For the Future: Keep Praying as “Neighbors”
A few years after the Great East Japan
Earthquake, the land I visited had been
completely transformed. The dirt mounds
seemed to continue to the horizon and theheavy machineries were seen everywhere.
Soon people will move into this place, but I
felt conflicted. The impression of “Lutheransan” stayed with the people even after the“Tonaribito (Your Neighbor)” project ended
in its third year. Pastor Noguchi and thepeople still have a good relationship to thisday.
Two years ago, the people from Ishinomakivisited Matsumoto Church. It was their firsttime to come to a church. Because they did
not know anything about churches, some ofthem even said, “the church also has akitchen.” One of the visitors said that she
was mesmerized by the stained glass window,
and described the experience as being“physically drawn to” the window. A memberof Matsumoto Church heard this story andmade a piece of stained glass art for her. The
artwork was then entrusted to Pastor
Noguchi and he presented it to this woman
during our trip. It was a moving experience
for us as well as for her and the people ofIshinomaki. I witnessed a connection being

made among the people.
I hope, whatever form it takes, we cankeep being part of their lives as long aspossible. What we did may be small, but wefound a great joy through Pastor Noguchi’swork, which made this connection fruitful.
Immediately
after
theKumamoto
earthquake, some members of the church in
the Sabah Seminary in Malaysia emailed us,
concerned for our well-being. They said thatthey would start a fundraising project for us,and soon donations were pouring in. It was
not the amount of the money I was thankfulfor; I was thankful and grateful for theirthoughtfulness and caring hearts. The people
my predecessors had supported were suchcaring “tonaribito (neighbors)!” The wholeexperience made me realize this joyous truth.
No matter how small and insignificant it
seems, keeping the connection alive andcontinuing to pray for our neighbors will
eventually create a greater bond of people
that we can maintain for the future. Eachone of our prayers has crystalized into theseexperiences. Thanks to God!
(Akiko Nemoto, Treasurer)- 8 -23rd JELCW Officer Meeting Minutes
Date: Tuesday, June 21, 2016 1pm -8pm at Japan Evangelical Lutheran Sendai Church
Attendees: Naoko Kokatsu, Masako Kondo, Kumi Yagi, Kunie Sakurai, Nami Matsumoto,Mari Hara, Mie Haga, Etsuko Yanai, Akiko Nemoto, and Noriko Sugimoto
Agenda:Supporting the Disaster Areas:
Continuation of the support for the Great
East Japan Earthquake & Tsunami and the
Kumamoto Earthquake“Succession of Faith”:
Rethink the succession as “sharing of faith,”
not “passing down of faith”
 In the TNG division, which works withfaith-succession
programs,
itisimportant to have an attitude of learningand praying with the participants.
 It is possible for JELCW to be part of thesupport structure for TNG

 Great East Japan Earthquake &Tsunami: Plans to visit the disasterareas in late-May, 2017 (Tentative, willsolicit participants)
 Kumamoto Earthquake: A fundraising
drive will start. All CWs will participate.
The donations will be sent to the Kyushu
District

JELCW Newsletter: Discuss a new conceptfor the newsletter Because the newsletter is a collective
expression of faith, the opening column“Mikotoba” should be maintained Incorporate JELCW members’ opinion tofulfill the newsletter’s role as aninformation publication
 Provide contents that can interest nonJELCW members

The relief fund for the Kumamoto
Earthquake has reached 864,052
yen. Praise be to God! The support
from the women from across thecountry was delivered to the Kyushu
District CW’s League.

JELCW’s current situation: Membership has
decreased by 270 people in the past sevenyears and 13 churches have cancelled theirJELCW memberships.
 If we remain in the current situation,
eventually we will not be able to keep
the organization functional.
 Our focus is to serve the way only
churchwomen can The traditional roles of women in church
have changed
 Discipleship as the moving Body of
Christ will involve both men and women

General Meeting: General Meeting will beheld at a hotel in June 7-8, 2018. The
decreasing number and aging of members
has been taken into consideration.
 Schedule:First day (1pm-8pm); Opening service(withCommunion),
Workshops(“Succession of Faith” and “Radiation inFukushima”), Dinner
Second day (9am-4pm); General Meeting(Election of the President, amendment ofthe bylaw about the number of members,etc.), Sending
Calling for contributors for theworkshop “Succession of Faith”- 9 -District Activity Reports & Announcements
District

Activity Report

Hokkaido 

East






Tokai


West




Announcements

In April the presiding district minister was changed from Rev.
Chitose Sakamoto to Rev. Yoshiyuki Hikasayama.
In May a social gathering within the Hokkaido District CW’s
League was officially scheduled on October 9.
In June the “Lutheran Kelp” sales announcement was mailed out.
The activities of the “Fureai Mail” project has started.

March 4 was World Prayer Day. We held a gathering in Tokiwadai
Baptist Church to learn about the current situation of children in
Cuba, and we prayed together.
We set up a coffee shop at the District General Body Meeting on
March 21 and the Nationwide General Body Meeting on May 3 to 5.
The proceeds from the May coffee shop were donated to theKumamoto Earthquake Relief Fund.
Presidents’ Meeting & Women’s Gathering were held on April 16 atSei Pauro Church with Rev. Naoko Kokatsu as the lecturer. The
topic was “Caregivers’ Truth and Purpose.” A discussion followed
the lecture.
Koshin Area CW’s Gathering was held at Matsumoto Church on
June 5. 46 people participated in the worship, briefings from eachparticipating church, and a social hour to discuss their church lives
and share their stories of becoming Christians. We are thankfulthat all of the District Officers and Kofu Church, whose JELCW
membership has currently ceased, could participate in thegathering. The gathering was organized by Iida Church and thevenue was provided by Matsumoto Church.
The district newsletter “Flowers of Sharon: Hot News” vol.1 waspublished on July 15.

The District CW visited “Green’s Fair” at the Denmark Bokujo onMay 3 and donated the proceeds to the Fukushimura Donation
Fund.
We invited Terumi Kataoka, Director of “Save the Children fromRadiation” from Aizu Radiation Information Center to speak at ourCW gathering on May 28 at Eiko Church Yaizu Chapel. The topic
was of a current social issue and met with a great interest by theaudience. An 81-year-old member from Yaizu Chapel also shared
her story of “Daigo Fukuryumaru.” A presentation of the TNG
Spring Camp was shown at the gathering as well.
The district newsletter “Agapanthus” vol.3 was published.

The 4th CW Gathering isscheduled on October 1 at
Koromo Church. The scheduled
events are: Kantele & Gospel
concert by Miki Ozawa; talk
“From the Field of Elderly Care”
by Mieko Kanetaka, Assistant
Director of Special Elderly
Nursing Home Diaconia; and agroup discussion of the topic“What Constitutes a good
Christian end to life?”

Three “Hanamizuki Gatherings,” district-wide meetings were heldwith guests Hanna Pettinen and Miki Ozawa on May 10 at Osaka
Church (Kansai area), May 11 at Seijo Church (Higashi Chugokuarea) and May 14 at Atsugi Church as its special worship program(Nishi Chugoku area). The theme was “Through the Eyes of FinnishHymns.”
The district newsletter “Hanamizuki” vol. 3 was published.
Email news subscription is becoming gradually accepted.
District officers visited Shion Church Masuda Chapel, which has
one JELCW member, and Matsuyama Church, whose JELCW
membership has ceased, to worship with the members.

A district CW program“Reformation 500th Anniversaryis Also the 500th Birthday ofHymns!” is scheduled on March19, 2017 from 4pm. It is the day
before the West District’s
Reformation 500 service (March20, 2017).

- 10 -On October 9, we will host Kozue
Koizumi to speak at Sapporo
Aspen Hotel with a reception tofollow. Everyone is welcome.
The kelp is sent out from midSeptember.
We will have a booth at the“One-Day Seminary (opencampus)” event on September 22.
A lecture “Care Receivers’ Truthand Purpose” by MutsumiTakahashi, Director of Tokyo
Nursing Home and Rev. Saana
Ito is scheduled on October 15. A
discussion will follow the lecture.
A visit to Tokyo Nursing Home isscheduled in November.

Kyushu







Nagasaki Church restarted their membership. We are thankful for
their coming back to the JELCW.
We helped our youth/collegiate group’s handmade somen noodlesales.
We held a gender study last year and realized that it is difficult toraise awareness among the churchwomen by themselves.
We currently do not have our own support program for theKumamoto Earthquake but are offering support for the District’sprogram. To care for children in psychological distress, we
introduced the works of “Child Fund.”We helped the sales of items the District made for the Reformation
500th Anniversary.
The district newsletter “Michishirube” vol. 99 was published.



An expanded officers’ meeting isscheduled in February 2017. Thediscussion topic is “Shukatsu(preparing for the end)”(tentative).
We are accepting “My Story”
article submissions.
100 copies of “Ikoi no migiwa,” aproduct of “Silver Project” will be
reprinted (2000 yen/copy). A copy
will be gifted to each district. To
purchase, contact Murozono
Church CW.

Activity Reports & Announcements from International Organizations
Itsukushimi
Reporting Members:
Hisako Ishitobi,
Akie Moroyama
ACWCJ (Asian Church
Women’s Conference)
Reporting Members:
Naomi Tajima,
Keiko Renge*Committee Meeting is held on
the 4th Friday of every month

NCC
Reporting Members:
Noriko Ishitani,
Yamato Yasuda*Committee Meeting is held on
the 4th Wednesday of everymonth

LWF/WICAS
Reporting Members:
Masae NishidaSeptember 16
Itsukushimi Seminar was held at Tokyo Church. “Women inDiakonia : Diakonia seen through the Bible and History” by Dr. Kjell Nordstokke,
Former President at Diakonhjemmet University, Norway.

Seminar “Being One with Christ”
o Kansai Area:
Friday, October 7, 10:30-15:30 at Japan Protestant Episcopal Kawaguchi Christ
ChurchMessage: Father Iwashiro (Kawaguchi Christ Church), Bible Study: Rev. Furumoto(Chaplain, Heian Jogakuin), Keynote: Mariko Iwao (Social Worker, MeadShakaikan).
o Japan Committee:
Friday, November 11, 10:30-15:30 at the United Church of Christ in Japan Fujimi
ChurchMessage: Rev Otsuka (UCCJ Megurohara Church), Bible Study: Rev. Kim (TheKorean Christian Church in Japan). Discussion Leader: Rev. Hidaka (JapanBaptist Convention Hiraoka Joyful Chapel).
Reports from the 2015 Seminar is sold 500 yen/copy. To purchase call Tajima.
May 18-20 Asia Joint Meeting (to resolve the “Comfort Women” issue) at Seoul. Twomembers attended.
May 25
Internal Meeting “Stop the Violation of Women and Children’s Rights” atSangiin Giin Kaikan. 5 members attended.
Reports from 2016 World Prayer Dayo Total amount of offering: 8,173,192 yeno JELC will donate 320,000 yen to Denmark Bokujo Social Services,
Orphanage/Youth House “Kodomo no Ie”and Kengun Church Wakaeda Scholarship
Committee.
o Seminarian Mie Yokoyama will also receive 50,000 yen as a support.
o 2017 World Prayer Day liturgy is currently being edited in the Philippines.
Friday, March 3, 2017 is the next World Day of Prayer. Please join us in the worshipand prayer for the women and children of the Philippines.
To celebrate the Lutheran Reformation 500th Anniversary, we continue to work on theproject to create a book of “Herstories” that contributed to the history of the Lutheran
Church.
The Lutheran World Federation’s Gender Justice Policy is now being sold (300 yen/copy).
The booklet describes how to empower women and protect their rights in order to achieve
gender justice. To order please send an email or fax with the number of booklets and youraddress. The booklets will be sent with a payment slip.

- 11 -