June 2007

YOUTH WORKER'S PEN

A note from Pastor Grace: 
I’d like to introduce Rufus Zingkhai, our new staff person since March.  He was brought on to CUPC to work with our youth – and we have surely been blessed with his presence and passion for youth ministry!  His ministry experiences include working with youth in various churches in the San Francisco Bay Area, as well as in India, where he and his family are from. Currently, he is attending Golden Gate Baptist Seminary, furthering his studies in Christian educational leadership. So this month, here is the ‘Youth Worker’s Pen’…

Where there is no vision, the people perish” (Prov. 29:18 KJV)

Being lost is a terrifying experience. When my wife Akani and I get together with our children, one of our favorite pastimes is to sit around and talk about the “good old times.” We enjoy talking about our childhood. From time to time, I am reminded that as a toddler, I had gotten lost once because I wandered away on my own. My uncles were supposed to look after me, but they wanted to play. They bought me some snacks and asked me to wait until they returned. I started to wander away after I finished eating. I was too young to have remembered anything, but one thing I do know is that the feeling of being lost is scary.

Without vision, it is easy to get lost in the shuffle of life. The busyness of life can easily entangle us, and gradually causes us to lose grip of the purpose and direction of life. Vision is important, especially for churches and the body of Christ. Vision allows us to plan for the future and evaluate the present. We aren’t looking into a crystal ball and trying to interpret the future. Rather, true vision is seeing what we can become in the future. The Bible says, “Without vision, people perish.” My families were so thankful to participate in fulfilling the vision of the founding fathers of our church, which set a long-term vision for us. The goal was to be a welcoming community of faith, and united in Christ, seek to offer opportunities for spiritual growth in our faith journeys, to build loving relationships that are Christ-centered, and to nurture one another through spiritual growth, prayer, life giving servant-hood, and fellowship, rooted in our worship of God. I hope each individual in the body of Christ will continue to remember and contribute something for the vision of the founder father of our Church. I believe if we continue to be obedient, we will continue to experience the joy of seeing the expansion of God’s Kingdom.

I am thankful to the founders of this church because they had visions. They built this church with the clear vision that allows us not to get lost in the wilderness. I am also thankful to each of our members for contributing your thoughts in the town hall meetings for the better serving of His kingdom.  The leadership of this Church invites you to share your thoughts and getting involved in turning our Church vision into reality. Let us together capture our Church ‘vision in faith’.

Before I sign off, I would like to encourage you to get involved in the Kingdom of God. It doesn’t matter whether you have a title of an officer or not, you are God’s servant, and therefore follow your Master’s example to humbly serve others. A reward is waiting for you to claim: “Well done, good and faithful servant . . . come and share your master’s happiness!”  Amen.

DEACONS' REPORT

As summer is quickly approaching, I would like to congratulate all the graduates. May God continue to bless you and guide you in all you endeavors. And for those of you who may be going on vacation, I wish you safe and happy travels. 

The Deacon Flock List has been posted on the bulletin board downstairs next to the social hall.  We will be updating the list, so if your name doesn’t appear on a flock, please fill out a form and we will place you on a flock.  If you have any concerns or prayer requests, please contact your flock leader.

If you have any prayer requests or needs, please contact the church.

Irene Woo, Vice Moderator

ARTICLE OF INTEREST

One Great Hour of Sharing

The theme of this year’s One Great Hour of Sharing is “Who is my neighbor?” Our salvation is not a private peace we can negotiate with God.  It requires our being involved with one another. Jesus tells us that “one another” does not just mean the people who shop at the same stores we do.  It means whoever is in need. One Great Hour of Sharing is one of the ways in which we reach beyond our own experience to the needs of others, needs we may never have seen firsthand. It is one of the ways we share the love of God with others. But what do we get out of this transaction?  Do we get our passport stamped so we can go straight to heaven?

Jesus teaches us that our separation from our neighbor, especially the neighbor we don’t really want to approach, is one of the things that separates us from true life. It is in recognizing our own face in that of our neighbor that we can see the face of God. It is in recognizing our common need and our common humanity with all of those we may be tempted to think of as them that we can open ourselves up to God. As we give our gifts to One Great Hour of Sharing, let us thank God for the opportunities to encounter those neighbors through the mission of this offering, and ask God to open us more and more to recognize the unacknowledged neighbors in our lives.

We will be collecting the One Great Hour of Sharing offering on Sunday, June 24, 2007. If you are unable to attend, you can mail your offering to the church or bring it at a later date. Please be a good neighbor.

Chris Hiroshima
Mission & Outreach Chairperson

May 2007

PASTOR'S PEN

Looking to Discern the Steps of God’s Plan for Us (Part 2)

“What then is Apollos?  What is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, as the Lord assigned to each, I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth…For we are Gods’ servants, working together…”  I Corinthians 3:5-6, 9

In the last Pastor’s Pen (April), I began to share with you the findings from our four scheduled town hall meetings at CUPC.  For the first two, the foci were on: 1. the seniors, and 2. Nichigo/Japanese-speaking ministries.  Here, I continue to share with you the findings of our other two town hall meetings.  (Please see the previous issue for findings from the first two town hall meetings.)

Focus group:  CUPC Youth (held on April 1, 2007)

Some recent thanksgivings were: 

      The arrival of Rufus Zingkhai (Youth Worker) and family

      Youth have grown and have taken more responsibilities and leadership in the church

      Increased number of youth

      Sense of community at fellowship

      Having fun!           

Question:  What are some of the needs of the CUPC youth that you hope to see tended to?

Some answers were:

      Youth connected more to Presbytery and Presbyterian events

      More program consistency throughout the year

      Doing more service/mission work

      Work in the community and with non-profits

      Planning meeting during the summer to capture the excitement and momentum for fall

      Teaching about faith through music

      Worship: more upbeat, more physical involvement, drama – more well-rehearsed,

      please, youth sermons

      More youth-led worship services

      Retreat opportunities

      More intergenerational gatherings

      More ways outside of Summer Camp to bring in youth

      Do more outreach to youth in the community and at different events

      Have youth group hold lunch fundraisers (4 time a year or so) so that church family can have different settings to socialize and have fellowship

Focus group:  Family Ministries - Young Families, Families with Various Needs (held on April 29, 2007)

Some recent thanksgivings were:

      Nursery

      Play area in Social Hall

      More young children

      Young children/youth participating in worship

      Time for our Young Disciples (on communion Sundays) seem to work well

      Families take care of each others’ children

      Blessed with good ideas

Question:  What are some of the needs of families that you hope to see tended to?

Some answers were:

      More Sunday School teachers/volunteers

      Congregation learning more about what are the kind of special needs, how to work with parents/children with special needs

      Family activities and worship outside the church building

      Respite care for parents with children

      Intergenerational/inter-familial activities which expand the definition of ‘family’

      Incorporate the needs/schedules of ‘commuter families’ in the congregation

Now that we have finished all four of the town hall meetings, session will take the findings and prayerfully discern, plan and work to implement the ways in which our church can meet the needs of our existing congregation as well as equip our members/friends.  With God’s guidance and help, we pray that this will enable our church to effectively ‘Go Ye Therefore’ as stated in our Mission Statement in the next part of CUPC’s journey.  So, as you can see, the session has much work to do!

But please remember this: as shared in the last Pastor’s Pen, we are all God’s servants (like Apollos and Paul in the Bible passage above – who were both leaders in the early church) – which means that while session takes the lead in doing the work, we are ALL a part of the process and work.  Whether through your continued various inputs or helping with the ‘implementation’ of the work, we are ALL called to work together in this discernment/planning/implementing process.  We are called and invited to work for and with God, and do God’s work together!

So, how do you feel lead to respond to this call and invitation?   What gift(s) is God calling you to bring to the table?  Would you come join in this wonderful adventure with us? – I prayerfully hope that the answer is ‘YES’!!

DEACONS' REPORT

The Deacons had its quarterly meeting in April.  It’s amazing how quickly the quarterly meetings happen!  Even though we are not meeting monthly, we are continually doing God’s work by nurturing and keeping in touch with members and friends of CUPC.  

Just as Jesus is our Shepard and we are his flock, each Deacon is a Shepard and has a flock.  Do you know who your flock leader is?? Since you probably don’t, we will be posting all the flock lists on the bulletin board soon, so I encourage you to find out who your flock leader is.  If you have any concerns or needs, please contact your flock leader.

We are also working on a new program called the Pastoral Partnership Program.  This program will replace our current flock program.  It provides training tools to help Deacons increase skills in relating to members as a pastoral figure. Unlike our current flock list, which is numerous in size, this program will work with smaller groups of about five families.  A pilot program is being implemented.  If you have any interest or questions, please contact one of us. 

Also, during our meeting, some people shared a little about their faith journey. Both testimonies were touching and inspirational.  It was a great way to know a little more about them. Perhaps you can share your faith journey or ask someone about their journey during coffee fellowship.  It is a good way to know someone a little better.  We look forward to hearing other faith journeys in upcoming meetings.

If you have any prayer request or needs, please contact the church office.

Irene Woo, Vice Moderator

April 2007

PASTOR'S PEN

Looking to Discern the Steps of God’s Plan for Us (Part 1)

“What then is Apollos?  What is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, as the Lord assigned to each, I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth…For we are Gods’ servants, working together…” I Corinthians 3:5-6, 9

In the Pastor’s Pen this past January, I shared a little bit about our session (governing body of CUPC), and its genuine work to discern the future direction for CUPC.   In the end, everyone on session felt that God was calling us to spend this year in strengthening and equipping the existing ministries/groups within the church, rather than focusing on ‘going out’ – just yet.  Session also felt that it was important to hear the voices of the members and friends of the congregation for further input and discernment as we look to take concrete steps in our strengthening and equipping.

With this in mind, session decided to hold ‘town hall meetings’ that addressed each of the four areas that emerged as the focus ministries/groups of CUPC.  Upon hearing the congregation’s input and discernment regarding the four areas: Seniors, Nichigo/Japanese-Speaking, CUPC Youth, Young Families/Families with Special Needs – the session would then work further to see how these ideas could be implemented in a realistic way.  As we haven’t finished all four ‘town hall meetings’, I would like to share some of the voices of the congregation from the first two that we have had.

Focus group:  Seniors

Question:  What are some of the needs of the seniors at CUPC that you would like to see attended to?

Some answers were: 

      The need for socialization (both project-oriented and not)

      Working with other senior organizations (Kokoro, Kimochi)

      Small group studies that would give opportunities for senior participation

      Transportation

      Attending to the homebound

      Elder care resources for family/friends of seniors

      Building safety issues (railings, hearing assistance, lighting, wheelchair/cane access)

      Working with younger members/friends of church to address needs

      Accessible emergency information of seniors

Focus group:  Nichigo/Japanese-Speaking Ministries

Some recent thanksgivings were: 

      More Japanese-speaking leadership

      Gain in Japanese-speaking membership/attendance

      Weekly small groups, monthly Bible Study in Japanese

      Japanese outdoor sign, Japanese sermon summary, Japanese prayer request cards

      Bilingual worship bulletins

      Contribution to church through sushi sales

Question:  What are some of the needs of the Nichigo/Japanese-Speaking Ministries that you would like to see attended to?

Some answers were:

      Continuing support for senior members (transportation, Japanese food)

      Opportunities for fellowship between the Japanese and non-Japanese speaking

      Outreach to Japanese students, Japanese-speaking families, Kokoro

      Need for Japanese website, Summer Camp brochure in Japanese

      Training for more younger Japanese-speaking leaders

      Opportunities to teach Japanese food/culture to all who are interested

      Japanese-only worship service

      Church retreat in Japanese

      Additional paid staff

(The voices from the other two town hall meetings will be featured in the next Pastor’s Pen)

I hope you can see that the voices of our members and friends are genuine, true and diverse as those who said them.  And they are very integral to the session as they plan timelines and ways to implement them!  If you have a voice that is not reflected here, and would like for it to be heard, please feel free to contact me anytime – I would love to hear from you!

As in the Bible passage above, we are all God’s servants (like Apollos and Paul – who were both leaders in the early church), working together in the process to discern God’s will for us and the direction that God guides us in.  Of course, it is God that ultimately guides us and enables us to do any of the things that are mentioned above.  But we are also invited to take part in the task – as co-creators with God.  What an honorable calling we are given! 

So, I invite you to join in this process with us – whether it is through your input, your prayers or hopefully both.  Come heed the call and discern with us!

DEACONS' REPORT

Happy Spring!!  Hope everyone is enjoying the beautiful springtime weather and all that comes with spring… warm sunshine, flowers in bloom, and new beginnings.   And during this season of Lent, I hope everyone is preparing for Easter.   I think one of the ways we can prepare is by giving thanks.  I for one am so thankful for all the members and friends of CUPC who are so giving and willing to do God’s work in this church.  It is these individuals who keep CUPC sustaining and growing.  Thanks to all of you!

Although the Deacons haven’t met this past month, we continue to provide and nurture the congregation.  We will be discussing a program called “ The Pastoral Partnership Program”.  This is similar to our current “Flock Program”, but will involve more members becoming involved with caring and nurturing the congregation.  Look forward to hearing more about this program.

If you have a request or a need, please contact the church.

Irene Woo, Vice Moderator

MISSION WORK UPDATE

TOKYO JAPAN

Spring is finally here and that means…new beginnings, start of the new school semester, and sakura (cherry blossoms).  As we enter into the month of April, I am excited to be back on campus with our new Shinkan (freshman welcome week) teams.  The leadership of JCCC decided to have mixed teams with STINTers, Japanese national staff and International campus staff.  It’s been really fun to partner with them to do ministry together!  Shinkan is a great time to meet incoming freshman and gain new contacts.  Our desire is to love and care for the students and invite them to our many outreach events, English lunch times, weekly meetings, bible study, etc., so that they may experience authentic community and learn more about God. 

March was a crazy month I call “March Madness” in Tokyo.  My STINT team and I had many visitors who came back to back.  First there was a vision team from USC.  Our team showed them around and they got a taste of Tokyo.  Two of them were a couple on staff with CCC and will potentially be next year’s STINT team leaders.  After the vision team, my friend Fumi from Kyoto came.  We got to spend time together in Yokohama and also sight-seeing around Tokyo.  And last but not least… Kimby came to visit Jill and me for a week!  We had a great time showing her around, eating out at good restaurants, shopping, and taking pictures of the sakura.  

Since coming back from Thailand over a month ago, I feel a lot more connected with the Japanese staff and students here.  It’s been a real blessing to go deeper with them by praying together, having them over for dinner, hanging out, doing ministry together, etc.  I am excited to be able to come back next year to Re-STINT in the fall and continue to be a part of what God is doing here in Tokyo. 

Last week we had our first Student Impact (Tokyo inter-College) meeting.  It was so encouraging to see students step up and serve on the worship team, dance team, hospitality team, and prayer team.  God is really raising-up amazing student leaders here.  
Thank you so much for all your prayers and support.  Happy Easter! 

Blessings from Tokyo,
Kelly Der

STANFORD ALTERNATIVE SPRING BREAK PROGRAM

In March (3/24-3/30/07) thirteen students from Stanford University stayed at the church for our Alternative Spring Break program. The students spent one week studying homelessness in San Francisco. This was not the first time that Christ United Presbyterian Church and Stanford students have collaborated. In fact, the alternative spring break students have been staying at your church for similar service project since the year 2000.

Highlights of our trip included serving food at St. Anthony’s Foundation, working at the San Francisco Food Bank, volunteering with Larkin Street Youth Services, and helping Working Essentials collect supplies. The students were also given presentations by the Mayor’s Office, the Fire Department, the Coalition on Homelessness, and several housing and shelter agencies throughout the city.

Upon our departure, we express gratitude for “the welcoming feeling that Christ United Presbyterian Church provided”.

Aaron Vagory, Group Leader

STURGE SUNDAY – MAY 20

May of every year is a special month for CUPC. A special observance is held annually to celebrate the birthdays of our ‘founder’, Dr. Ernest A. Sturge, and our church, Christ United Presbyterian Church. Dr. Sturge was born on April 29, 1856 and Christ Church had its beginning on May 18, 1885.

Dr. Sturge whom we affectionately call the “Father of Japanese Presbyterian Churches” in America was not originally called to serve the Japanese. He had just returned to the USA to regain his health after a grueling medical mission in Thailand. Dr. Sturge, while in San Francisco, was assigned to help the Chinese in San Francisco, but found himself serving the immigrant Japanese instead. Besides helping the Japanese in their religious endeavors, Dr. Sturge assisted them in their social and physical needs. In the course of serving the Japanese, he found the Japanese YMCA in San Francisco as well.

We owe much to Dr. Sturge for organizing the Japanese Presbyterian Churches throughout California. Dr. Sturge is remembered and revered in all Japanese Presbyterian Churches on the West Coast.

Dr. Sturge and his wife owned and lived in their San Francisco home next door to the church on 1500 Post Street, our last address before the present site. He bequeathed his home to the San Francisco Japanese community. When we built the present church facility, we built the Sturge Building next to the church, just as it was on Post Street. This building is separate from CUPC, and is owned and administered by the Board of Trustees of the Japanese Church of Christ.

Although the Sturge Building is separate from Christ United Presbyterian Church, the facility is managed and operated by the church. We are indeed blessed to have use of the building throughout the year.

As we observe Dr. Sturge’s 151st birthday on Sunday May 20, 2007, we should remember and give thanks to a remarkable servant who gave so much to the founding of the Japanese Presbyterian Churches in the USA, and CUPC in particular..

Kathy Reyes

NATIONAL ASIAN PRESBYTERIAN WOMEN GATHERING

The National Asian Presbyterian Women Gathering will take place the weekend of April 20-22 at the Mercy Center in Burlingame, California. APW leaders and clergy women from throughout the country will gather together to worship, share, and fellowship as Asian Presbyterian Women of PC (USA). Keynote address will be given by the Rev. Unzu Lee, PW Associate for Leadership; Development.

A workshop study on “Asian American Women doing Theology” will be led by Rev. Unzu Lee, followed by workshop for action: “What does it mean to ‘go into the world and make disciples of all nations…? Workshops will be led by Doreen Der-McLeod and Mary Wong Leong of Cameron House.

Saturday morning devotion will be led by our pastor, Rev. Grace Suzuki. The APW gathering will conclude on Sunday with communion led by Rev. Unzu Lee as Celebrant.

APW participants will have time for singing, getting acquainted, and fellowship.

For further information, contact Kathy Reyes.

"AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH"

You are invited to join the Women’s Group on Saturday 04/21/07 at 7:00PM for a viewing of the Academy Award winning documentary, An Inconvenient Truth.

Come learn about the myths and misconceptions of global warming as presented by Al Gore.
As stewards of God’s world we need to be responsible citizens in learning and doing all we can to protect the earth we are gifted.

Jackie Kwan