St. Paul International Lutheran Church   *   Lent   March , 2007

Annual Meeting

Sunday, March 11, 2007
10:45 a.m. - 12:00 noon
in the Lounge

During this hour, we will be discussing the committee and financial reports submitted by the members of the church council for the year 2006. In addition, we have been gifted with the opportunity to have an interim pastor with us for the next year or more. Please join us as we prayerfully consider and vote on the direction our ministry will be taking in the coming year.


"Benevolence First" Continues

    This spring, the outreach and benevolence committee is designating the LWR (LUTHERAN WORLD RELIEF)organization as another of the charitable groups that we as a congregation can learn about, pray for and support with our gifts.     Lutheran World Relief (LWR) is a non-governmental organization founded in 1945 to respond to the needs of communities devastated by World War II. Since then, it has evolved from a relief agency shipping material resources to war-torn Europe to an agency that works with partners worldwide to respond to emergencies, seek lasting solutions to rural poverty, and work for peace and justice for all. LWR works to promote equity, strengthen organizational capacity, and empower communities to have a voice in decisions that affect their lives, while continually

Celebrating the Season at St. Pauls

    On Saturday, December 9, Santa Claus again made a surprise visit to our congregation's annual Christmas party over at the parsonage. In spite of the bad weather, a number of people joined the cozy fellowship, officially kicking off the celebrations for the season. In addition to all the wonderful food, a highlight of the evening was the drawing for the lucky winner of the Christmas quilt raffled off by the Coffee, Tea and Stitches group. Congratulations go to Yoshi N.! Proceeds from ticket sales were over 20,000yen and will be given to the HELP Asian Women's Shelter.
    And then what a wonderful Christmas weekend we had! A Christmas Carol service of song and Bible reading lead off the Christmas Eve Day Sunday morning service on the 24th. In the late afternoon, the Christmas Eve Candlelight service was richly blessed with several gifts of music and song. Thank you's go out to Ellie S. for the beautiful violin piece, the Rakotondrajao family for the gift of song, and to the choir, led by Yasuko H. and Nahoko P., for the lovely music from Handel's Messiah. How very blessed we are to have such talented musicians in our congregation. Thanks also to Pastor Aaron for the inspiring messages on both Christmas Eve and Christmas morning and to Takashi for ever faithful leadership at all three services.
    For ALL who organized, participated and helped out with these special events and worship services, we give thanks to the Lord for your gift of time and talents. As always, it was a Christmas to remember at St. Paul's!
learning to increase our impact. Headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, LWR works to reduce poverty and injustice by helping communities increase and expand the resources they need to live productive, healthy and empowered lives.
    On the first Sunday of the month or at any time in the weeks following, if you would like to share a gift of money, please use the white envelopes on the back table, write the name of the group (and your envelope number if you have one) on the envelope, and place your gift in the offering plate. Thank you!!
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From our President

Dear Friends in Christ,

    This Sunday, March 11, we will be holding our Annual Meeting of the Congregation. A time for us as a congregation to sit and reflect on the events and activities of the year 2006, it is also an opportunity for us to pray together, giving thanks to the Lord for His steadfast love and ever guiding hand. After a year that has made us stronger, wiser and even more determined to remain a congregation here in Tokyo, we now eagerly turn our hearts to 2007, looking ahead with joy, anticipation and excitement! If you are able, please join us for a discussion and a vote that will help shape our ministry for the coming months. And if you are unable to be with us on Sunday, please remember us in your prayers. Your gift of loving, prayerful support is what has sustained us, encouraged us and made us bold for Him.
                                                               with joy, Marcia

Church Council President's Report to the Congregation for the year 2006

    It is with joy in the Lord's graciousness that I report on the activities of our congregational leadership.
    As president of the church council, I have been thrilled and humbled by the dedicated, faithful efforts of our members. And I have been awed and inspired by the prayerful, generous support of our ministry by our partners in the faith, the Japan Lutheran Church (NRK) and the Japan Evangelical Lutheran Church (JELC). By allowing their pastors and missionaries to help us in leading our worship, these partners in the faith have quietly encouraged us to remain strong as a congregation, even in the absence of our own pastoral leadership. Because of this support, our members have been able, without fail, to weekly maintain a worship service that is joyful and uplifting. We have once again established a regular routine of Christian Education, Fellowship, and Benevolence. And we have managed to halt the hemorrhaging of our funds that has been a constant worry for our congregation for the past few years.
    Even in our joy, however, it is also true that the path we have followed as a congregation over the past year has at times been a rocky one. A few places along the way we stumbled and fell; striking out at each other in our worry and anxiety with harsh words of criticism and impatience. In those times of doubt, it seemed the easiest solution would be to just give up. To walk away. To close the door.
    But we did not. Instead, together we called upon our Lord, remembering....
    "The Lord upholds all who fall, and raises up all who are bowed down. The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth. He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He will also hear their cry and save them. The Lord preserves all who love Him." (Ps. 145:14,18,19,20)
    And He has. Looking back over the year, at every twist and turn in our path and for every question, for every prayer seeking strength and guidance, the Lord clearly provided us with answers. Through the eyes of faith, we see His gifts of encouragement and motivation all around us. He has sustained us. And pushed us forward.
    In Oct. 2005, we agreed as a congregation that we would not call another pastor until we had faithfully explored all other options both financial and spiritual. For years, we have been saying "we must do something, we must do something" because we were rapidly depleting our savings and not coming up with a plan to stop such usage. With the upheaval of that year, we were presented with the time (whether we wanted it or not) and the help (in the form of our pastor and missionary friends) to do so. And thus, taking it at a slow and steady pace, the church council, in step with the congregation, began a journey of self-examination, information gathering and decision making.
Self-Examination -- The questions and the answers
    In early 2006, Pastor Tom and Adrienne spent 10 weeks with us, leading our worship, helping us organize our thoughts as a church council, and encouraging us to look seriously at who we are as a congregation and how we wanted others to see us. As a result of this self-examination, we as a church council were better able to see for ourselves the foundation stones on which our congregation is built.  (Please take a moment and look at the "About Us" page we created on our website as a result of this examination.)
Information Gathering -- The "what ifs"?
    With this deeper understanding of the foundations of our ministry, the church council was then better able to move forward in seeking possible solutions for our ongoing financial troubles. Thinking that perhaps remaining an independent
continue President's Report at top of page 5
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St. Paul International
Lutheran Church

1-2-32 Fujimi, Chiyoda-ku,
Tokyo, JAPAN 102-0071

Phone :    03-3261-3740
FAX :    03-3261-2390
E-mail :
Homepage :


InkLink Editor : Marcia K.
InkLink Production/Design :

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Sunday worship
9:30 am, NRK Lutheran Center
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Church season: Lent
Colors: Purple, White
March Rotation:
March 11 ... Fellowship
              ... Annual Meeting
              ... Council Meeting
March 18 ... Christian Education
March 25 ... Fellowship

Welcome, Baby Thomas!
Shortly after the New Year holiday, the Rays welcomed a new member to their family! Thomas Michael was born on January 8, 2007. We pray God's richest blessings on little Thomas, big sister Marina, and the busy mom and dad, Emi and Colin. Congratulations!
  

News & Notes from our Friends.........

    Late last fall one of our members heard from Sandra T. She wrote,
    "....The autumn colors have been spectacular this year. However, there is frost on the pumpkin now. The church web page is very nice and I enjoyed reading the newsletter. It is so nice to keep up with all the news. I have been working in the US for the past year. The culture shock has been a little difficult. Ordering from the Asian Food Grocer and searching for things Japanese in the community are helpful. One of my grandsons is attending a Japanese Immersion Kindergarten and is becoming bilingual. I have been studying my Japanese grammar and can use short sentences, without practice it is difficult. My small US home has been neglected and I am busy with plans for the home makeover. I am still teaching. Hope all is well with you!"
    In addition to the lovely picture postcards we received from the Hellmans and the Wilsons, and the e-video we received from Pastor Rich and Sandi, our members also received Christmas greetings from:
    **Anne I. and family, in The Netherlands, where she is teaching Sunday School to children ages 6-11 who mostly speak Dutch. Lots of travel throughout Europe are giving Emi and Mayumi a broader cultural education.
    **Pat R-T, enjoying her first holiday season as Mrs. Rich T. on Cape Cod, MA., continues as a volunteer for LAMP (Luth. Assn. of Missionaries & Pilots) every summer in Canada leading Vacation Bible School for youngsters of the Ojibwa-Cree First Nations.
    **Pastor Tom & Adrienne G., who continue their service to Japanese in Indiana & Michigan.
    **Ann Z. says her C'mas letter was late because she had to finish preparing for her vocab test for her Greek class at Luther seminary in St. Paul! Between family, her studies there and her work in the Counselor's Office at the University of Minnesota, Ann says her life is non-stop.
    **The Dales in CA, write, "Dear friends, Warm greetings of the Christmas season from our home to yours! We want to wish you all the best and rejoice with you in the Incarnation story. The eternal, invisible God revealing himself in the lowly Jesus it is an amazing story, isnft it! And more, it is an ongoing amazing event as the living
spirit of Jesus continues to incarnate himself in us day by day....... we are grateful for so much during the past year -For relatively good health--For occasional happy get-togethers with children and grandchildren in the San Francisco and Portland areas--For our supportive Christian community here at Pilgrim Place, which gives endless opportunities to remain active in service to those in need, here and elsewhere--For the beauty, the balmy climate and the flora of Southern California--For a wonderful river boat cruise in Europe from Vienna to Amsterdam last August, which offered us daily visits to many old towns of historical and cultural interest, and for a brief trip from Boston to Montreal to visit that part of North America--For opportunities to participate and serve in such activities as flower arranging, playing an organ recital, singing in a chorale, etc. for Eloise, and leading Tai Chi, serving as a Stephen Minister, preaching on Sundays, lots of committee work, etc. for Ken. May you live well in the grace of God throughout 2007!"
    **Mrs. Mere Maue, wife of the ambassador from Papua New Guinea, who will send us an update on our Koge Lutheran Church benevolence gift after her latest visit to PNG.                                       continue News & Notes at top of page 4
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continued News & Notes from page 3
    **Diana and George' K's daughter, Michele married Rob B. in Honolulu in September. (Congratulations, Michele and Rob!)     **Donna E. in Yokohama writes, "I have recently been going to Yamate Catholic Church, since my husband and his son are members there. However, I enjoy hearing news from St. Paul's, and intend to drop in now and then. God bless you and the work you are doing here in Japan."
    ** Dianne L. writes from New Smyrna Beach, Florida, that she is substitute teaching in the high school there. Last December, Lara was married to Brian K. and they now reside in Sedalia, Missouri. Erika is working at UNC Chapel Hill in the Center for HIV/infectious diseases division and Sonny continues as an undergrad at Vanderbilt Univ. in Tennessee.(Congratulations, Lara and Brian!)
    **Patience L. and Simon are both doing well and are living in Alexandria, Virginia. She is studying for her nursing degree.
    **And, in recent months we were gifted with visits from former members Marcia B.and Elaine C., too. What a happy surprise!
    We are so blessed to be remembered by our friends and we love being updated by mail (in some form) or by the real thing in person! Thank you!

Don't Forget - Save Your Stamps!
    The Japan Overseas Medical Cooperative Service (JOCS) raises money to send medical workers to Asian countries by collecting used stamps. They convert the stamps to money through collectors and merchants. This is a year round activity. Both Japanese and foreign stamps are welcome. They will also accept unused stamps and postcards. Please do not remove stamps from the paper, but use a scissors to cut around them leaving a 1/4 inch (6mm) margin and be careful not to cut the stamp perforations. You can put your stamps to donate in the box in the church office.

A prayer for Lent
    O loving God, we come to the Holy season of Lent truly sorry for our sins that have often separated us from you.
    We confess that we need to repent of our offenses against you which we have committed by thought, word and deed. We humbly pray for your mercy and forgiveness. We pray for our new quest for holiness on our part, that we may become more faithful and righteous servants of Christ. In his name, we pray.
    Amen.

Agenda for Prayer

We Are One in Christ,

This month we turn our hearts and minds to the Lord's Church. John tells us that Christ is the vine and we are the branches. (John 15:5) We are One in Him whom we worship and praise. Let us remember our brothers and sisters in the Christian faith; praying, accepting, understanding, forgiving, encouraging, and helping each other.

We also remember and pray this month for the workers of the Lutheran World Relief organization. May they be lifted up, strengthened and encouraged so that they may continue strong in their calling -- working with partners worldwide to respond to emergencies, seeking lasting solutions to rural poverty, and working for peace and justice for all.

Spring is just around the corner. With spring comes Easter. Let us be renewed in mind and body, praying for one another with the hope and joy found in our Lord's resurrection.   We are One in Christ!

            Looking ahead to Holy Week........
    Following Palm Sunday (April 1) and Good Friday (April 6) Worship services, we will celebrate the Resurrection of Our Lord with music and song on Sunday, April 8. Beginning at 9:30am, with Pastor David as our worship leader , a number of our members will be contributing their gift of music to this special Easter Festival celebration. Immediately following the service, the Sunday School teachers of our congregation together with those of the Center Church, are preparing a special "Kid's Day" that will include craft making, Easter egg decorating, snacks, games, music and an Easter Egg Hunt. And of course, while the kids are busy doing their thing, the adults will be having a special time of Fellowship in the Lounge. Bring a friend and join in this joyous day of celebration!
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continued President's Report from page 2
congregation with no ties to a larger organization was in part a cause of our financial instability, we began to explore the idea of becoming a "member" congregation of one of our partner church bodies as a possible solution to some of our problems. Over a period of several months, somewhat informally, we communicated with various leaders of these partner organizations and asked their opinions of such a solution. This is what we discovered:
    ELCA -- could not help us financially, but would no doubt take us in as a congregation if we asked, relocation of the congregation would be probable
    LC-MS -- enthusiastically offered us membership, would help us by providing a pastor for at least 6 years, we could remain in the Iidabashi location
    NRK -- offered us membership, reduced rent and we could remain in Iidabashi
    JELC -- offered membership but it became clear we would need to relocate the congregation
    Joint NRK/JELC -- not practical because of the differences in how the two church bodies recognize their member congregations
    At each point of asking, we then had formal and informal discussions with each other, as a congregation, about the implications of choosing one of the above paths. It soon became apparent however, that any vote taken asking members to choose one group over another would only bring about division, not unity. Thus, no actual votes were attempted or taken. And here, it is important to note that none of our partners rejected us when we asked for their help. Instead, because some of us were not comfortable with one or more of these choices, as a group united, we have chosen at this point not to follow any of these paths. Even though several of the above ideas perhaps hold obvious solutions to our various problems, we have chosen to continue our independence. In a way, you can say we have chosen each other rather than taking an easier road and perhaps because of it, leaving someone behind.
Decision making -- Where do we go from here?
    Firm in our understanding of the foundation of our ministry and deciding as a congregation united to maintain our independence, in the Fall of 2006, the church council then turned their entire focus on creatively seeking other ways of HOW to turn our ongoing, struggling situation into our ongoing hope/vision/idea for the future, that being -- St. Pauls as a thriving independent Lutheran congregation, free of distracting financial worries, located in the Lutheran Center in Iidabashi, led by a full-time pastor who will head up our internationally focused ministry.
    Some ideas that we are already considering and gathering information on include, but are not limited to:
    --renting the parsonage to an outside group in order to fund the ministry, while renting a smaller apartment to house our own pastor
    --calling a pastor who would be willing to participate in a kind of "tent-making" ministry (leading our congregation and having a second job to help fund this ministry)
    --hiring an office assistant to take care of duties we have been asking a pastor to do in the past
    --exploring the concepts of a deacon ministry and lay person ministry
    --seeking a retired pastor as an interim-call, helping us to move forward on these complicated decisions while at the same time leading and supporting us spiritually
    --exploring the possibility of becoming a nonprofit organization recognized by the Japanese government thus allowing us to own our own property and perhaps provide other benefits
    What lies ahead for us in 2007? We do not know. We can only keep our eyes on Him and trust in His unending love for us. Let us continue to pray together and to move forward as a congregation: strong in our purpose and faithful to the mission of sharing the Good News of our Lord's resurrection; holding steadfast to one another, sharing not only the joys of our ministry but also the burdens. We are one in Christ!
            "I am the vine, you are the branches." (John 15:5)
                                                                                respectfully submitted,
                                                                                    Marcia K, council president

* * Mission Statement * *
St. Paul International Lutheran Church brings together people of diverse backgrounds who are deepening and sharing their Christian faith through English language worship, fellowship, education, and community outreach.
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St. Paul International Lutheran Church     March ,  2007
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