Vol.XXIII #1

June 2011

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

In the scar of disasters of Great Eastern Japan Earthquake and Tsunami
The Most Rev. Nathaniel Makoto UematsuPrimate of Nippon Sei Ko Kai
A month had passed since the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake and Tsunami (hereinafter‘Disaster’) attacked on March 11, when we celebrated Easter. As we had never expected such a serious
disaster, we were just lost for words and some people thought the end of the world had come. The longdays of darkness and despair continued. However, for the people who thought the day would not comewhen they would be released from such tragedies, the joyful morning of Easter arrived.
On March 26, two weeks after the dreadful Disaster attacked the Tohoku (North East) area ofJapan I was finally able to visit the stricken district in Sendai. As the railroads and highways were
all severed due to the disaster, I first flew to Yamagata Airport from Haneda, Tokyo, and then arrived
in Sendai the next morning. Sendai is the largest city in the Tohoku area and is the location of the
Tohoku diocese Cathedral of NSKK. On the morning of Sunday March 27, I arrived at the Cathedral(Sendai Christian Church). When I entered the Cathedral I found many parts of the walls had peeled
off and fallen down and there appeared to be cracks everywhere. It also seemed as if the cathedral
was warped and leaning badly. However sent from churches all over Japan were relief supplies of food,
fuel and clothes, neatly sorted out and piled high over the floor. Due to frequent aftershocks making
it impossible to foresee what will happen, the Church vestry had decided not to use the Cathedral for
Sunday worship services. Instead worship services will be conducted in the church hall. In the Sendai
city area, city water and electricity services resumed on that day, however the gas lines were notrestored. It was not so difficult to obtain general foods but very hard to obtain kerosene or gasoline.
Some Church members who live in remote areas had to walk many kilometers on foot in order toattend the worship services that day. As I said before there were aftershocks daily, so people were notable to change clothes or take off their shoes even when they went to bed with some people still having
sleepless nights and seemed to be tired exhaustively. The Bishop Hiromichi Kato delivered his message to inspire and encourage the beliefs of church members enduring the severe trials leading themto their hopes through their beliefs. Among the congregation were some for whom it was their firstservice after the disaster. After the service, reports concerning the victims swept away by the tsunami,
lost families and the missing were made. There were also explanations on the present situation of theparishes and churches in the Tohoku area and also on the relief operations. After the service, together
with Bishop Kato and other staff members, I went to the coastline area to inspect and observe the realsituation of disaster. The damage incurred by the Tsunami was worse than anything you can imagine.
The Tsunami reached the 4th floor of buildings, destroying everything, with the wreckage of houses
and automobiles remaining. Members of Self-Defense Forces and police were engaged in searching forbodies. There was not even a single sign of life, just wreckage that covered the earth and beach. We
stood in silence gazing at the wreckage and just prayed.
1

The relief activities in Nippon Sei Ko Kai commenced immediately after the disasters in various
ways. At the beginning there was no way to communicate on account of the disconnected telephone
network so we could not know the safety or situation of people in the parishes. In addition, as thetransportation networks were severed in multiple places, it was really difficult to send the emerging
relief goods for the people in most need. A task force was set up in the (Cathedral) Sendai Christ
Church in addition the provincial offices (Tokyo) of Nippon Sei Ko Kai led a van of activities withmany other dioceses creating support groups and offices for countermeasures. As per the requests of
the Tohoku Diocese, relief goods were gathered from the churches all over Japan and sent to Sendai
and other disaster areas. People’s exceptional response was unexpected such that the volume relief
goods gathered far exceeded expectations. To ensure effective programs, the persons in charge ofrelief activities from each diocese twice met at the Provincial Offices to exchange information andfurther co-operate regarding relief activities.
The disaster areas are spread so widely that not only Tohoku Diocese but also some otherdioceses set up bases for relief activities providing supporting activities around those devastated areas
in collaboration with the Tohoku Diocese. The Diocese of Hokkaido is assisting Shin-ai Church,
Kamaishi and its nursery school. Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe Dioceses in the Kansai area have sent clergy
and members of their churches to support St. Timothy’s Church, Onahama in their activities. Tokyoand Yokohama Dioceses are sending clergy to churches in Tohoku Diocese, where the regular clergy
are not settled yet, to support Sunday services. The Tokyo and Chubu Dioceses continue to send relief
goods and supplies to the disaster area.
The total number of deceased and missing people from the disaster exceeds 30,000. The greatest
impact in the disaster was the Tsunami, with almost all the villages and towns along the Tohoku
coastline damaged in a deadly manner. In addition to the Tsunami and Earthquake, due to thecatastrophe of the radiation contamination from the Fukushima No.1 Nuclear Plant, people who livein the districts within the radius of 30 kilometers from the plant are required to evacuate to far places
where the shelters are temporally arranged. These people continue to face uncertainty and significant
hardship. The fear of contamination of radiation does not stay within the 30kilometer radius, but havereached as far as Tokyo which is 200 kilometers from Fukushima. There is still no solution to theseanxieties.
Outside the disaster area Japan remains a fortunate country, with enough food and commodities
to share with the people in disaster areas. With transportation (railways and highways) restored andsupplies of gasoline and other fuels are back to normal , we no longer have to depend so much upon
the material support from overseas. Foods and relief goods received preferential treatment to arrivein the disaster areas. However, the need of volunteers to sort through the relief goods and send themto the places where people are waiting remains. The need for volunteers for clearing up the rubbles
and debris which are scattered all over the devastated earth still remains. But the most importantmission given to our churches is much needed mental care for victims of disaster who first were sent
to shelters but have now moved to the newly built temporary housing. Supporting those works will beneeded long term going forwards and Nippon Sei Ko Kai decided to set up a task force for coping withthe disaster in Sendai with its operations to commence soon. From now on, this department will cooperate with the Tohoku Diocese and also with other support groups within each diocese. We will findout what is most needed or what kind of talent is necessary. By releasing the information gathered,coordinating the acceptance and dispatchment of volunteers, we are going to make sure NSKK
provides continuing effective support towards the recovery.
The earthquake and tsunami we had this time were really a calamity and have created so much2

sorrow, agony and trial for many people. But, even though we are under these difficulties, we hope towalk together with the victims of disaster, starting with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. From Golgotha, thehill of despair to the way of delight, Resurrection should be the assurance HE showed us for our works.
Happy Easter to you all.
In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord.

The damage within Nippon Sei Ko Kai Caused by Great Eastern Japan
Earthquake and Tsunami
Rev. John Makito Aizawa
General Secretary of the NSKK
Provincial Office
On 11th March 2011, a huge earthquake hit the Tohoku area of Japan, and caused unparalleledcalamity. Everything was unprecedented: the magnitude of the earthquake, the size of the tsunami
and then the unpredictable leakage of radiation caused by damage to the nuclear power station. The
calamity caused by these incidents has continues to expand. (As of writing this article) No less than
10,000 people have lost their lives and 18,0001 are still missing. Just reading these figures causes ourhearts to bleed. It has been reported that those who lost their homes and properties are making theirlivings in extremely difficult situations. There are a number of people who have come to support themas volunteers.
We pray that those who lost their lives be at peace with God, that the missing are found, and those
suffering will resume their normal life as soon as possible. We also pray for the volunteers who are
working in the disaster-areas.
There are a number of dioceses in the NSKK that have organized project teams to aid the disasterarea, and have established front-line offices in order that action can be taken quickly. Support has
already begun.
In the Hokkaido Diocese, the “Hokkaido Diocese Aid Project to support victims of the Tohoku/
Kanto Great Earthquake” has started its activities through Shin-Ai Church in the city of Kamaishi.
The Kobe Diocese, the “Eastern Japan Earthquake Aid Office of the Kobe Diocese” has started
support activities through St. Timothy’s Church, Onahama. In other dioceses, many volunteers are
helping through activities including the delivery of relief supplies to the disaster areas, sorting andmanaging the large amount of supplies brought by many people, and arranging vehicles for delivery.
Furthermore, we have received a number of inquiries from overseas Anglican dioceses and churches
worldwide, asking what kind of help or donations are required. The NSKK will answer their inquiries
when it knows what the real needs are.
As of 7th April, the present situation as understood by the NSKK was as follows. Taking these de1 As of the National Police Agency of Japan, Emergency Disaster Countermeasure Headquarters on July 3, 2011 15,527 people
have died and 7,102 remain missing.

3

tails into consideration, we would like to ask for the prayers of everyone in the Anglican Communion.

Diocese of Tohoku<Sendai Christ Church>
An enormous amount of dust fell from the ceiling of the church, and the walls on the left sideof the church were cracked. As there remains a high possibility of a level-6 aftershock, it has been
decided by the vestry members that the church building should not be used for the time being becauseof the danger of collapse. It is reported that aftershocks are occurring frequently. There are a numberof the church members who have lost their homes, fields or properties, or whose properties aresubmerged.
<St. Francis’ Church, Sendai>
The walls of the church and the hall were cracked, and tiles fell from the roof and the vicarage.
There were no victims amongst the church members except one house which was submerged.
<St. Timothy’s Church, Onahama>Parts of the church walls have flaked off. Fortunately, the tsunami stopped just 50 meters fromthe church and kindergarten buildings. Due to problems of the nuclear power plant, people are facing
difficulties in obtaining daily necessities.
It has been decided by the Tohoku Diocese that support activities in the Onahama area will be
restricted due to problems associated with the damage to the power plant, the difficulty in obtaining
accurate scientific information, and the unpredictable situation for the future, which of course causes
feelings of anxiety and tension. Potential volunteers will need to be over 40, and who have a definite
will to volunteer. As of 6th April the first stage of support activity has been suspended. The second
stage of support activity will restart after considering the conditions of the disaster area.
<St. John’s Church, Isoyama>
It was reported that damages to the church and kindergarten were not serious, but 17 pupils andstaff of the kindergarten lost family members.

Diocese of Kita-Kanto<Anglican Church, Shimodate>
Damages include considerable cracks in the walls of the church. Repair works are urgently
necessary. The garden of the kindergarten has sunk a considerable depth.
< St. Barnabas’ Church, Tsuchiura >There are cracks both outside and inside the church building. The font fell over, and some
tableware was broken. In Tsuchiura City the recovery of the electricity, water and gas supplies has been
delayed, and it has been difficult to make contact.
<St. Stephen’s Church, Mito>
Half the concrete of the bell tower was had flaked and appeared as if it would snap in two. In
consultation with specialists it was decided it had to be removed, which will cause the church great4

financial burden. The walls around the altar crumbled causing damage to the altar itself.
<St. Andrew’s Church, Hitachi>
The ceiling of the church was and the walls of the kindergarten were damaged. There are anumber of cracks in the garden and a steep depression. Due to the frequent aftershocks there is concern
regarding a landslide.

Diocese of Yokohama<Urayasu Mission Station>
Violent upheaval and deep depressions were seen around the Mission Station. As the building isleased no financial loss is anticipated. However, the whole building is leaning and may fall down iflarge aftershocks occur.
<All Saints Church, Choshi>
No serious damage in the church building. However, frequent aftershocks have caused several
cracks in the foundation of the altar. There were no earthquake victims, but several houses of church
members had damaged roof tiles or damage inside. Iioka town, Asahi City, neighboring Choshi, suffered badly from the tsunami. A great number of houses along the seashore were completely damaged
or have been inundated with sea water.
No other churches were reported to have suffered much. Victims of the earthquake/tsunami/
radiation will soon start to live in shelters or temporary dwellings. It is anticipated that under suchcircumstances, they will encounter various problems, both mentally and physically. Without a doubt,
they are still in the middle of a disaster. The situation is changing every moment, and we are required
to take immediate action according to the changing situation.
The NSKK is considering the most appropriate action to be taken by the whole provincial office,while forming a clear view of the changing situation. We request your continuing prayers for all thevictims as well as for our activities, which will continue for a long time yet.

SUPPORTING DISASTER-STRICKEN DIOCESES“PARTNERSHP AMONG ALL DIOCESES OF NSKK”
Hajime Suzuki
Secretary of Communication, NSKKI had the opportunity to read the notes written by children on the Earthquake and Tsunami.
Mari Yamauchi(14), Third grade Ishinomaki Junior High School, Ishinomaki City, Miyagi
prefecture, tells us of a deep indescribable loss.
It has been over 1 month since the Earthquake my great grandmother is still missing, and my5

Grandfather used to farm fish, but he cannot farm anymore. I have returned to my daily routine as if
nothing ever happened. But when I walk outside, I see burnt out buildings and devastated towns wherenothing remains. I cannot help but weep as I see these.
Yuka Hashiura(12), Grade 6 Elementary School in Natori City, located southeast of Sendai,
Miyagi prefecture, wrote about her fear when the Tsunami attacked her.
The Tsunami reached the second floor of our school. I watched the Ocean side and there was fire
spreading everywhere. Then another earthquake attacked us, and on top of that it started snowing too.
I was in the freezing cold waiting for the Tsunami to subside. But the Tsunami was not ebbing, water
stayed everywhere. I had to spend the night in the classroom on the 3rd floor. That night it was so coldthat I couldn’t get a wink of sleep. I kept watching in the direction where the crimson flame could beseen. I kept talking with my friends “Is this a nightmare? ” “Is this really happening to us?”
Ishinomaki City and Natori City are located in the Tohoku Diocese. These cities were greatly
devastated by the Earthquake and Tsunami. May 10th marked almost 2 months since the Earthquake
and Tsunami of March 11th. The numbers of identified victims as of then were 14,949 dead and 9,880
missing. The scale of the devastation from the Great Eastern Earthquake/Tsunami is greater than thatcaused by the January 1995 Hanshin-Awaji Great Earthquake where 6300 were killed.
NSKK is made up of 11 Dioceses, with all Dioceses taking action to help the Tohoku Diocese
and the Kita-Kanto Diocese, both stricken by the Earthquake and Tsunami Disaster. The Most
Rev. Uematsu, the Primate, Bishops of each Diocese, those in charge of countermeasures within eachdiocese together with Rev. Aizawa, Secretary General and other directors held meetings on April 1stand 12th in the Provincial Offices in Tokyo to confirm the following: confirming the conditions ofstricken areas; sending priests to the disaster areas; arranging emergency relief supplies; confirming
transportation routes for supplies and the securing storage space supplies; securing emergency
vehicles; recruiting volunteers and appealing for contributions. Immediately after the above mentioned
consultations plans were placed into action.
Relief supplies from each church were collected at the Chubu Diocese Center in Nagoya, or St.
Andrew’s Church, Tokyo Diocese. These were transported one after another by emergency vehicles
to the stricken areas in Sendai and Fukushima. All vehicles were arranged by the Dioceses of Kobe,
Osaka, Kyoto, Yokohama Tokyo and Kita-Kanto. Relief Supplies from Hokkaido were sent toKamaishi, in Iwate Prefecture. Petrol for Transportation vehicles was unable in Eastern and WesternJapan; therefore it was arranged by the Kyushu Diocese and forwarded to Nagoya and Tokyo. The
Okinawa Diocese supported as much as they could from their location. In addition to the sending ofrelief supplies, each diocese sent the priests to the stricken areas. These Priests reported the situations
to their congregations.
Rescue operations to the stricken areas initially started voluntarily within each Diocese
but I would especially like to mention these volunteer activities have been enhanced through thepartnerships between the dioceses enabling greater relief. Through the leadership of the Primate andconsultation with representatives of each diocese, just 40 days after the Earthquake , activities of
NSKK supporting people and churches in the stricken areas have built up an organized partnership are
as follows:(1) Establishment in the Province of the Revival and Support Headquarters to the Great EasternJapan Earthquake /Tsunami.
Set up and opened Reconstruction Support branch in Sendai, Miyagi prefecture under the
Headquarters of Province to work together with the Tohoku Diocese area. Rev. Nakamura has
been placed in charge, as the director of missionary work for the Province office, together with 3
6

(2)

(3)

(4)

to 4 fulltime staff.
Support to Shin-ai Church, Kamaishi, by the Hokkaido Diocese
The Hokkaido Diocese sent priests and seminary students to Shin-Ai Church in Kamaishi during
the period of April to June 2011. They assisted in the operations of the Church and the church
operated Kamaishi Nursery School, and also supported people in the community. Kamaishi is theone of the areas most damaged as a result of the earthquake induced tsunami.
Support to St. Timothy’s Church Onahama by the Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe Dioceses
The Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe Dioceses have cooperated and carried out the first project from April
to June. They sent priests to hold the Sunday Service at St .Timothy’s Church Onahma located in
Iwaki City, Fukushima which was greatly damaged by the Earthquake. These Dioceses also aided
those who had been evacuated living south of Iwaki. Through the generosity of the Kita-Kanto
Diocese who enabled St. Andrew’s Church in Hitachi to be the operations base to assist the 3
dioceses with their relief activities.
Partnership between the Tokyo and Yokohama Diocese for Our Savior Church in Akita.
During the period from April to July, The Dioceses of Tokyo and Yokohama sent Priests to hold
Sunday Services at Our Savior Church Akita, in addition to the weekly services the Priests also
undertook teachings at the kindergarten attached to the church. The Rev. Kiyosumi Hasegawa,the parish priest of Our Savior Church has been in Sendai in charge of the Disaster Relief Headquarters for the Tohoku Diocese. Priests from the two Dioceses were assisting in his absence.

Two months have already passed since the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake and Tsunami attacked.
The condition of damaged churches and people has been revealed clearly by the Tohoku, Kita-Kanto
and Yokohama Dioceses. The 11 Dioceses which make up NSKK worked together as one heart asthey began the journey down a thorny path to bring recovery and relief from the deep scars left by thecatastrophic Earthquake and Tsunami.

QQQQQ
The Rev Andrew Yoshimichi Ohata was inaugurated as the Bishop of Tokyo Diocese
NSKK
The Rev. Andrew Yoshimichi Ohata was inaugurated as the 9th Bishop of the Tokyo Diocese of
NSKK. The ordination and the institution for the Bishop of the Tokyo Diocese were administrated inOrchid Hall at St. Hilda’s School in Tokyo on 11th February 2011.
Although it was cold and snowing day, the Ceremony was attended by more than 900 people
including bishops, ministers and laypersons from all dioceses of NSKK, guests from overseas, otherdenominations, and groups of many other related organizations. All celebrated the newly ordained
bishop.

Members of the English Version of NSKK Newsletter, June 2011 are: as follows:
Ms. Kazuko Takeda, Ms Toshiko Yoshimura, Ms. Yasuko Date, Ms. Suzanne Cooper,
Editor-in-Chief: Hajime Suzuki
7Christmas 2010 at The Mission to Seafarers, Kobe
Two experiments in worship
Our first Christmas event was An Evening of Carol Singing. The local foreign community was invited and our shipvisitors went round the ships to invite the seafarers. We wanted the evening to be open and enjoyable to Christianand non‐Christian alike, and yet hear the message of the birth of Christ.
Finally we began by singing carols known by people around the world. O come all ye faithful, Joy to the World andSilent Night. We invited people to imagine that this was truly the night of Jesus birth and that we were there, cometo register and were staying at the inn. We waited for the announcement of the birth. We sang carols as we waited.
The innkeeper then invited us to have a simple supper of goodies that people had brought. It was all laid out in thechapel. But still we waited for the birth, so the innkeeper arranged some entertainment for the crowd. This wasprovided by the regular volunteer helpers at the mission, especially the university students who assist us at thecentre every night.
Finally the announcement came. The child had been born. We welcomed
him with more carols. The Filipinos present sang a traditional Tagalog
carol; we had a traditional Chilean carols to give thanks for all the miners
safely rescued earlier in the year and to pray for all seafarers (about 700
at that time) who were being held hostage by Somali pirates.
We sang a lusty Jingle Bells to wake up Santa Claus and his reindeer(played appropriately by the two Kens, our chairman and a regularJapanese visitor to the club) who gave gifts of knitted woolly hats to eachseafarer present. Our pianist then led us through a gentle rock version of Silent Night sung in many different
languages and the Bishop gave the blessing in Japanese. We went away having worshipped the new‐born Jesus, andmet and chatted, sang and laughed with strangers in a happy relaxed atmosphere.
The second event was the Christmas Eve Mass. We decided to try and make the service accessible to all, so wewheeled the altar from the chapel to the club area. We expected a dozen or so people. There was a passenger ship (aregular visitor) in port as well as a few other ships who were staying overnight. Slowly people drifted in until thecentre was really crowded.
We sang the well‐known carols: there are surprisingly few that are wellknown all around the world! All the seats were taken, people wereleaning at the bar, or just standing where they came in. The service
booklets ran out, people shared 1 between 2, then between 3. It was atruly wonderful sight to see gathered on Christmas Eve Dutch, German,
Filipino, Turkish, Russian, Ukraine, British, Canadian – in all about 17
nationalities. Fortunately John, the part time honorary chaplain had to go
to celebrate at another Mass in Osaka – so the sermon was short! The
Filipinos formed a choir to sing another traditional carol.
We shared the peace and wished each other a Merry Christmas. We had our communion and Paul and John moved
amongst the people with the Bread and Wine. Almost everyone received, 84 in all. Some bowed their heads toreceive a blessing. Silent night was sung by candlelight and John dashed off, with tears in his eyes, to Osaka.
The evening continued: computers were switched on, even more crowded into the centre: 104 seafarers chatted
with their families that evening, and Ken (alias Santa Claus) delivered more woolly hats. A party developed. The
Eucharist had been truly celebrated that night.
( The Rev. John Berg )8