. When Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon (Matthew15:21), a Canaanite woman cries out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me!” To the woman’s voice wanting to have her daughter healed, Jesus answers with words full of racism and harassment such as “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel” and “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs” to turn down her request. Maybe society was like this in those times. However, it is the same sad words that I told myself that those were the reasons. Jesus too was tired, and he might have stashed it away to himself. The walk of Jesus, was that of solemnness, far greater than that of ours. His teachings were not understood, and he was not even trusted by his family in his own homeplace of Nazareth. Is that why he came far out to Jerusalem where there are no lost sheep and in no need of a shepherd? However, that is when the woman calls out to him, “Lord, Son of David.” With Jesus as the Savior in this world and people crying out to him, it is likely that Jesus was seeking a long time for this cry. However, far more than those voices calling for him, Jesus was calling out to us. Jesus too was calling for us. In order to have Jesus be our Lord, I want to continue calling for him by saying, “Yes it is, our Lord.” Jesus is there on the other side waiting for us.

Rev. Matthew Naomichi Yano

The World of God is a Quiet One

Jesus, speaking about the world of God, said that it grows even without realizing it. People do not know how sowed seeds grow in the soil, but similar to their sprouting and bearing fruit, the world of God is neither visible nor hearable, but there is no doubt that it is growing. It means that the world of God (the work of God) proceeds profoundly and silently.

The other day, one particular married couple was baptized and practiced confirmation at Church I. The wife used to be a kindergartener at this church-affiliated school and, for many years, had been interested in Christianity; however, she was hesitant in becoming a Christian because her family was Buddhist. She has, at this time, made up her mind to become a Christian along with her husband.

After the service, she said it had been a long way until now. It had taken fifty years since her kindergarten years for her to become baptized. But the work of God (the world of God) had been with them and lead them to be baptized and receive confirmation.

And recently, the father of Reverend I’s partner S was baptized. S said to the father, “Dad, you’re now a Christian for you’ve been baptized.” But the father replied, “Yes, but it hasn’t hit me yet.” It’s a charming conversation, but once again, the work of God is hidden behind all of this.

There’s probably not so many who feel a sudden change in becoming a Christian after baptism. Especially in baptism for infants, there’s probably close to nothing felt by the infants for they are not even aware they have been baptized. Myself, upon being baptized, remember feeling nervous, but did not actually feel any immediate change or even feel I had become a Christian. I think the same can be said for most people who experience this.

Are we not Christians if we don’t actually feel it? That is not so. The work of God is profound, silent, but for sure. It may not be seen, heard, or felt by people. However, we are, without a doubt, together with God and Jesus through baptism. We are Christians for sure. The father of Reverend I’s partner S might not have felt it, but he is a Christian for sure. The silent work of God goes beyond the sense of people.

We are not able to understand the whole spirit of God. There are numerous things that are only understood by God and not by humankind. But that is fine too. I believe not understanding everything about God is, on the contrary, a blessing. What will happen if humankind found out everything about God? It is a fearful thing when you think about it. It is enough that God, and only God, knows it.

The world of God is growing silently but for sure. As for the couple at Church I, the world of God for fifty years had grown silently. In the case of the father of Reverend I’s partner, it took far more greater years than this. Nevertheless, the work of God, without a doubt, is submerged profoundly and silently, and brings us to this baptism and confirmation. We will look on to the growth of the world of God.

The world of God is growing somewhere, or in a place relatively close to us. What a joy it is to live our holy lives looking forward to what kind of world God will show us next.

The Rt. Rvd. Peter Ichiro Shibusawa

“I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

“In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” The Blessed Trinity may be a little unclear. It is sometimes called the Holy Trinity within Nippon Sei Ko Kai. The name, Kani Holy Trinity Church located in Gifu Prefecture, is derived from this. Churches have believed in God through the development of religious principles. The Orthodox Church of Japan officially approves of Andrei Rublyov’s icon which shows the three angels visiting Abraham (Genesis) as the only authenticated icon. Additionally, this religious painting is in the Central Theological College and is still used during meditation. Augustine expresses in analogy the relationship of the Holy Trinity as the Father the Speaker, the Son the Word, and the Holy Spirit as love through the speaking of the word, “The Theology of the Holy Trinity.” While the three Persons are distinct, they work together to form unity. This is the basic line of reasoning in the western theology.

However, God as three in one and one in three is not the subject of understanding, but is a subject of mysterious belief. Why this has continued to be kept is because I believe it has been “something felt from experience” rather than “something understood in the mind.” For instance, we recite the Lord’s prayer. This represents God of the Holy Trinity. The Lord’s Prayer is the only prayer which Jesus taught His disciples and also the one He used to pray to God. The prayer which Jesus the Son, gave to God the Father. We pray with the Holy Spirit within us. This is the importance of the Lord’s Prayer.

God loves us unconditionally and this is the basis of our world. The Father sent us Jesus, the only child, to show us love. And when we answer “yes” to the unconditional love of Jesus, who was sent by God, only then do we become God’s children. The awakened Holy Spirit within us moves about actively and by becoming God’s true children, we recite the “Lord’s Prayer.”

There are hard times and we have ordeals; however, it is the utmost joy of the Holy Spirit within us to answer “yes” when asked by Jesus, “God loves you, do you believe this?” Isn’t it here where we are able to feel “the three in one” and “the one in three?” And then we will be able to feel that God is always with us and we are not alone when reciting the Lord’s Prayer.

Revd Joseph Masashi Ishida

I’m Home

I have been appointed to Niigata St. Paul’s Church since this April. The ordination ceremony was followed by Easter. At the start of the service, I stood in front of the bishop with the representatives of the congregation and was encouraged by their words of support. Niigata St. Paul’s Church is a place where I set off upon deciding to be a member of the clergy and graduating theology school.

Those people who welcomed my husband and I with open hearts having returned after ten years. Talking with family members about the memories of those who have passed away. There has been an increase in the number of those who had been visiting the church ten years ago, but who are now having difficulties attending services due to aging. I am looking forward to seeing them again.

There is a strange feeling when I see the various footsteps of Rev. Ignacio Yoonsic Jung, who worked for five years ten years ago, left everywhere in the church. I asked about the congregation before visiting them, and Rev. Jung took out his notebook from ten years ago. He looked at the records from then and taught me family relationships, shared prayers, and words of encouragement.

When talking with the congregation, there are lots of memories from ten years ago. The many opportunities talking while reminiscing about the “times before going to theological school” brings back to memory the late Ms. Leah Shihoko Nagai.

My husband, who had been appointed as a priest to Niigata St. Paul’s Church, was spending fulfilling days through preparations for Sunday services, sermons, and pastoral care. Ms. Nagai would take notice of me and say, “Sunhee, your young, but you live apart from your parents and have only few friends, so it must be hard for you.” When I told her I had learned sign language during my days in Nagoya, she gave me information about sign language lessons in Niigata. I would consult her about a troubled young person who would visit the church, and she would tell me about the time when she was volunteering at a hospital after her husband passed away due to cancer. She would also tell me about her experience as a counselor for “Inochi-no-Denwa (Lifeline) and often cheer me up.

She taught me a lot about the delicious Japanese food and its wonderful culture. I still think about Ms. Shihoko Nagai whenever I eat a bowl of wheat-rice with grated yam or red turnip pickles. Since birth, her one of her blood vessels is thinner than it should be, so she refrains from eating pickles, which contains salt. However, I always envied her when she brought tons of those pickles to church and share them with us.

I also had an encounter with a young person who had withdrawn from society for ten years and was searching for something that I could do for those people who came to church. And just when I was thinking about learning counseling and my husband knowing that I had wanted to learn theology since before our marriage, offered to support me in my decision to enter the ministry. There are still many things that I do not know about from the last ten years. There were times when I was really down not being able to help those in need of help. However, I the days at church and the hospital were spent remembering what Ms. Shihoko Nagai had taught me.

Losing her husband, taking care of her mother, thinking about her daughters who lived apart from her, doing volunteer work, accounting for church, taking care of people from church, and so on. The thinning of her blood vessels will eventually restrain her from walking, so she started calligraphy and sewing. There are many people, including Ms. Shihoko Nagai, who have taught me that it is more blessed to give than to receive. I will bear in mind the love given from you, pray together with you, and interact with people. I am truly grateful to be a part of this religious community where the people living together are connected by God’s love.

I would like to become a member of a group of people who love, not only Ms. Shihoko Nagai, but also God, those who are loved by God, gather, pray, and have shared.

Revd Fides Sunhee Kim
Niigata St. Paul’s Church