Hand in Hand Global Mission Support Blog Digest

A major typhoon struck Japan Oct. 7, the first to directly hit the mainland in two years.

Typhoon Melor made landfall right around the central Japan city of Nagoya. And this is where ELCA mission personnel Charles Frederickson and Beth Borstad are serving at Meito Lutheran Church.

Elsewhere, two people were killed and more than 40 injured as the storm moved across densely populated central Japan, with winds gusting up to 198km/h (123 mph). Heavy rains flooded roads while the strong winds ripped the roofs off houses and knocked over vehicles on the highways. Many transportation systems, including trains, were brought to a halt before the storm.

Among Lutheran churches in the affected area, a tree at Chita Lutheran Church toppled over, causing damage to a neighboring house roof. According to the Rev. Naoki Asano of the Japan Evangelical Lutheran Church, “this damage is small compared to other places.”

In the meantime, your prayers and support are appreciated for other disasters in Asia: the typhoons that swept through the Philippines and other parts of southeast Asia, the tsunami that hit Samoa, and the earthquakes in Indonesia. Check ELCA Disaster Response for more information on how you can help.

Y. Franklin Ishida
Director for Asia and the Pacific, ELCA Global Mission

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For Masayoshi Kimura, speaking his mind has become difficult after suffering a stroke. But his true heart and joy are in his paintings. And it was during his daily walks that Masayoshi Kimura heard the church bells from Kariya Lutheran Church, giving him further inspiration.

In 2004, bells were installed in the steeple at Kariya Church in central Japan. The congregation then took the bold step of ringing them every day at noon and 6 p.m. Most churches with bells in Japan dare not ring them regularly because neighbors consider them a nuisance. No one has complained at Kariya, and in fact the sound of the bells has now become a regular pattern in the area.

Early on, however, postcard-size paintings that featured the church’s bells started arriving at the church each month. Members wondered: Who was this anonymous “fan” of the church?

His identity was eventually revealed as his paintings continued to arrive each month. “Over five years, we are missing only one month,” says Kariya Pastor Yoshiro Ishida. It turns out, that was the month Kimura was hospitalized.

Kimura is not a Christian. He illustrates seasonal themes that strike his fancy, such as “harvest time” or “friendship.” “These are about our daily routines, the joys around us, and those things that are important for community,” he says. But there always is in the background a stylized cross-topped belfry with bells.

The daily ringing of the church bells in Kariya marks the time for high school students across the street and for children coming home for supper. And the bells bring special joy to one neighborhood man’s heart, during his walks and as he picks up his paintbrush.

Y. Franklin Ishida
Director for Asia and the Pacific, ELCA Global Mission

Masayoshi Kimura’s paintings with the church bells can be seen at Kariya church’s website (in Japanese, but click top right button to advance through images.)

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Carol Sack, right, preparing for a scene in the movie

Yoji Yamada is best known in Japan for directing the popular “Tough Being a Man” films, themed on life and lost love. His latest film, inspired by a book written by a Christian who started a hospice, examines the themes of death, dignity, and hope.

Enter Kibo no Ie (House of Hope) and Lyra Precaria. Kibo no Ie is the hospice in Tokyo from the book. Part of its work includes Lyra Precaria, a pastoral harp ministry supported by the Lutheran church in Japan. Through this, a prayerful presence with voice and harp is offered at the bedside of the dying or seriously ill. This is a Japanese and pastoral adaptation of the clinical-musical field of music thanatology.

With Kibo no Ie as the setting for Yamada’s new film, ELCA missionary Carol Sack and her participation in Lyra Precaria, became part of the message. Originally scripted to be in the background, Yamada was convinced that Carol and her harp had to play more of a central role. The scene was changed to have Carol strumming her harp and offering gentle songs to the dying right at the bedside.

Whether the scenes with Carol will make it past the cutting floor in the film edits is unknown. But the gentle ministry she and other Lyra Precaria volunteers offer has made an impact on one of the most prolific Japanese film directors. And this impact continues to happen in real life for those facing death and their families, bringing the hope and joy of God into their lives.

Franklin Ishida
Director for Asia and the Pacific, ELCA Global Mission

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Noboru Nakajima was walking down Okubo Ave near busy Shinjuku on a Saturday and noticed the sign for Tokyo Lutheran Church. He made a mental note to come back for worship the next day.

On Sunday morning, however, he ended up loitering in front of the church, hesitant to come in. It was, after all, 50 years since he last set foot in a church. And while the English-language service time fit his work schedule the best out of three services, English was not his forte.

Indeed Nakajima had been baptized in 1950 by a Lutheran pastor. That pastor had signed a Bible for him, which he still held on to dearly. He attended church regularly until he moved away because of work. With the many life changes after that, Nakajima had lost touch with church.

Several years ago, his wife died of cancer and was found gripping a cross. It was only then that Nakajima realized his wife was a baptized Christian as well. In Japan, people often get baptized and don’t tell their families or loved ones for fear of being rejected.

Now was his chance to enter into the life of the church once more. But taking that step across the threshold of the church was difficult; it was shameful to admit his long absence from church. Fortunately, one of the members of the congregation saw him, took him by the arm, and brought him into church.

This was Ascension Sunday, and though he couldn’t understand all of the sermon, which was in English, he knew the message was that all of Jesus’ followers would be God’s witnesses. Indeed, the member who dragged Nakajima into church was a witness. The people who engaged him after church during fellowship were also witnesses. The old Bible in his hand, his wife’s cross in his pocket were witnesses.

And the Holy Spirit was a witness, as Nakajima came back the next Sunday, Pentecost, to celebrate, with all those gathered, the birthing of the church with a renewed faith.
–Y. Franklin Ishida
Director for Asia and the Pacific, ELCA Global Mission

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