The Japan Presbytery has
met seven times in regular session since our last report to the Synod.
In addition, there were two special sessions on Jan.9, and April 3, for
the elder’s preaching license examination of Elder Seigo Kitani, and
for the concern about Mukonosoo congregation. Elder Seigo Kitani was
given the license. The Ad Interim Commission has met seven times.
Officers elected to serve for 2005 are: Shigeru Takiura, moderator;
Sumito Sakai, clerk; Akira
Funahashi, treasurer. Auditing of Presbytery financial reports is by
the entire Presbytery. Pastor Katsunori Endo was appointed as youth
secretary and Dempei Takiura as assistant. Members of the Religious
Bodies Organization which handles government related business are:
Pastor Takiura, Pastor Sakai, and Elder Ishii.
We
praise God for His
covenantal promises even to the Reformed Presbyterian Congregations in
Japan
and on the Japan
presbytery itself. The Presbytery has continued oversight of the four
organized congregations and two mission stations. We pray that God will
continue to provide pastoral leadership for each of our congregations
and mission stations. After Pastor James C. Pennington’s retirement on
April, 2005, Kasumigaoka congregation’s pulpit has been vacant.
Though the pulpit
has been vacant, but we thank God
for the faithful service of ordained leaders and members of the
congregation. The session was enriched by Elder.Seigo Kitani’s
preaching license, who graduated four year theology course of KTH and
working at Covenanter Book Store as manager and a member of its board.
The present moderator of the session, Dr.Yamaguchi also had one-year
training of KTH and holds presbytery’s elder’s preaching status. The
pulpit has been tentatively supplied time to time mainly by other
reformed pastors nearby including OPC missionary Woody Lauer. Pastor
Charles Leach helped congregation in the summer, and in the fall there
was short term supply of the pulpit by Pastor Jim Pennington. The
Session plans again Pastor Leach’s and Pastor Pennington’s short term
supply of the pulpit in the Fall. The session appreciates FMB’s
transportation assistance for such preachers.
But the session
feels need of overseeing eyes of the pastor to the members of the
congregation as well as the inquirers in the worship keenly now. Please
ask for God’s clear leading and provision for pastoral leadership in
near future.
Pray that the Holy Spirit will continue His work in
the hearts of other inquirers, both old and new. Continue to pray for
opportunities to reach out to unsaved family members, friends, and the
community through personal witness and the ongoing ministries of the
congregation.
Mukonosoo:
Pastor
Hiroyuki Kanamori
Elder Fukuya became inactive
because of difficulties, two
provisional members from the presbytery has been assisting the session
since last December. Two families have
left the church. Elder’s wife has been active and Elder could join
recently sometimes. The Lord has sent several new people to the
worship, and this is encouraging. The children’s Sabbath school is also
one of main concern of the prayer always. Among the members, there is a
young woman among the member who works for the churches in China,
and a young man lives in Thailand.
Give thanks
for the faithful pastoral leadership of
Mr. Kanamori and for God’s care and blessing on his family. Pastor
Kanamori felt difficulties in ministering the congregation for two
years, and once presented his resignation to the presbytery in last
April, but he withdrew the request of resignation in this April, and
now continuing his ministry with renewed dedication.
Okamoto
Keiyaku: Pastor Shigeru Takiura
Please pray
for the humbleness of the heart and true
repentance of the sins before the Father within the congregation, pray
for the real trusting in and praying for our redeemer Lord, and pray
for the victory over the spiritual battle within us. Please pray for
free and joyful self-dedication of the members to His will and His
grace.
Please
continue to pray for effective outreach and the conversion of people.
The Lord has sent us about ten people who attend worship regularly and
seek to be the member. Please pray for
their conversion, baptism, and/or incorporation into the life of the
congregation. Pray for children and youth from non-Christian families
who are attending worship services. Pray too for non-Christians in the
community who are relating with the activities of the congregation.
Please pray for the spiritual blessings to our
church members, especially those who are sick, as well as some of these
who are out-of-bounds, living quite a distance from the church.
Pray for our youth as they seek to witness for Christ in the work place
and school. Ask God to provide Christian spouses for them,
thereby establishing more Christian homes. Pray for aged members of the
congregation that they might enjoy good health and be faithful in their
church life. Pray for the evangelism within the families of the member.
Pray for matters for prayer in each members’ family as well. Pray also
for KTH students who are members of the congregation.
Mr. Kihei
Takiura became a student of theology under-care of the presbytery and
plans to study at RPTS from this fall. He
finished B.A. as well as two years of KTH training.
2007, 50th anniversary of the
start of our worship by Missionary Gene Spear, is our target of
church’s activity as well as plan for maintenance of the church
building. The congregation started periodical prayer fellowship in the
5th Sabbath afternoon praying for the start of the branch meeting. We
are praying for the new officers of the church as well. We
ask God to enable the church and its families to
maintain a solid witness for the Kingship of Jesus Christ in their
lives and in the Japanese culture. We also ask you to pray for the work
of Pastor Takiura and his family for physical and spiritual welfare.
Kita
Suzurandai Mission Church: Pastor
Katsunori Endo
Kitasuzurandai Mission Church was blessed richly at
the ordination and installation of Pastor Katsunori Endo as a home
missionary pastor on June 5,
2005.
A provisional session had continued to oversee the
ministries of the congregation. Members are Pastor Sakai, Pastor
Kanamori, and Pastor Endo, the moderator. The
work has been growing and now the plan of a baptism and profession of
faith is going on.
Pray for God’s leading and provision of growth of
the members spiritually under the leadership of the new pastor, for
much fruit from the outreach, and for eventual organization as a
congregation, according to His schedule. Please pray for his wife Yuko
and his two children.
Hontamon Mission Station: Higashi
Suma
Session
A small group continues to meet twice a month for
worship. They meet in the medical clinic of Dr. Sakai, father of
pastor
Sakai.
Dr. Sakai is
an elder of the Higashi Suma Congregation and the mission station is
under the oversight of that session. Dr. Sakai has been struggling with
his illness recently.
The Lord has
provided good result time to time, but the strategy of the work needs
to be reviewed soon.
Pray for renewed vision and leadership
for this work.
Kobe
Theological Hall
This was the
tenth school year of the Kobe
Theological Hall. We had thirteen course students including Bible
training course, plus some credit taking or auditing students. More
than half of the students are from our congregations.
All pastors of Japan Presbytery share the teaching
role, and students study three days of the week, about 6 hours per each
day, plus Monday for English training which Dr. Patricia Boyle is newly
in charge. There are some male students seriously considering the full
time ministry. Please pray for their calling and training.
KTH has e-distant course using IC recording for the
distant Bible Training course student. Most of the lectures were
recorded and kept in the computer of the class room. Student can copy
anytime from them and listen to them, too.
KTH has been richly benefited by the teachings of
Dr.Roy Blackwood, Pastor Jim Pennington, Pastor Bob McFarland, and
Dr.David McKay from Ireland.
Dr. Patricia
Boyle brought a new strength to the faculty as she works as the dean of
the student, filling the necessary vocational, mental and academic care
into the student body. She mainly teaches Basic Academic Training and
English Training for seminary students, but she also teaches a part of
Christian Education as well as Educational counseling.
Activities
of the Presbytery
Based upon the
extensive discussion with the team from FMB in March 2005, which was
very fruitful for future relationship between FMB and Japan
presbytery,
we recognize that we have been moved from the missionary stage to the
partnership stage fully, but not reached to see the possibility of
independent Japanese RP synod yet. And the
presbytery walks now towards the following directions:
- Need of new full time pastoring and
teaching Missionary for vacant congregation, for teaching of KTH, and
for maintaining the mutual enriching and fellowship between North
American and Japanese RPCs for Christ’s Crown.
- Need of
financial and ecclesiastical support for Pastor Kanamori of Mukonosoo
RPC and Pastor Endo who is sent to Kitasuzurandai as our home
missionary.
Ask help of
FMB for substantial financial support for their living.
- Further training and placement of future
graduates from KTH
- Awareness of the limit of possible
financial package as the FMB’s supporting ministry to Japan Presbytery
- Ask help of FMB for the need of short
term missionary or pastors to support vacancy of the pulpit, and for
the teacher’s limited transportation and matching scholarship of the
KTH.
- Support to Dr. Patricia Boyle’s half-tent
making service within Japanese RPC. She works as the
Professor and Dean of the
student of KTH, as the missionary to support each congregations’
fellowship and evangelism. She chose
Mukonosoo as her present main worship place, but bi-weekly goes around
our congregations’ various fellowships and effectively support and
lovingly counsel the hearts. Her Japanese life experience and language
ability mean a lot. She works for two days as the lecturer of Kobe
Women’s Univ. for her living. Partial support for her living has been
provided by FMB and WMF. Japanese RPC
appreciates her dedicating work, and asks prayer for her.
- The Book-store(CBS) and literature
ministry as in the perspective of Japan RP Mission. There
were the publications of: Japanese Translation of Westminster Shorter
Catechism, Christ in the Psalms for Singing in Japanese (revised test
version) by CBS. Japan Presbytery and CBS helped the publications of
Prof. Kazuo Matsuda(KTH Lecturer)’s VanTil’s
Ten Commandments’ Japanese Translation, and of John M.L.. Young’s Two
Empires’ Japanese Translation.
Fraternal Relations
The fraternal relations with Reformed Church of
Japan and Presbyterian Church of Japan were maintained.
RTF Japan
Board
RTF Japan Board continues its work of raising fund
for RTF for China Mission among Japanese reformed Christians. Pastor
Kanamori is representing and Pastor Endo is executing.
RPM&M
Japan Presbytery is to encourage congregations to
give to the synod’s RPM&M once a year in September 30 in memory of
Dr. Sam Boyle. We call it as the Boyle memorial contribution.
Each congregation pays to the presbytery
budget the assessment: \12,000/resident communicant member in good
standing.
Covenanter Book Store
Although this ministry is under the direct
supervision of the Board of Foreign Missions, the Presbytery presents
routinely including a brief report to the Synod. The three members of
the Board of Directors elected by the presbytery, one member at a year
for three years term, continue to take an active role in the management
of operations and finances.
Other Presbytery-sponsored
Activities and
ministries:
- Summer Youth
Conference at
Kwansei Gakuin-Sengari Camp site.
- All Church Fall
Conference -
September 23 in the Park Hall of Miki city The partial
Translation (mainly first three chapters) of the Directory of Church
Government was distributed and studied.
- Life of Christ
in the Psalms -
December 23 in Luna Hall of Ashiya city.
- Short Term
Mission Team - The
Team faithfully served in Japan
a month during July and August. They assisted with VBS., took part in
the youth conference, participated in the monthly youth meeting,
participated in worship and fellowship at each of churches, and shared
testimonies as invited.
- The youth enjoy singing the Psalms,
Bible
study, and then praying
together.
- Restarted
Japanese Psalter
Committee continued its editing work of few of new
psalms.
- Mr. Nathan
Beards was approved
to be the summer intern among our congregation in July through
September 2006. Three RP youth, who were
traveling around the worldwide RP missions, visited Japan RPC in Dec.
2005 to Jan. 2006 and left rich fellowship in the Lord. (Mr. Martin,
Mr. Stewart, and Mr. O’Neill).
- There was a
proposal from
Japan Presbytery to FMB concerning to the participation
in RTF’s educational ministry.
- Covenanter Center Building
was cared under a committee of the presbytery with the help of women
from congregations. Also the presbytery purchased the Power Point
equipment mainly for CCB.
- The
presbytery created the fund available for the congregation whose
building’s toilet and/or kitchen are not separated from the pastor’s
manse.To prevent serious inconveniences
of the pastor’s family, the fund is ready for the necessary addition at
least partially.
The Session records of
each congregation have been examined, and nothing found contrary to the
law and order of the church.
The statistical report and roster have been
forwarded.
| Respectfully submitted, |
Shigeru
Takiura, Moderator
|
| Sumito
Sakai, Clerk |