Tokyo All Saints Welcoming team: six members, Ms. Jean Ogawa,
Prof. Sayaka Sakai, Mr. Azusa Sakai,
Ms. Sonoe Misawa,
Ms. Masako Uchigasaki, and the Rev. Ms. Mary Shigeko Yamano.
Christ the King guests: Fr. and Mrs. Chris Lee, Mr. Richard Read,
Ms. Chrystie Read, and Mrs. Barbara Reid-Williams.
Christ the King Accommodations: After arrival in Tokyo, the Zenrinya Kaikan
local hotel. For the next three nights, guest rooms in the Diocese of Tokyo
Provincial Office Building. For the next three nights, Christ the King
visitors stay with some families of our congregation. The remainder
will be in the Hotel Metropolitan Tokyo.
Wednesday, October 25, 2006.
Chrystie Read's Diary:
So, it's 9:10 PM, Wednesday night here in Tokyo, Japan. So tht means that
it is 10:10 AM earlier today The flight from Baltimore, Maryland, to Toronto,
Ontario, Canada, was fine. It was a very small jet, and it held maybe twenty
people. Then at Toronto, we had lunch, and then got onto our next airplane.
Toronto to Tokyo. That one was rough! Squished badly, but almost good movies.
Barely slept. Wierd food. And I got dizzy a lot. When we landed, we went
through customs for the third time, and waited for forty minutes for our
baggage to come out. Then we went and met the priest from Tokyo All Saints
Church, The Rev. Ms. Mary Shigeko Yamano, and another member of the welcoming
team. They had train tickets ready for all of us. We landed in Narita
Airport, not exactly in Tokyo, so we had to take an hour train to get to our
destination. Then we met with another member of the welcoming team and her
son. Her son is 19, and knows English fairly well. So he talked to me for
a while. The welcoming team took us to the hotel where we were staying
tonight, the Zenrinya Kaikan local hotel. It's kind of a hotel, but it
really isn't.
The welcoming team wanted to take us out to dinner. We went to Denny's!
Except it was simple Japanese dishes, instead of what we have in Baltimore.
Then my host family, Mrs. Watanabe and her two daughters, came, and gave me
gifts. The two little girls (and their mother, too) are so cute! They're
learning English, and I'm learning Japanese. I gave them their gifts, and
they loved them. It made me very happy. I didn't get to meet Dr. Watanabe,
because he was working, but I'll meet him on Saturday, October 29, 2006.
Tomorrow we're going to the little girl's kindergraten, and she's so excited,
because she told me that she's going to sing. After that, I cam up and
changed into my pajamas, and I noticed why my ankles hurt, and my legs felt
tight. My ankles are swollen three times their normal size, and I wish that
I were exaggerating. They hurt, and they feel and look funny. [Bill Moore's
note: just wait until you're sixty!] I have to get up at 7:00 AM, and it's
9:20 PM. And I'm lame and I'm going to sleep now.
Thursday, October 26, 2006.
Tokyo All Saints welcomes CTK guests to our church and kindergarten
in the afternoon; we will take you to our diocesan office and visit our
cathedral church, St. Andrew's Church, etc.
Chrystie Read's Diary: Authentic Japanese breakfast. Saw churches,
and met with the bishops of the Diocese of Tokyo that were in that day.
We had tea/coffee time at least three times during the day, and then again
at the end of every meal (in which they gave you too much food).
We had Italian for lunch, Chinese for dinner. We met all the kindergartners,
and they sang to us. They got so excited when we had a camera out, pointed
in their direction. They would giggle, scream, tell everyone around them,
and then pose. We went shopping, but only for a little while.
At dinner, a lot of people had a little too much to drink. The Japanese
that were with us sang a song, then wanted us to sing one back. That went on
for almost an hour, until we couldn't think of any more songs. Then we went
to our new place, the Diocese of Tokyo Provincial Office Guest Room, to stay.
Daddy and I went to 7/11 to find something for breakfast, then we hung out,
made fun of Father Chris, and now I'm about to go to bed. It's about
9:30 PM, Tokyo time, which means it's 10:30 AM at home. Good night.
Friday, October 27, 2006.
Guided tour of Tokyo Metropolitan City.
Chrystie Read's Diary: All day bus tour with Mr. John Azusa Sakai,
who had been a guest at
Christ the King in 1997. We went to
Shinto Town,
and had a tea ceremony. It was the worst and grossest tea ever. It was so
thick, and it smelled. I can't even explain how gross it was. We had the
BEST lunch ever -- Japanese barbeque. More bus tour. Short boat tour.
We went to the city, walked through a sea of shops, and I bought two kimonos.
End of bus tour. Dinner at a huge hotel, where Sonoe Misawa met us.
Daddy and I went to 7/11 for more breakfast things. Bed.
Saturday, October 28, 2006.
Free time, arranged with the hosting families.
Chrystie Read's Diary:
We split up into host families, in the morning, but I went to Harajuko
with Azusa, and Shino met us there. Sushi for lunch. We walked around the
malls. We visited a tea shop. Sonoe Misawa and I went on this huge roller
coaster in the middle of Tokyo. We went bowling, I lost horribly, but I had
a great time doing so. Then I went to my host family's house, the Watanabes.
Mina was there, but Melina was still at school. (She didn't get home until
7:00 PM). I helped make dinner, then we ate, and it was good! Then Mina
wanted me to play some games with her, so I did. Then I took a shower,
and I'm about to go to bed.
I wish that Ms. Ogawa or Sonoe Misawa were here. They both speak perfect
English. It would help. I have 23,000 Yen (about $200), and I haven't spent
any, because Azusa paid for everything. It was wierd. And he bought me
a gift. He reminds me of Ryan. He kinda looks like him, too.
I haven't met the doctor of my host family yet. He's been working. Apparently
when he works, he doesn't come home that night, and it is very wierd.
I would like to meet him.
Sunday, October 29, 2006.
Church programs: at 9:30, all the children and parents of kindergarten
attended the services of Thanks for Foundation. After 30 minutes,
there was a fixed form of service, with short message. Children and parents
met CTK guests after the service.
The Reverends Ms. Yamano and Mr. Lee celebrated Eucharist together
(10:30 AM -12:00 Noon).
Father Lee's sermon was translated into Japanese.
The lectionary for All Saints' Day, with white as the liturgical color.
After Eucharist, there was a fellowship meal (12:30 PM - 2:00 PM). This
provided an opportunity to meet as many parishioners as possible after
the Eucharist.
These was an evening service with neighboring churches for this occasion,
in both English and Japanese languages (3:00 PM - 3:45 PM). Hymns were chosen
to be sung together. Fr. Lee took a leading role in designing this service.
Between 4:30 PM and 6:00 PM, there was a discussion period for exchanging our
questions, ideas, hopes, etc. It began with simple questions, such as the
size of congregation, activities, outreach programs, etc. The main purpose
of this session was mutual understanding and future direction for our
partnership relation.
Chrystie Read's Diary: I finally met Dr. Watanabe! We didn't do much.
We went to church, had a welcome lunch, walk through a park, church
discussion. That's all.
Monday, October 30, 2006.
Visits to churches, schools, university, a small local museum,
and a park with a Japanese-style garden.
Chrystie Read's Diary: Reika went to school. We went to to Budo no le,
played with little children. We saw sick, elderly people (that made me cry),
and we saw sick children. Then I went with my host family. I met them at the
Yamano house, because Reika had a piano concert. About a dozen
eight-year-olds played piano, and it was amazing! Then Reika and two of her
friends played a song from
Pirates of the Caribbean. It was amazing, and absolutely perfect.
Then we took the subway to Azukhan, and I met Dr. Watanabe's parent and
sister. Then we all went out ti dinner at a Russian restaurant.
It was so good. Now I'm home, and I packed.
I don't think that I've had time to even THINK about how much I miss
Joshie, Britney, Boop, Mommy, or Evan. But I did, and it kind of hit me.
I miss them so much, but I lead for home soon, so it's a little better.
Only a little.
Tuesday, October 31, 2006.
Visit to to Nikko, a tourist stop with beautiful autumn colors.
Chrystie Read's Diary:
We saw a big
Buddha
and a few temples. I took half of my luggage to the
Hotel Metropolitan Tokyo.
Kamakura had a sushi lunch. It wasn't good at all. All I ate was the rice
and the chocolate that they gave us. We walked through the street,
with tons of shops.
We saw three temples. At one temple, a monk opened the temple just for us,
and performed ritual Buddhist chants. That temple is normally open only one
day a year, in April.
Wednesday, November 1, 2006.
Farewell dinner.
Chrystie Read's Diary: Free day. I spent it all with my host family,
the Watanabes. I got to sleep in! Then we played games with Meira, and then
my host mother, Mrs. Watanabe, rode bikes to Reika's school and I got a tour
of it. Then we went back home and played more games. Then we did a little
sunshine city, and ended up only shopping at Claire's. Reika got best-friends
necklaces, and gave me one piece of it. Then I bought three pink bracelets,
and I have one, and Reika and Michia have one as well. Then we went back
to the hotel, so I could change, and then we went to the big farewell dinner.
All the seats were on the floor, and they had everyone from our church sit
where there was no raw fish. The food was really good, and everyone had fun,
and we all laughed and talked and took pictures. Then we went back to the
hotel. As we said our goodbyes, a street band was playing, and as soon as we
started to walk away to go back to the hotel, the song ended.
It was perfect.
Thursday, November 2, 2006.
Departure.
Chrystie Read's Diary:
We had breakfast and checked our baggage, then went shopping. Then we met
Rev. Yamamo and Mrs. Uchigasaki, and a few others, and we made all our final
goodbyes. It was sad, it didn't feel like our trip could be over, no way.
It seemed way too short. I almost didn't even miss home, everyone there made
it feel like home. It was such an amazing trip, and an eye-opener.
It will not be my last time in Tokyo.
EXPLANATORY NOTES.
SHINTO
is the native religion of Japan, and was once Japan's state religion.
Shinto involves the worship of kami, or gods. Some kami are local,
and can be regarded as the spiritual being or genius of a particular place,
but others represent major natural objects and processes: for example,
Amaterasu,
the Japanese Sun goddess, or
Mount Fuji,
the great volcanic mountain west of
Tokyo.
Shinto is an animistic belief system. The word Shinto was created
by combining two kanji (i.e., Chinese-style characters): shin,
meaning gods or spirits (when read alone, it is pronounced kami);
and toh, meaning a philosophical way or path (originally from
the Chinese character
Tao).
As such, Shinto is commonly translated as the Way of the Gods.
After
World War II,
Shinto lost its status as the state religion of Japan; some Shinto practices
and teachings, once given a great deal of prominence during the war,
are no longer taught or practiced today, and others exist today as
commonplace activities such as omikuji (a form of fortune-telling);
and Japanese New Year, that few give religious connotations.
BUDDHISM is a
religion that originated in 6th century B. C. India, and is practiced
throughout the Far East, including in Japan. In Buddhism, a
BUDDHA is any being
who has become fully awakened (enlightened), has permanently overcome desire
or craving, aversion, and delusion, or ignorance, and has achieved complete
liberation from suffering. The man with whom the name Buddha is usually
associated, is
SIDDHARTHA GAUTAMA (563 BC - 483 BC), a spiritual teacher
from ancient India, and the historical founder of Buddhism. He is universally
recognized by Buddhists as the Supreme Buddha of our age.
A Buddha is also one who has achieved a state of perfect
enlightenment, which is a state of perfect mental tranquility and
non-fading bliss: is the highest bliss and the bliss of peace,
the bliss of enlightenment. Buddhism teaches that everyone has the innate
potential to become awakened and experience nirvana. Some Buddhist sects
teach that one doesn't need to become a Buddha to become awakened and
experience nirvana; other Buddhist texts imply that all beings will become
a Buddha at some future point in time.
PARTNERSHIP FOR
MISSION AND MINISTRY.
EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF CHRIST THE KING.
WOODLAWN, MARYLAND.
http://www.ecctk.info
8/5/2007.
Bob and Nancy Murdock
Ms. Sharon Tillman
Episcopal Diocese of Maryland
Baltimore, Maryland
Stillman@ang-md.org
Dear Ms. Tillman,
The Episcopal Church
of Christ the King in Woodlawn, MD, enjoys a continuing
sister relationship with Tokyo All Saints Church in Japan.
The relationship began with a formal
Companion Diocese
Relationship in the 1980s between the
Episcopal Diocese of Maryland
and the Anglican Episcopal Diocese
of Tokyo, Nippon Sei Ko Kai (NSKK), Tokyo, Japan.
A few years ago, the formal relationship was ended at the
Diocesan level, but the two sister parishes had formed
such a strong bond that both congregations voted to continue it
on an informal basis.
The purpose of the arrangement is mutual support and ministry.
The congregations support each other with prayer, information,
and friendship, enhanced with exchange visits and correspondence.
Christ the King members furnish all the resources and costs
needed for the Maryland part of the activity.
Nearly every year, on an alternating basis, exchange visits
are made between the two parishes. Two years ago, we were honored
to have visitors from Tokyo All Saints, including their rector,
the Rev. Ms. Mary Shigeko Yamano. In October, 2006, we expect
to send four Christ the King members to help celebrate the
125th Anniversary of Tokyo All Saints.
ACCOMMODATIONS AT
TOKYO ALL SAINTS.
125th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION.
10/25/2006: Zenrinya Kaikan (Local Hotel) Tel: 81-3-3945-6871
10/26,27/2006: Provincial Office Guest Room Tel: 81-3-5228-3171
NSKK Provincial Website:
http://www.nskk.org/province/
Tokyo, English Language Index:
http://www.nskk.org/tokyo/english/index.html
10/28,29,30/2006:
Fr. & Mrs. Lee: .............. Mrs. Margaret M. Kurosu .................. Principal of All Saints' Kindergarten.
Mr. Richard Read .............. Mr. & Mrs. Giichiro Uchigasaki .................. Businessman and homemaker.
Ms. Chrysie Read .............. Dr. and Mrs. K. Watanabe .................. Doctor and homemaker, with two daughters (teenager and kindergarten).
Mrs. Barbara Reid-Williams ..............
Ms. Jean K. Ogawa .................. Office worker, living with three sisters.
10/31/2006, 11/1/2006:
Hotel Metropolitan Tokyo (Local Hotel) Tel: 81-3-3980-1111
Hotel Metropolitan Tokyo website:
http://www.metropolitan.jp/
HOST FAMILIES AT
TOKYO ALL SAINTS.
125th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION.
Mrs. Margaret M. Kurosu .................. Principal of All Saints' Kindergarten
Mr. & Mrs. Giichiro Uchigasaki
.................. Businessman and homemaker
Dr. and Mrs. K. Watanabe
.................. Doctor and homemaker, with two daughters (teenager and kindergarten)
Ms. Jean K. Ogawa .................. Office worker, living with three sisters.
REFERENCES.
1. Episcopal Church of Christ the King. Woodlawn, Maryland.
Webmasters: Richard Holmes, Bill Moore.
http://www.ecctk.info
2. Murdock N, Murdock B.
Partnership for Mission and Ministry.
Episcopal Church of Christ the King. Woodlawn, Maryland.
http://www.ecctk.info/cktasprt.htm
http://www.ecctk.info/cktasvst.htm
3. Tokyo All Saints, Tokyo, Japan, Companion Relationship.
http://www.ecctk.info/cktasvst/cktasvst.htm
4. Moore B.
Visit to All Saints Church, Tokyo, Japan,
125th Anniversary Celebration, October-November, 2006.
http://www.ecctk.info/cktasvst/cktasj06.htm
5. The Rev. Ms. Mary Shigeko Yamano, Rector,
Tokyo All Saints Church, Tokyo, Japan.
6. Mrs. Teresia Masako Uchigasaki,
Correspondent, Tokyo All Saints Church, Tokyo, Japan.
7. Ms. Jean Kiyoe Ogawa,
Companion Parish Coordinator, Tokyo All Saints Church, Tokyo, Japan.
8. The Rev. Chris Lee, Rector,
Episcopal Church of Christ the King, Woodlawn, Maryland.
teilo@comcast.net
9. Mrs. Nancy Murdock, Chair, Tokyo All Saints Committee,
Episcopal Church of Christ the King, Woodlawn, Maryland.
murmuse@comcast.net
10. Mr. Bill Moore, Co-Chair, Tokyo All Saints Committee,
Episcopal Church of Christ the King, Woodlawn, Maryland.
gwmoore@erols.com
11. Murdock N.
Visit to Diocese of Tokyo, October, 2006.
Guests: Fr. & Mrs. Chris Lee, Mr. Richard Read,
Ms. Chrysie Read, Mrs. Barbara Reid-Williams.
http://www.ecctk.info/cktasvst/cktasv06.htm
11. Murdock N.
Visit from Diocese of Tokyo, September, 2005.
http://www.ecctk.info/cktasvst/cktasv05.htm
Guest: Akiko Matsumoto (松本 昭子).
12. Murdock N.
Visit from Diocese of Tokyo, September, 2003.
http://www.ecctk.info/cktasvst/cktasv03.htm
Guests: The Rev. Mary Yamano (山野 繁子 司祭),
Ms. Jean Kiyoe Ogawa (小川 ジーン・清恵),
Mr. Kazu Kurasawa (倉澤 一太郎),
Mr. Shun Kaneki (金木 俊太郎).
13. Murdock N.
Visit from Diocese of Tokyo, August, 2001.
http://www.ecctk.info/cktasvst/cktasv01.htm
Guests:
Ms. Jean Kiyoe OGAWA (小川 ジーン・清恵),
Ms. Asami GOTO (後藤 麻美), Ms. Haruka KANEKI (金木 悠).
14. Murdock N.
Visit from Diocese of Tokyo, August, 1999.
http://www.ecctk.info/cktasvst/cktasv99.htm
Guests:
Ms. Jean Kiyoe OGAWA (小川 ジーン・清恵),
Ms. Aine SONO (薗 愛音), Ms. Naoko KOBAYASHI
(小林 奈緒子).
15. Murdock N.
Visit to All Saints Church, Tokyo, August, 1998.
http://www.ecctk.info/cktasvst/cktasv98.htm
Guests:
Visitors: The Rev. Linda FERNANDEZ, Mrs. Carol GOODEN,
Mrs. Karen BURDNELL, Ms. Thea BURDNELL, Mr. Vince MOORE.
16. Murdock N.
News from the Diocese of Tokyo, June, 1998.
http://www.ecctk.info/cktasvst/ctkjpnw.htm
17. Visit from the Diocese of Tokyo, August, 1997.
http://www.ecctk.info/cktasvst/cktasv97.htm
Guests:
Mr. Azusa SAKAI (酒井 梓、 ), Ms. Shoko TSURUMI,
Ms. Satomi YUDA.
18. Edlund P.
History of Companion Relationship with the Diocese of Tokyo, August, 1997.
http://www.ecctk.info/cktasvst/cktascmp.htm
Last updated, 8/5/2007, by Bill Moore.