Though the mountains be shaken
and the hills be removed,
yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken
nor my covenant of peace be removed,”says the Lord, who has compassion on you.
(Isaiah 54:10, NIV)
Celebrating the 160th Anniversary of the Mission of the Nippon Sei Ko Kai(NSKK, the Anglican Communion in Japan)

We pray for the Peace of the Lord to be with all members of the NSKK.
In 2009, the NSKK observed the 150th anniversary of the start of mission by celebrating withan anniversary worship service in which many of you participated. We gave thanks for thegreat blessings bestowed, and we committed ourselves anew to mission. Ten years havepassed since then, and this year marks the 160th anniversary of the mission of The Nippon Sei
Ko Kai.
Looking back on the past 10 years, the Great East Japan Earthquake, Tsunami, and TEPCO
Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident cost many people their lives and forced
many more to evacuate; even now, in the 9th year after the disaster, the situation is difficult.
Subsequently, natural disasters have struck, one after another, including the Kumamotoearthquake, torrential rains in northern Kyushu and in western Japan, and the Hokkaido Iburi
Eastern Earthquake. In response to the Great East Japan Earthquake, a disaster victims’
support operation, the “Let's Walk Together Project” began with the prayers and cooperationof people throughout the country and worldwide. Through this, we were given many new
insights. Moreover, the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident and the radioactive
contamination of the surrounding area was an incident which calls our lifestyle itself intoquestion. Furthermore, it has become an event which leaves a large liability to the future.
On the basis of this experience, the 2012 Mission Conference of NSKK was convened with thetheme of ‘The Dignity of Life - Toward a Mission-Oriented Community’, and the "Statement
on Decade of Mission and Pastoral Care of NSKK: 2012-2022" was issued. Even though weface various issues such as the aging of our members, declining numbers, shortage of clergy,
and financial constraints, we decided that laity and clergy would proactively dedicate
themselves to “careful and sincere mission and pastoral care.” Then, at the 59th General
Synod of NSKK, held in 2012, the “NSKK Declaration on the Prevention of Harassment” was~1~

passed, after which persons in charge of harassment prevention and countermeasures wereappointed, to work together with representatives of each diocese, to hold study sessions, etc.
It is an important issue for the church to be a community where everyone who gathers
respects the dignity of life. The next year, the 2nd Worldwide Anglican Peace Conference wasconvened in Okinawa, listening to the voices of the people of Okinawa and those working forthe reunification of the Korean Peninsula, and appealing for the solidarity of the worldwide
Anglican Communion in the work for justice and permanent peace.
In 2014, The 30th Anniversary Convention of Mission Collaboration between the Anglican
Communion in Japan and the Anglican Church of Korea was convened on Cheju Island, and it
was confirmed that, for the sake of peace in East Asia, both Anglican Churches (Korea andJapan) would continue in collaborative mission. Youth exchanges and women's exchanges areongoing, and we are grateful that among the priests of the Anglican Church of Korea whowork as mission collaborators within the NSKK, there are those who, having completed theirterm, transfer their canonical residence and work in their respective diocese.
At the 62nd (general) Synod held in 2016, the “Statement of Apology to all Hansen's Disease
Survivors and Family Members” was adopted, an apology to all those who were robbed of
their human dignity by our tacit consent and support of the nation's isolation policy, and wepledged to engage in educational activities to eliminate ongoing prejudice and discrimination,and further to extend pastoral care to aging church members in sanatoriums, and to place
importance on interaction. In addition, at this General Assembly, the establishment of aPrayer Book revision committee was approved, and work to compile and publish a prayer
book suitable for the coming era is ongoing, so that enhancement of future worship isexpected.
At the 64th (general) Synod in 2018, "Guidelines for the Ordination of Female Priests," whichaffirm the principle "We recognize that the holy orders of those who have received ordinationaccording to the NSKK Prayer Book retain validity" were passed. Even though in lastDecember (which marked 20 years since the first ordination in the NSKK of a female priestoccurred), a service of thanksgiving was celebrated for the 20th anniversary of the ordinationof a female priest, more and more collaboration going beyond gender differences isanticipated.
Youth activities such as the National Youth Conference, the Japan-Korea Youth Seminar, andU26 continue, providing enriching encounters and new awareness surpassing dioceses andprovinces.

~2~

At the same time, clergy and laity numbers have declined further in the last 10 years. Decline
in the number of clergy is particularly serious, an issue affecting the future of each diocese.
Based on this current situation, the House of Bishops, looking toward the mission conferenceof the NSKK scheduled for 2022, has begun to consider the re-examination of the structure of
the mission of NSKK, including the issue of nurturing a person responsible for TheologicalEducation.
With respect to the current structure of 11 dioceses, which until now, while frequently
discussed, has been maintained, in the most positive sense, we believe that, in order toreorder our mission structure, the promotion of discussion about merging/realigning is an
issue with which the House of Bishops has been charged.
Aging in Japanese society is progressing, economic disparity is becoming more pronounced,
nationalistic tendencies are intensifying, violation of minority human rights has become more
serious. There is also marked movement to make the US military base in Okinawa permanentand to accelerate the re-militarization of Japan, such as the revision of Article 9 of theConstitution, which renounced war. And in a world that experiences constant pain anddivision, we would like to reaffirm the calling which we are to fulfill.
The Pastoral Letter of the House of Bishops on the 150th Anniversary of the NSKK states, “Justas worship is called ‘the work of the people’ (leitourgia), the church is above all thecommunity of the people of God. We are called to be instruments carrying the Good Newsand the love of Christ to the world. As such, wherever we might be, we are gathered together
in worship, nourished by the Word and the Eucharist, and sent out into society. The work ofthe laity is therefore equally as important as that of the clergy. The church does not exist onlyfor its own sake, but is also called to seek the presence and action of God in the world,
particularly among the least in society, and to serve the world. This work is carried out not
only within the NSKK, but also in dialogue and mission collaboration with churches in othertraditions.”
Further, in the 2012 Mission Conference of NSKK, The Dignity of Life - Toward a
Mission-Oriented Community, Statement on Decade of Mission and Pastoral Care of NSKK:
2012-2022, it is stated:“We humbly reflect on our own past in order for NSKK to take steps toward a newborn
community of faith, in the hope and faith in God. We pray together with a deeper
appreciation of the Word and Worship to express the salvation and joy brought about by~3~

Christ and to invite many people to the grace of God given through the sacrament. Our
church gives its heart particularly to those people who want cure and liberation, treasures thelife of everybody, and hopes to participate in the Lord’s salvation together with its parishes
and all creatures.”
We wish to renew our desire to fulfill the calling entrusted to us by the Lord of reconciliationand peace. After they received the Holy Spirit, the apostles who had feared the Jews andlocked themselves in the house were sent out to the world, and they began to boldly speak
the gospel. Let us, who belong to the NSKK, be filled with the same Holy Spirit who waspoured into the apostles, and let us trust in the God of love and mercy, and let us in ourparticular locations set out to fulfill the mission entrusted to us by the Lord.

Pentecost, June 9, 2019
Nippon Sei Ko Kai House of Bishops~4~