Summer Greetings!
Hi JCC friends and family! Sorry for the late July update of news and happenings. I think it was my 10 days in Japan that got me off schedule. It’s hard to believe that July 4th has come and gone, and that our kids have been out of school for a month.
I did have a wonderful and productive trip to Japan on 6/19-28. It was a chance for me and Allegra to do some passport / immigration work as well as to renew my Japanese driver’s license. We were able to visit our former church in Isesaki, Gunma where we had pastored for many years and enjoy a potluck and fellowship. They will be celebrating their 30th anniversary as a church this coming Sunday, July 15th so it was fun to hear of their various preparations for that event. Andrea and Sky kept the home fires burning here in Burlington while we were away.
The photo above is of Lake Nojiri, where our family has a cabin. I had a chance to open it up and do some work in preparation for friends who will be staying there during the next couple months. Since we returned to the US, Japan has experienced a couple of typhoons resulting in flooding, landslides and many deaths. Some of you may have been following that news or even have acquaintances that have been affected. We pray for quick relief for the many that have been through this tragedy.
Please make note of the following:
- 07.15 Pastor Tim preaches
- 07.22 Richard Nakamura preaches
- 07.27 Volunteer team @ St. Mary’s Food Bank
- 07.29 Craig Niiyama preaches
Our text for this coming Sunday is from Psalm 27 – “The Lord is my Light and my Salvation” – I trust that you are experiencing the Lord as your Light and Salvation during these summer days.
Hope to see you all soon!
Grace & Peace,
Pastor Tim
P.S. – a couple more photos from our Japan trip – while visiting the immigration office and police headquarters in Nagano city we had the chance to take an hour to wander around the famous Zenkoji Temple. While the temple has been around and famous since the 7th century (!) it became well-known to outsiders during the 1998 winter Olympics, when NBC was invited to set up their broadcasting headquarters within the temple compound. It was a peaceful and quiet hour as we watched people and took a break.
All trains in Japan aren’t bullet trains. Here, we rode the little Shinano Railway from Nagano up to Lake Nojiri. This particular car allowed us to “taste the feeling!”
Japanese Congregational Church 