For the Next Generation
At the 23rd General Meeting of Officers in Sendai Church in June, the officers discussed thesuccession of faith. In hopes of sharing the discussion with the fellow members of JELCW, we are
publishing the minutes in the newsletter.

“Succession of Faith”
This phrase is quite often used in the
Lutheran Church, but not too much action
has been dedicated to changing the situation.
We wanted to know how you feel.
The difficulty of this phrase exists in theinterpretation. For example, ★ when usedregarding children and youth to describe theaction of succeeding the adults’ faith, there is
no problem. However, ★when used by adults
describing their action to pass down theirfaith to the children and youth, theinterpretation of the phrase becomesproblematic, though grammatically correct.
The term “succession” is beautiful when usedby someone willingly receiving from someone
else, but if it means making someone succeed
them, it could have the undertone of being
forced and pressured onto the person
succeeding. It is never positive. It also
implies a hidden hierarchy based on age.
When it comes to faith, we thought
perhaps a more fitting verb may be “sharing.”
The Gospel is “spread” but the joy begins
when it is shared with others. If the“succession of faith” becomes a “sharing offaith,” then it can be applied to the young
and old, men and women. Also, therelationship between the succeeding party
and the successor will be equal. When we say“sharing faith with children,” “sharing faithwith young people,” or “would you want toshare faith with middle-aged ladies?” thepeople we are talking with could be friends,families, associates, strangers, the old or theyoung. This is actually quite convenient andit makes us free!
When we use the phrase the “succession offaith” at the CW and other meetings and if

we are discussing about a different
generation, we, the middle-aged ladies tend
to take the stance as the succeeding party.
-Do I really have the faith that is worth
passing down to young people and children?
-Should I push my faith onto the younger
generation when I don’t even know theirvalues?
-It is a heavy burden to carry if a hierarchy
is inevitably established.
Such comments show that our attitude is notvery enthusiastic even though we try to bepositive. Also, it is possible that we are
creating an accusatory atmosphere that says,“Are you not inheriting our faith?”
We looked at the 75-year-history of theJELCW and the phrase “succession of faith”
was found in the Succession of Faith
Program in one of the International Camps.
This was probably the first time the phrase
was ever used. When we learned more about
the program, we realized that it was used todescribe the effort to create and develop anenvironment where the children can inherit
faith from their parents. I assume thisconvenient phrase was then overused by theJELCW and CWs and gradually started torepresent the activities that promote thepassing down of faith to young people ingeneral. (*Please note that this is a personalopinion.)
This year again we held the TNG AllPrefectures Children’s Camp. In TNG, acommittee for The Next Generation, werarely hear discussion about the “successionof faith.” The committee itself hardly has theovertone of passing down/succeeding faith.
The reason, I suppose, is that the staff- 2 -members plan the programs with an attitudeof learning and studying together with theparticipants, whether it is the Spring Camp,
Youth Camp or Bible Camp. In my opinion, it
is only natural—everyone who has been on
staff will agree that they have learned somuch with the children and often they were
the ones being taught by the children—that
the committee adopted the attitude to “share”
their faith with others.
This is merely a suggestion, but how about
we replace the “succession of faith” with“sharing of faith” in all documents inJELCW? We hope the change in theexpression may also change people’s
conscious minds. We may even dream ofhaving a friendship based on spreading faith,overcoming the difference in generations.
Perhaps, the situation our Church is facing
does not allow any other choice but to share
our faith with the children and youth. We
should always have this awareness […].
(Nami Matsumoto, West District)

TNG
What does TNG stand for? We discussed thisin our District Newsletter (issued inDecember 2015) and explained the activities.
The offering from each CW has been
allocated to support TNG, but from 2016 westarted to specifically ask for “Donations for
TNG Support” along with the Tokai District’s
the Next Generation Growth Support(support for youth activities).
TNG’s activities include the Teens’ Campin the spring. We were planning to visit thecamp and give a report at the CW meeting on
June 25, 2016. Unfortunately, we could not
make the visit due to a schedule conflict, but
we were given the photographs and heard
the details of the camp from the staff. We
presented the materials in a PowerPoint
presentation at the CW meeting (90participants). Ikumi Hori who was closest inage to the teens served as the MC.

In the morning, we had welcomed andheard from speaker Terumi Kataoka, who isthe president of “Save the Children fromRadiation” at the Aizu Radiation Information
Center. We heard the report from the SpringCamp in the afternoon, while still extending
our thoughts to the children of Fukushima.
The images of 100 teens from all over Japanlearning together were projected onto thelarge screen. Sister Hori read the wellthought-out script with humor, and we spentthe hopeful, delightful moments together
listening to the descriptions.
May all the children of Fukushima and thechildren of the Spring Camp have a bright
future ahead of them! I am probably not theonly one who felt strongly that it is our
mission from God to help the children thebest we can.
(Kunie Sakurai, Tokai District)- 3 -For the Society:
Reports from the Areas Affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake & Tsunami
My Second Visit to the Affected Areas
Two years ago, the Tohoku district I visitedfor the first time was just a vast and empty
land, which had lost its many people whowere supposed to be living their daily lives
there.
After two years have passed, the place wassurrounded by the newly created large dirt
mounds and embankments. It looked as if
the town had become a fortress, and I felt
uncomfortable.
There was the firehouse building where an
employee broadcasted the warning until thelast moment of her life, urging the people ofthe town to evacuate. The building had been
under consideration to be preserved as amemorial, but it was covered in dirt and only
the top half was left visible above the ground.
The locals probably have many different
thoughts, but it looked as if the tragedy itself
was buried underground. Even an outsider
like myself wondered if it was really for thebest.
When we visited the temporary housing
again, the garden maintained by theresidents was full of blooming dianthus
flowers. Looking at the pretty pink flowers, I

hoped that they brought some joy to thepeople who lived there.
Just like the last time, the residents
welcomed us with home-made food and wewere reunited with the people we had met
before. I thought we had had a once-in-alifetime encounter back then, but the second
chance to meet them was just as delightful.
They remembered us fondly in the last five
years, calling us “Lutheran-san,” and for that
we are thankful to Pastor Noguchi forplanting the seeds of friendship. What thedisaster brought was very sad, but when
they called us “Lutheran-san,” we felt asense of closeness that we were brothers andsisters. Overcoming the sorrow that words
cannot describe is not easy. However, thebond and connection in which people help
and support each other gave them the power
to persevere.
Being treated with delicious local kelp andhearing their thoughts accumulated in thepast five years, I was the one who received
more grace that day.
(Masako Kondo, Hokkaido District)Contemplating the Affected Areas’ 5 Years and 4 Months
The day after we prayed for the Lord’s
guidance and protection in the very quiet
Sendai Church, quite different from the timeright after the disaster, we met an elderly
gentleman in Hiwayama Park on the top of
the 60-meter-hill in the central part ofIshinomaki. He pointed to the town below
and described how people fled as the tsunami
rolled in. His family evacuated and were safe
except for his eldest son, who was killed by
the tsunami when he went back to check on
his house. Since that day, this man hasclimbed the 3000 stairs every day and told
the story of “that day” to the people whovisited the park. It is unimaginable how thepeople felt that day, evacuating in the snow
to the higher grounds as the torii of theHiwasan Shrine towered against the sky
above the blue, shining Ishinomaki Bay. The
rubble will be cleaned and the streets andbuildings will be reconstructed again, but wesensed the importance and challenges ofpsychological recovery that cannot be seen bythe eyes.
After we prayed for the Lord’s peace on theman who became
the storyteller, ourlocalsupporters
took us to theOppagawa Kasen- 4 -Danchi Temporary Housing, where we werewelcomed by the people from “Nunozori
Nagominokai” and “Ochakkokai.” It waswonderful to finally meet those with whom
we had been communicating via phone callsand emails. After listening to a person who
talked for the first time in five years aboutlosing her grandchild to the tsunami, Pastor
Noguchi who was leading the grouppresented a stained glass artwork of a dove
(made by a member of Matsumoto Church).
Our wish is that our sisters who currently
live in the temporary housing can someday
come back to this dove after they move to therecovery residences or other areas. We hadmany more encounters, visits and reunions,but instead of writing a summary, I will savethe whole story for the next time.
Our senses and memories wither with time,
but our thoughts and wishes cannot beforgotten. I pray that these unseen,important things stay with me in my heart,so that I can keep telling the stories without
losing hope, and that I continue to be one
with those people. (Kumi Yagi, East District)

When I stood in the Affected Area
When I stood there, I could not say a word
looking at the sight in front of my eyes.
Because the Kumamoto earthquake was so
terrible, my memory of the Great East Japan
Earthquake and Tsunami had faded.
However, what I saw were: the ground andtrees damaged by salt, people still living in
the temporary housing, tall embankments
under construction that completely block theview of the ocean, a person who lost his
family member and climbs a hill every day to
see where he used to live, a person who is
too afraid to go to the place where she used
to live, an elementary school building thatshows the devastating power of a tsunami,
and so many names of those who lost theirlives on the memorial monument. It has
already been five years, but it has only been
five years. It was clear that the people wholived in the area were still hurting a greatdeal. When we thought about how we could
continue the support, we remembered thewords of Saito-san who spent the whole daywith us as our guide: “You, Lutheran-san
told us to let you know if we needed anything,and you brought us kitchen knives andcutting boards. We were thankful that manylarge organizations gave us a lot of support,
but we really appreciated that you listened toour small needs directly and took an action
immediately.”
I also took to my heart the words of amember of Kahoku Tomono Kai, a group that
supports Nagomikai making nunozori andhanging dolls, “Since we all live far apartfrom one another now, this is the first time
we got together after a few years.” A vast
number of people were affected by thedisaster and they have a wide range of needs.
What I came to realize was that our
Christian sisters here let God lead them tomeet those who were in pain and understandtheir needs.
We currently provide support to theaffected areas by a fundraising project ofselling wakame, nunozori and hanging dolls.
However, there are people still hurting
beyond where our support could reach. Thesepeople think about others who are also inpain and cannot express their own pain. But
when we visited them, they welcomed us
with delicious tsukemono and fruits. Theytaught me how to make good tsukemono andI have since made it at home. I strongly hopethat we can continue the support thatinvolves psychological interaction.
(Mari Hara, Kyushu District)- 5 -