Vol.XXVI#1

Autumn 2019

NSKK NEWSLETTER

日本聖公会管区事務所だより

NIPPON SEI KO KAI Provincial Office

Editor : E. Hajime Suzuki

65 Yarai-cho, Shinjuku-ku,
Tokyo 162-0805 JAPAN			

Tel. +81-3-5228-3171
Fax +81-3-5228-3175

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 celebratingwith an anniversary worship service in which many of you participated. We gave thanks
for the great blessings bestowed, and we committed ourselves anew to mission. Ten years
have passed 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, andTEPCO Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident cost many people their lives andforced 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
Kumamoto earthquake, 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 theprayers and cooperation of 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 whichcalls our lifestyle itself into question. Furthermore, it has become an event which leaves alarge liability to the future.
On the basis of this experience, the 2012 Mission Conference of NSKK was convened
with the theme 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 we face various issues such as the aging of our members, declining
numbers, shortage of clergy, and financial constraints, we decided that laity and clergy

1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 thePrevention of Harassment” was passed, after which persons in charge of harassment
prevention and countermeasures were appointed, to work together with representativesof each diocese, to hold study sessions, etc. It is an important issue for the church to be acommunity where everyone who gathers respects the dignity of life. The next year, the 2ndWorldwide Anglican Peace Conference was convened in Okinawa, listening to the voicesof the people of Okinawa and those working for the reunification of the Korean Peninsula,and appealing for the solidarity of the worldwide Anglican Communion in the work forjustice 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 and Japan) would continue in collaborative mission. Youth exchanges andwomen’s exchanges are ongoing, and we are grateful that among the priests of the
Anglican Church of Korea who work as mission collaborators within the NSKK, there arethose who, having completed their term, transfer their canonical residence and work intheir 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 wererobbed of their human dignity by our tacit consent and support of the nation’s isolation
policy, and we pledged to engage in educational activities to eliminate ongoing prejudice
and discrimination, and further to extend pastoral care to aging church members insanatoriums, and to place importance on interaction. In addition, at this General Assembly,
the establishment of a Prayer 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 is expected.
At the 64th (general) Synod in 2018, “Guidelines for the Ordination of Female Priests,”
which affirm the principle “We recognize that the holy orders of those who have received
ordination according to the NSKK Prayer Book retain validity” were passed. Even though
in last December (which marked 20 years since the first ordination in the NSKK of afemale priest occurred), a service of thanksgiving was celebrated for the 20th anniversaryof the ordination of a female priest, more and more collaboration going beyond genderdifferences is anticipated.
Youth activities such as the National Youth Conference, the Japan-Korea Youth Seminar,and U26 continue, providing enriching encounters and new awareness surpassing
dioceses and provinces.
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 eachdiocese. Based on this current situation, the House of Bishops, looking toward the mission
conference of the NSKK scheduled for 2022, has begun to consider the re-examination of2

the structure of the mission of NSKK, including the issue of nurturing a person responsible
for Theological Education.
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 militarybase in Okinawa permanent and to accelerate the re-militarization of Japan, such as
the revision of Article 9 of the Constitution, which renounced war. And in a world thatexperiences constant pain and division, we would like to reaffirm the calling which we areto fulfill.
The Pastoral Letter of the House of Bishops on the 150th Anniversary of the NSKK states,“Just as worship is called ‘the work of the people’ (leitourgia), the church is above all
the community of the people of God. We are called to be instruments carrying the Good
News and 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 of the laity is therefore equally as important as that of the clergy. The church
does not exist only for 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 workis carried out not only within the NSKK, but also in dialogue and mission collaboration withchurches in other traditions.”
Further, in the 2012 Mission Conference of NSKK, The Dignity of Life - Toward a MissionOriented Community, Statement on Decade of Mission and Pastoral Care of NSKK: 20122022, 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 Christ and to invite many people to the grace of God given through thesacrament. Our church gives its heart particularly to those people who want cure andliberation, treasures the life 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
and locked 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
was poured into the apostles, and let us trust in the God of love and mercy, and let us in
our particular locations set out to fulfill the mission entrusted to us by the Lord.

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

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NSKK held “International Conference for a World Without Nuclear Power Plants”
Our future to be challenged
as a matter of life and ethics
Kei Ikezumi, Member of the Executive
Committee for the International Conference for a World Without Nuclear Power
PlantsIn March 2011, a big earthquake subsequently called the ‘Great East Japan Earthquake’ occurred, followed by a tsunami and an explosion at TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power
Plant. In the wake of this unprecedented catastrophe, we adopted a resolution “For a World
Without Nuclear Power Plants: The Standpoint of NSKK” at the 2012 General Synod. At theGeneral Synod in June 2018, we resolved to hold an International Conference for a World
Without Nuclear Power Plants. NSKK have selected denuclearization as one of the importantmissions to take up. The Conference was held in Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture on May 28-31
with the clear intention of promoting the anti-nuclear agenda.
A total of 68 participants including representatives from all dioceses of NSKK; members of the
NSKK Justice and Peace Committee; Anglican delegates from Korea, the Philippines, Taiwan,
United Kingdom, and USA; delegates from NCC Peace and Nuclear Issues Committee; as well
as delegates from Tohoku Help.
The keynote speech was given by Dr. Miranda Schreurs, a former member of the German government’s “Ethics committee on safe energy supply”. We heard many impressive stories fromher about how the German government changed its policy into denuclearization immediately
after the Fukushima disaster, as well as the circumstances and challenges that followed. In thesubsequent lectures and presentations, the members of United Church of Christ in Japan andAnglican Churches of Korea, Taiwan and Japan spoke about the situation related to nuclear
power plants and other nuclear issues in their respective regions, and the participants listened
to them together.
At the two subcommittee meetings, participants from different countries, regions, and standpoints exchanged opinions frankly and discussed intently leading to the Conference’s statement.
Through these lectures, presentations, and subcommittees, we were consistently challenged
about protecting life and its dignity and coexistence with nature. As to the nuclear power plants
and nuclear issues, it is indeed a matter of life and ethics.
What was left after the accidents at Fukushima were a nuclear reactor building that had been
turned into a dangerous ruin, four nuclear reactors, high-level radioactive waste, and residents
who were deprived of their former daily lives.
Eight and a half years after the accident, the nuclear fuel that melted down due to the explosion
is only able to be seen on video. We can see no prospect of their removal work. The road todecommissioning is not visible at all. In addition, the leakage of contaminated water in the siteof the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has not been stopped at all. As of March 2019, thenumber of contaminated water storage tanks amounts to 962 units (1.1 million tons) is increasing, and there is no prospect of disposal. It is said that the installation locations of the storage
tanks will also be insufficient in 3-4 years.
In addition, the vast amount of radioactive waste after decontamination in contaminated areas isalso “stored on site” because there is nowhere for it to go. The number of the sites is more than4

100,000 in Fukushima prefecture. And the number of “temporary storage places” in Fukushima
Prefecture - where decontaminated soil and decontamination waste are temporarily stored amounts to 30 municipalities and 950 locations. Moreover, even if such an accident does not
happen again, the nuclear power plants reach their service life one after another in various
parts of the country.
As a matter of fact, whether decommissioning or the processing of high-level radioactive waste
and spent nuclear fuel can, or cannot be controlled by the technology we have today, we musttake seriously what is happening, without turning our eyes away from these problems. We must
not leave any more negative legacy for the next generation.
These problems are not only facing Japan, which has experienced a catastrophe, but also all
countries and regions that have nuclear power plants. Once an accident occurs, its impact
extends beyond the border of that country.
At this Conference, our determination for nuclear power plants, nuclear weapons and energy
in the future was asked. The participants shared issues and challenges raised not only fromJapan but also from overseas, and on the last day, we adopted the following statement after
various discussions.
Extract of the statement (recommendations)・ To continue to face and testify to various events brought about by the Great East Japan Earthquake
・ To keep in mind that when a nuclear accident occurs, it will create an irreparable situation
・ To establish "Fukushima Week (tentative name)" in NSKK, in order to listen to stories of "thatevent", to learn, to respect life, and to continue to walk toward the realization of a society where
people can live in peace.
・ To strengthen and enrich domestic and international networks for denuclearization
・ Not to leave any more negative legacy of nuclear power plants for the next generation who will
inherit the future・ To create a model church that utilizes natural energy in each diocese・ To establish a loan system in NSKK for each church to convert to renewable energy utilization.
・ To work concretely on one of the 5Marks of Mission, “To strive to safeguard the integrity ofcreation, sustenance, and renewal of life on earth”
We prayed together much during the Conference. We have sought forgiveness together, shared
our thoughts, and experienced supporting and encouraging each other.
“Collect for International Conference for a World Without Nuclear Power Plants”
God, the source of all life,
We have disobeyed your orders to govern the creation entrusted to us, and we even abuse
natural resources, and destroy nature and people's lives through nuclear accidents.
Please forgive these sins.
Give us the wisdom and power to return to your love, to keep those in distress in our mind, andto create a world without nuclear power plants where we can all coexist.
In the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ,
Amen

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From now on, we must move forward steadily to build a peaceful world through our prayers andactions toward the realization of what was proposed by the statement.
Each of us who came together at the Conference is being asked how we can work on thesechallenges in our own countries and regions.

The 20th Anniversary of the ordination of
women priests in NSKK was held
[Let’s sing a new song to the Lord]
Clara Kaoru Yoshitani
NSKK Womens’ Desk Director
From Nov. 30th to Dec. 1st ,2018 [The 20th Anniversary program for the ordination of womenpriests] was held at Nazareth Convent Mitaka, Tokyo and St. Andrew’s Cathedral of Tokyo
Diocese NSKK.
It was to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the first ordained women priest in NSKK. Rev. Yoshiko Shibusawa, Dec. 12,1988.
The retreat started for women clergy at Nazareth Convent (meditation was led by Rev. Ajuko
Ueda), 22 women clergy prepared there for the holy communion to be held on Dec. 1st．
On the anniversary day, bishops, women clergy and about 200 laiety from all over Japan
gathered to offer worship of thanks at St. Andrew’s Cathedral in Tokyo.
The guest speaker, The Rev. Canon Terrie Robinson (Director for women in Church and Society of Anglican Communion Office) gave a sermon, entitled “Fear not!”It was an impressive message and inspired the spirits of the congregation giving encouragement to step forward.
The service was presided over by Rev. Atsuko Fumoto, the most recent NSKK women priest.
Many women priests wore red stoles to celebrate holy communion together with male priests.
All looked holy and dignified. I felt the refreshing wind of the Holy Spirit was blowing over us.
Many thanks to Ms. Rika Inoue, the organist who supported the service with splendid music,
Thanks also to the Choir of Tokyo Diocese, all ushers, receptionists and altar guild members.
6After the service about 130 people enjoyed the reception pleasantly. The reception program
began with Bishop Uematsu, The Primate of NSKK offering a congratulatory message. The
women priests introduced themselves including guests from Korea: Rev. Min Sook Hee, Rev.
Kim Hee Young, and Deacon Choi Myung Sook. The retired women priests of NSKK. Rev.
Shigeko Yamano, Rev.Tsuma Ohnuki, and Rev. Yoko Yoshioka were also present there. Then
Bishop. Takashi Kouchi delivered a speech.
Messages were read including from overseas; The Rt. Rev. Barbara Harris, The first woman ordained Bishop in the Episcopal Church in the USA., Rev. Ryoko Shibusawa, and also Ms.Kyoko
Kageyama who lives in New York as a member of Metropolitan Japanese Ministry. These messages were very touching.
A skit was performed titled “Back to the Future 2028~2018”. It was about the works of womenover the last 120 years. Additionally ideas and suggestions were presented as a message forthe future.
At the closing ceremony everyone joined together to chant the prayer of thanksgiving for the
20th anniversary of women priests’ ordination. Then the hymn “Sing Thanks God” was sung.
And all were sent out to their own place in mission.
Today many women participate in the ministry of NSKK. The General Synod of 2018 establisehd “The Committee concerning the position of women priests”, because in NSKK we stillneed to discuss why some areas deny the validity of women priests, and we still have concerns
about the low percentage of women sharing in decision making. These problems we need tosolve.
[The guide line to ordain women priests] was revised after 20years to [The Guide line concerning women priests ordination in NSKK] which is very significant.
The Rev. Canon Terrie told us in her sermon at the anniversary program that [Women camefrom a place of exile ] [Women came from where they are not allowed to serve as witness ofChrist]. What is important is remembering we are exiled and outsiders, remembering this helps
us to understand people who are cast away or outsiders through their experiences. Also thishelps to strengthen our solidarity with marginalized communities.
We should engrave this message deep in our hearts and consider thoroughly where we should
stand and with whom.
The celebration of the anniversary was a day we stepped forward to build up a new history after
20 years experiencing both joy and pain.
I wish our devotional communion will create more enriched partnership among us regardless ofgender and diversity, using our own individual gifts.
In conclusion, this program was put together by The Womens’ desk, and Gender project of thecommittee for Justice and Peace of NSKK.
The Executive Committee received great cooperation of Rev. Ajuko Ueda, Rev. Tazu Sasamori,Rev. Shinya Ohmachi, Ms. Kitagawa and Ms. Michiko Kikawada.
Preparation started in the spring of 2018 and we asked asking financial cooperation fromthroughout the NSKK.
I cannot list all, but I sincerely thank the NSKK Womens’ Group, as well as each women of eachdiocese, all churches, and individual members.
We appreciate all support provided to complete this program, sincerely thanking Nazareth Convent and Tokyo Diocese who generously offered meeting venues.
Also the House Bishops who offered advice throughout the program and the Provincial Office
who supported enthusiastically. We deeply thank you for your help.
When we think back to the [Thanks program] 10 years ago, as a meeting of those willing
women, we appreciate the bountiful success God has given us.
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Let’s sing a New Song hereafter at each place with harmony and without fear.
Wishing the Song sounds in Heaven and Earth, bringing forth flowers in the dessert
and make us channels of Peace.

Sermon for the 20th Anniversary of the ordination of women as priests
in Nippon Sei Ko Kai.
The Revd Canon Terrie Robinson（Director for Women in Church and Societyat theAnglican CommunionOffice）

Place: St Andrew’s Cathedral, Diocese of Tokyo.
Theme: Sing a new song to the Lord
Readings: Isaiah 35.1-10; Psalm 96; Revelation 21.1-7; John 8.28-32
It is an honour and a privilege to be with you today as we celebrate the 20th anniversary of
the ordination of women to the priesthood, here in NSKK. You have come a long way since
Margaret Yoshiko Shibukawa was ordained priest in December 1998. I am deeply gratefulto Archbishop Nathanial and to the Women’sDesk, and to all those who have been involved
with the invitation that was sent to me, and for the wonderful welcome and hospitality that has
been extended to me since my arrival in Japan. Thank you!
We are celebrating today and looking with hopeful and joyful anticipation to the future. But weare also remembering the journey that brought us here.
Women have always played a vital role in the story of our Christian faith but it would seemthat they can easily be forgotten or overlooked. In 1980, my own Church, the Church of
England, chose for the first time to remember in its liturgical calendar people who had lived
during its own lifetime,in other words, since the Reformation in the 16th century.
Among the twenty British people chosen, justone woman was included –that was Josephine
Butler, a social reformer in the 19th century whoplayed a major role in improving conditions for8women, especially destitute women, in education and public health. She was only accepted
as one of the list of people to be remembered, after she had been rejected on the first vote!
The official explanation given for this extraordinary gender imbalance in the list of people
chosen for the liturgical calendar, was that inadequate records had been kept of the livesof other women who might have deserved commemoration. Unofficially, the Chair of theCommittee responsible for gathering names said that the disparity arose because conductthat was regarded as sanctity in men had often been regarded as insanity in women!
We are celebrating the ordination of women today and we can look to the future withconfidence and optimism. We can dare to sing a new song to the Lord with gladness andwith joy. But we must also remember where we have come from. Women are now serving as
priests alongside their brothers in Christ, but we have come from a place of exile, a place 2
where we were not permitted to serve God fully as witnesses, as vessels of Christ for theworld.
The women priests who are here today are the pioneers; they are women who have broken
new ground. I hope sincerely that future generations of priests will remember them andwill remember their stories. I hope that they, and we, will remember that we were once
outsiders, that we have come from a place of exile, because this will help us to understandthe experience of any individual who is classed by others as an ‘outsider’. This will help us tostand in solidarity with any community in our world that is pushed to the margins.
The story of God’s people is a story of exile. It’s a story of people singing their song in a
strange land, of people longing to return to their homeland and yearning for a time of joy andgladness when there is no more sorrow and sighing. This is part of our DNA; it is part of who
we are.
Our text from the prophet Isaiah today is an announcement to a people in exile in Babylon,
people who had been forcibly deported from the ancient kingdom of Judah after thedestruction of Jerusalem. The prophet’s announcement is full of hope and encouragement:
the wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom, andblossom abundantly. ‘Be strong’, says the prophet. ‘Do not fear.’‘Do not fear!’ We have come from a place of exile, but we still hear those words echoing
through the Scriptures and across the centuries. ‘Do not fear!’ -this was Gabriel's greeting to abewildered Mary, before her life was changed forever. It was also the angel’s message to thegrieving women at the empty tomb, before they hurried away to become the first evangelists:‘Do not fear … Go quickly and tell’’.
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. When the
Holy Spirit comes nudging and prodding us, it can be painful.
During my years as Director for Women in Church & Society at the Anglican Communion
Office, it has been my experience that the topic of gender justice often leads to feelings offear, or even of threat, because any work towards gender justice has the potential for radicaltransformation. Whenever the status quo is challenged, people are fearful of loss. They might9

feel that ‘we will lose everything that we believed in’. The way to a new way of thinking andliving can feel profoundly unfamiliar, threatening and dislocating.
As Christians, we know that deep human transformation requires a willingness to bevulnerable, to let go of old certainties so that we are able to grasp what is new and full of
possibility.
You may know the story of the small child who was playing on a beach, collecting shells.
There were shells everywhere, and the little boy picked up as many as he could and in theend both his hands were full. Then he saw that the sea had washed up a starfish, a beautiful
extraordinary starfish. The little boy wanted to pick up the starfish but both his hands were fullof shells.He looked round at his father with a look almost of grief on his face. He so wanted
to pick up the beautiful, extraordinary starfish, but his hands were full of shells and he didn’t
want to let them go...
Sometimes we need to let go of old ways of thinking and behaving -ways which havetrapped us in culturally accepted patterns of domination and subordination -so that we arefree to discover and grasp ‘the truth that shall make us free’.We will be free people when weare liberated from all the mythologies and distorted theologies around power that keep us
locked into our anxieties and ambitions.We will be free people when we root our lives in thegenerous, reconciling, humanising and empowering love of God.
Sarah Bachelard, who is a priest and theologian in the Anglican Church of Australia, has
asked the question, ‘What can we do when this work of transformation is refused andresisted?’.
She says, ‘The temptation is to become either cynical and withdrawn or anxious and evermore frenzied in our activism. When the need is so urgent –women and children traffickeddaily into slavery; gender-based violence in epidemic proportions; women disproportionately
affected by climate change, unjust legal, trade and macroeconomic frameworks, andprofoundly discriminated against economically and in access to decision making ... –thendespair or anxiety are natural reactions. Yet, to paraphrase Jesus, we believe that “it shallnot be so among us”. The deep work of justice and reconciliation in which we are invited toparticipate, is God’s work. We are called to yield ourselves to whole-hearted, intelligent andcostly participation in this work, but without anxiety or frenzy. We are to be prophetic but notreactive, our fierce love growing in the soil of prayer, listening, and discernment.’‘Do not fear!’. Our Christian faith teaches us that God loves everything God has made, andthat we are, each one, equally made in the image of God. Jesus never hesitated to work withwomen, or to empower them as agents of his Gospel. Jesus went to the places where women
were. He met the Samaritan woman and conversed with her at a well, the place where
women gathered. After their encounter, the Samaritan woman ran back to her village as anevangelist, ‘Come and see, come and see, I think this may be the Messiah’. And they did
come and see!
The sisters Mary and Martha were among Jesus’ closest friends. Remember how Jesus
encouraged Mary to sit and listen to his teaching along with his male disciples. This was justone example of how Jesus transgressed the deeply held social and gender norms of his time.
Jesus taught parables in which women serve as metaphors for God. Remember the woman
10who lost one of her ten coins, who searched until she found it, and then rejoiced.
Jesus healed women and restored their dignity. When the woman with haemorrhage touched
his cloak, Jesus said, ‘Daughter, yourfaith has made you well’. This woman had been
ostracised, marginalised, for years because the society she lived in–the culture around her–deemed her to be less than respectable. And the woman was not only healed as a result ofher encounter with Jesus, but she was empowered. He made sure that the woman knew that
she herself had the capacity to act and change her circumstances; ‘Daughter, your faith has
made you well’.
Jesus healed Jairus’ daughter, a 12 year-old girl. ‘Talitha cum’,
he said. ‘Little girl, arise.’
The Good News is that in Christ all things are already being made new. The Good News isthat in Christ, every person is set free, every woman, man, girl and boy is set free, to rise up
beyond physical limitations, beyond cultural ignorance, beyond political and social structures,
to be fully human and to respond to God’s call to engage actively with the work that Jesus
has already begun.
I can assure you that many Anglicans around the Communion are rejoicing with you today.
I hope many more women will follow in the footsteps of the pioneer women who have beenordained in NSKK over the past 20 years. But whether ordained or lay, it is open to each oneof us, whoever we are, to discover what gives us life and purpose, and to discern how to offerthat to the glory of Godand to God’s mission in the world.
Do not fear! Dare to sing a new song to the Lord! Dare to let go, and dance to a different tune!
Amen.
(Prayer) Holy God, You send your Holy Spirit to encourage and disturb us, and to stir up in us
the gifts which you endow. As we step into the future, take away our fear and anxieties; give
us time for the task you have entrusted to us, peace for the pathway, wisdom for the work,
friends along the way, and love to the last. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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Nippon Sei Ko Kai (NSKK) has consecrated new bishops during the years of2017 to 2019 as follows:
The Rt. Rev. Augustine Naoaki KOBAYASHI
Diocese of Kobe
Consecration: 23rd September 2017

The Rt. Rev. John Masato YOSHIDA
Diocese of Tohoku
Consecration: 30th November 2017
		The Rt. Rev. Ignatius Osamu IRIE
Diocese of Yokohama
Consecration: 8th September 2018

The Rt. Rev. Francisco Xavier Hiroyuki TAKAHASHI
Diocese of Tokyo
Consecration: 14th January 2019 		

Members of the English Version of NSKK Newsletter, Autumn 2019 are as follows:
Ms. Kazuko Takeda, Ms. Kaoru Yoshitani, Ms. Toshiko Yoshimura, The Rev. Paul Tolhurst,
Editor-in-Chief: Hajime Suzuki
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