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Japan relief efforts pay off

 
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2:00 P.M. EST Nov. 16, 2011


Participants share food and fellowship at “Jazz Katsu,” a Japan relief benefit held at Wesley United Methodist Church in Japantown, San Jose, Calif. Proceeds went to the United Methodist Committee on Relief. A UMNS photo courtey of Wesley (San Jose) United Methodist Church.
Participants share food and fellowship at “Jazz Katsu,” a Japan relief benefit held at Wesley United Methodist Church in Japantown, San Jose, Calif. Proceeds went to the United Methodist Committee on Relief. A UMNS photo courtey of Wesley (San Jose) United Methodist Church. View in Photo Gallery

When northern Japan was devastated by last March’s earthquake/tsunami, the Rev. Michiko Nishinosono knew she had to do something to help.

The members of the Japanese-language group she leads at Wesley United Methodist Church in San Jose, Calif., — known as Wesley Nichigo-bu (Japanese-speaking) — felt the same way.

While Japanese Americans live throughout the Santa Clara Valley, San Jose’s Japantown, where Wesley is located, remains the cultural, emotional and spiritual heart of that community. After being approached to collaborate on a fundraiser for Japan relief, “our nichigo-bu decided to be a sponsor for this event, and we worked together,” she said.

Their efforts paid off five months later when “Jazz Katsu,” an event featuring music and fried pork cutlets on a stick, also known as “katsu,” raised $6,339 for the United Methodist Committee on Relief.


Poster design for the Jazz Katsu Japan Relief Benefit.  A UMNS web-only graphic courtey of Wesley (San Jose) United Methodist Church.
Poster design for the Jazz Katsu Japan Relief Benefit. A UMNS web-only graphic courtey of Wesley (San Jose) United Methodist Church.

By October, UMCOR had received $11.8 million for relief and recovery work in Japan. Substantial grants already have been made to both Japanese and international partners.

The ecumenical Asian Rural Institute, for example, has received $1.35 million from UMCOR to repair and reconstruct its earthquake-damaged agricultural training campus.

The institute, known as ARI, trains grassroots community leaders from Asia and Africa in leadership techniques, sustainable agriculture practices and community-building skills. UMCOR’s initial grant and donations from other sources helped ARI clean up enough to receive a new class of students on May 2.

Mission executive visits Japan

On Nov. 19, Thomas Kemper, top executive of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries, UMCOR’s parent agency, will deliver the commencement address for those students.

Kemper’s address is part of a Nov. 15-21 visit to Japan, which also includes a keynote speech at Kwansei Gakuin, a university founded by a Methodist missionary, in Kobe; a meeting at the Emmaus Center in Sendai, a large city in the heart of the earthquake zone, and Sunday worship in Ishinomaki, a nearby city devastated by the March disaster.

The Rev. Motoe Yamada, senior pastor of Japanese United Methodist Church in Sacramento, Calif., arrived at ARI last May just as the new class arrived. Leading an assessment team from the denomination’s California-Nevada Annual (regional) Conference, she was eager to meet with Japanese partners to determine whether volunteer team placements would be possible as recovery progressed.


A young chef prepares Kushi Katsu (skewered pork cutlet) to serve at the “Jazz Katsu” benefit.  A UMNS photo courtesy of Wesley (San Jose) United Methodist Church.
A young chef prepares Kushi Katsu (skewered pork cutlet) to serve at the “Jazz Katsu” benefit. A UMNS photo courtesy of Wesley (San Jose) United Methodist Church.
View in Photo Gallery

In a damaged church in Ishinomaki, Yamada noticed a sign above a clock that stopped when the earthquake occurred. It read, “This world doesn’t last forever, but the Lord lasts forever.”

That is the message of care and hope that she wants to bring as Japan continues to struggle with its recovery. “Because of Jesus, we can carry on our lives,” said Yamada, who represents the denomination on the World Council of Churches’ Central Committee. “Because of Jesus, we are willing to help. Because of Jesus, we can have hope.”

Recently, Yamada received word from Japan that small volunteer teams with a bilingual team leader would be acceptable, and she expects the California-Nevada Conference will send its first teams in 2012.

Japanese United Methodist Church in Sacramento already has engaged in fundraising efforts to support such mission work. Activities included monthly concerts, T-shirt sales and a session with Zumba and yoga instructors “to come and exercise and sweat for Japan.” An April communitywide chicken dinner raised $40,000 for the Japanese Red Cross.

From the beginning, church members were encouraged to donate directly to UMCOR, and Yamada estimated those contributions at about $15,000. “We wanted to make it clear if they wanted to help people immediately, send it to UMCOR,” she explained.

Other support for Japan

Among the other congregational fundraisers for Japan relief was a youth overnight “lock-in fast” at Christ United Methodist Church, a Korean church in Honolulu, netting $1,400. Aldersgate, a Filipino congregation there, also raised $400 and passed it along to add to the youth’s UMCOR donation, said the Rev. Joseph Yun, youth pastor at Christ church.


Young people grill food during the Harvest Thanksgiving Celebration 2011 held at the Asian Rural Institute in northern Japan.  Grants from the United Methodist Committee on Relief have helped the institute recover from the March earthquake.  A web-only photo courtesy of the Asian Rural Institute.
Young people grill food during the Harvest Thanksgiving Celebration 2011 held at the Asian Rural Institute in northern Japan. Grants from the United Methodist Committee on Relief have helped the institute recover from the March earthquake. A web-only photo courtesy of the Asian Rural Institute.

In Portland, Ore., an active United Methodist family who work as travel agents arranged a “goodwill tour” of Japan, reported Portland Area Bishop Robert Hoshibata.

“So many of the tours and other touristy events to Japan have diminished because of fear of continuing radiation as well as fear of continuing earthquakes,” he explained.“The goal was to get people to go to Japan, to bring some of our U.S. tourist dollars back to Japan. That (goodwill tour) was well subscribed to.”

Hoshibata was to meet Nov. 15 with a girl from Portland who folded a thousand paper cranes to show her concern for the people of Japan. The bishop is borrowing the cranes to display at a conference center.

In San Jose, the name for the Aug. 27 fundraiser at Wesley had a double meaning, since “katsu” also means “to overcome,” Nishinosono pointed out. “In the naming of Jazz Katsu, we wished the Japanese people to overcome this situation,” she explained.

While the main activities focused on the music and food, the church also shared information about UMCOR’s relief efforts and offered a slideshow about the disaster. Reminders of the tragedy overwhelmed a few participants. “Several people there were crying, listening to the music and watching the video on the screen,” she said.

Wesley’s entire congregation, which now includes many non-Japanese members, supported the event, noted the Rev. Keith Inouye, senior pastor.

A side benefit has been the church’s new connection with community members from the planning committee, some of whom have attended worship services and helped with Wesley’s annual Aki Matsuri, or fall festival. “We had a good relationship after this Jazz Katsu event,” Nishinosono said.

*Bloom is a United Methodist News Service multimedia reporter based in New York. Follow her at http://twitter.com/umcscribe.

News media contact: Linda Bloom, New York, (646) 369-3759 or newsdesk@umcom.org.

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