Messages of other months can be read by clicking HERE.
First Meetings (09/06/02)
Worship Service (09/06/07)
“Worship” (09/06/11)
1953 Christmas (09/06/15)
Confronting Pests (09/06/18)
“Church” (09/06/23)
Extracurricular Activities (09/06/27)
- First Meetings
(09/06/02)
It was in September 1953 that we held the first meetings in our home
in Kariya, which may be considered the beginning of our formal Christian
ministry in Japan. The first meetings were Bible Study classes, which were meant
to provide the background of Western thinking and a basis for the doctrine
and activity of the Christian Church. We made use of the wooden stools on
the wooden floor and the large blackboard, which the daughter of the
landlord had used in her sewing machine classes. Although we purchased additional
wooden folding chairs, we had no idea how many would attend the meetings.
A printed announcement of the Tuesday evening English Bible Class and the
Friday evening Japanese Bible Class had been inserted in the daily newspapers
to inform residents of the community. According to my record, 27 were
present at the first English Bible Class and 43 at the first Japanese Bible
Class. In both classes, students and young people were in the majority and it
was obviously not only the content of the study that attracted them, but
the place of study and the nationality of the teacher as well. Regardless of
what the motivation might have been (or what the motivation is for you who
read these peculiar English messages) there may be benefits that are not
imagined beforehand. I hope these messages stimulate thinking and action
beyond the expectations of the composer, who is getting older and feels the
effects of the aging process as he reminisces about events that occurred over
half a century ago. (1232)
- Worship Service
(09/06/07)
The first meetings held in our home in Kariya were Bible studies—in English and Japanese. We did not expect to hold a worship service, which includes singing hymns, praying and a sermon by the pastor, until we were more firmly established there. However, as the Bible studies continued, we met individuals who were Christians and sincerely desired a weekly worship service for themselves and their families, so we began to seriously consider it. We purchased a small organ that was powered by foot pedals and placed it in the tokonoma of the room in which we held our meetings. The tokonoma is the small alcove connected to a traditional Japanese guestroom. It is considered a place of honor where a hanging picture scroll, a vase of arranged flowers or an artistic ornament are displayed. It was a very appropriate place for the organ and for the stand that served as a pulpit. So my wife sat in front of the organ and played the melodies of the hymns we sang while I stood behind the lectern or pulpit to teach and/or preach. After the organ was added to the furniture in the meeting room, it became customary to sing some songs at the Bible studies also. We purposely did not advertise the worship service widely, for it was our hope that those who attended the earliest worship services were already acquainted with the Christian faith and desired to strengthen it and become witnesses of it to others. We were happy to become acquainted with residents who were already on the Christian way. (1233)
- “Worship”
(09/06/11)
After holding the first worship service in our home in Kariya in
September 1953, as noted in the previous message, it became our custom to follow
the tradition of our church in the United States and of Christian churches
around the world, to hold a worship service on the first day of every week.
According to the Biblical tradition, the week of seven days was established
to commemorate the creation of the world in 6 days, followed by a day of
rest, called the Sabbath. Jews continue to observe the seventh day of the
week as a day of rest and worship, but Christian churches chose the first day
of the week as the day of worship to commemorate the resurrection of Christ.
Living in Japan has made me very conscious of the problem of correct
translations of words and their meanings. For example, what is meant by the
word “worship” ? Christian missionaries often say that the Japanese people
“worship” their ancestors, but the Bible teaches that only the one true and
living God should be worshipped. From my present perspective, however, the
true meaning of “worship” is not limited to certain actions, such as bowing
one’s head while placing one’s hands together and sprinkling incense on a
fire or closing one’s eyes, raising one’s hands and repeating certain
words. True worship is an attitude of heart, which is seen throughout one’s
life. How to distinguish “worship” from “respect,” “honor,” “venerate” or
“adore,” is not simply a matter of observing certain formal actions, but
is manifested in one’s total lifestyle that is seen in one’s heart rather
than in formal actions. Thus, it is only God who sees our hearts who can
determine what is truly “worship.” (1234)
- 1953 Christmas
(09/06/15)
From our perspective, the first Christmas celebrations we observed in
Japan in 1951 and 1952 were very secular rather than religious. We saw
many decorated Christmas trees and many pictures or impersonations of Santa
Claus. We heard some Christmas music and even the giving of Christmas
presents was encouraged by some stores. But the true meaning of the celebration
was often completely ignored. So at our first Christmas celebration in the
city of Kariya, we hoped to communicate the true meaning of Christmas,
especially to the children there. On the Sunday before Christmas, a neighborhood
children’s club was holding a Christmas party in a public school and I had
been asked to explain the true meaning of Christmas, but when the principal
learned of that, she informed the lady in charge that the public school could
not be used to promulgate any particular religion, so my talk was canceled.
On the morning of Christmas Day, however, we rented a public meeting hall
and used a factory school auditorium on another side of town in the
afternoon to convey the true meaning of Christmas. To the hundreds of children
who attended these meetings, the Biblical stories related to Jesus’ birth were
portrayed and explained, Christmas carols were sung and a small box of
candy and a picture Scripture verse card was presented to each one. In the
evening, at a third location, a Christmas party has held for my Bible Class
students. To each of these meetings, we transported the small organ we used
in our home along with a decorated Christmas tree, a filmstrip projector and
screen and other needed equipment in a small, bicycle-pulled trailer. It
was a busy, tiring day, but we felt that it was the most meaningful day of
our residence there. (1235)
- Confronting Pests
(09/06/18)
During our early years in the city of Kariya, it was customary to hold
meetings in our home. Such meetings included Bible studies and worship
services, when the voice of the teacher or preacher needed to be heard
clearly. Sometimes the meetings were interrupted by the sound of rodents running
around on the upper side of the ceiling. Although we could not see them, we
could hear them. At such times, my wife knocked on the noisy area of the
ceiling with a broom handle. Then, the noise ceased. We were surprised to
see how such vermin, which my wife called “rats” and I called “mice,”
were able to disrupt our meetings. We were yet more surprised to see how
rodents and other pests were confronted in Japan at that time. Recognizing the
Japanese Buddhist reluctance to directly kill a living creature, my wife
noticed that our landlady did not step on or kill spiders. She shooed them
away rather than killing them. And she did not use the kind of mousetraps
or rattraps used in America that attracts the rodents with some bait and then
kills them as they try to get the bait. Rather, bait was used to entice
the rodent into a wire cage. Then our landlady took the cage with the
rodent inside outdoors to the dirt road that ran in front of the house, called
her pet cat and had it join the onlookers. When she opened the cage to let
the rodent out, the cat caught it and either devoured it immediately or kept
it for a future meal. I once asked a Buddhist priest if he ever kills a
mosquito. His answer was that he does, but he always offers a prayer at such
a time. (1236)
- “Church”
(09/06/23)
The word “church” can mean a building in which Christian religious
services are held or the body of believers who worship together in that
building. One of our aims in going to Japan was to establish a “church,” but we
were more interested in the spiritual meaning of “church” than the
physical meaning. Although the kind of meeting place and its location may also be
important, it is the fellowship and nurture of those disciples of Christ
who recognize themselves as God’s children that we sought to emphasize. It
was almost a year after our moving to Kariya that we found a building, other
than our home, to use as a meeting place. Because of the type of meetings
we planned to have there (Sunday School classes for children, Bible classes
for students and adults, prayer meetings, worship services, etc. for both
men and women), we replaced the tatami mats in the main room with a wooden
floor and made use of wooden folding chairs. I used a smaller adjacent room
as my study. Thus, people could come for personal conversation or pastoral
counseling as well as for studying, praying or worshipping. We were happy to
find this house for rent in a central part of the city and to find a couple
who were willing to live in the house and keep it tidy. Now that a
meeting place other than our home had been obtained, we began to consider an
appropriate piece of land to purchase for the erection of a permanent church
building and how to accumulate the funds needed to buy land and construct such a
building for we wanted the Japanese believers to share in the
responsibility of raising money for future projects rather than being completely
dependent on gifts from overseas. (1237)
- Extracurricular Activities
(09/06/27)
The primary meaning of “extracurricular” is “Being outside the
regular curriculum of a school or college,” but the secondary meaning is: “Outside the usual duties of a job or profession.” While living in Kariya, both
my wife and I became involved in various extracurricular activities. We
were asked to speak at certain meetings at schools or elsewhere about American
life or customs. I became a regular mentor at an English Club in a local
high school and was asked to teach an English Class in certain factories.
There were a number of factories in the Kariya area, many of which produced
automobile-related parts for a well-known company, which traces its origin to
that area. I was happy to accept the invitation to start an English Class
in that company and, in accordance with my custom, I changed it into an
English Bible Class, which was attended by common workers as well as bigwigs.
Once a week, I boarded a train to go to the station at the end of the line
where that company was located. I forget the original name of that
station, but after the car company became famous and that area became a city named “Toyota,” the name of that station was changed also. As a result of the
early relationship with that company, I continued to receive invitations to
certain company celebrations over the years and have always chosen Toyota as
my favorite car. At times, “extracurricular activities” may be more
influential in accomplishing our aim than the more traditional activities.
(1238)