Japanese Congregational Church

Clam Digging Delight!

Posted on July 22, 2017August 1, 2017 by Japanese Congregational Church

What a great turn out for our JCC retreat out at the Tsai home on Hood Canal last Saturday (July 22nd)! As the tide reached its lowest point (9:42 a.m.?) the early birds were already there digging clams out of the sand (Larry, Bisim, and friends). Folks kept joining the gathering until almost 11:00 when it felt like there was a group of almost 50 on hand. The Suzuki grandkids and family – just rolling in from Japan the day before, Ivan’s brother Arturo and Deborah – driving all the way down from Vancouver, and LOTS of JCC connections and friends from near and far. Peter and Joyce did a great job hosting all of us, cooking burgers and hot dogs on the BBQ grill, and others brought all sorts of goodies in order to put on a potluck spread. Good conversations, laughter, delicious food, and excellent weather all added up to a wonderful time of relaxation and play. Our time together drew to a close with “suika-wari”, a Japanese summer tradition for eating watermelon together by first playing a game of “whack the watermelon while blindfolded” – and a short devotional by Pastor Tim. Thanks to all of Peter and Joyce’s hard work and hospitality in hosting this event!

Here are a few pictures…. but you can go to a gallery HERE to see more. Feel free to download any photos you want.

Thanks Peter and Joyce!!

Sign Changes…

Posted on July 15, 2017July 28, 2017 by Japanese Congregational Church

The JCC church board decided a few weeks ago to make some changes in our signage. Some of the original and historic signs on the old building are being moved and “re-purposed” in order to better highlight our newer church structure along the more public sidewalks and approach.

Several weeks ago Gene Hanson took on the job of removing the long horizontal sign from above the entrance to the original building. He took it home, refinished it, and now has mounted it for us on the concrete wall near the front of the sanctuary. It looks great and adds some clear identity to our entrance.

Gene, working on the signage….

How it has looked for the past 65 years….. and how it appears now.

The content of the large sign on the ground was also outdated so Gene took out that portion…. only to find ANOTHER, MORE outdated portion underneath.

Other changes still to come: we’re wondering about moving this sign to the other side of the church… by the parking lot, and putting new content inside. It, too, has great historic value and we would love to keep it in use. Finally, we’re putting new content into the aluminum sign on the front corner of the church. Hopefully, both JCC and SABF will be able to get a bit more accurate exposure through these changes. Stay tuned!

Cleaning Day at JCC

Posted on July 15, 2017July 25, 2017 by Japanese Congregational Church

Twenty individuals gathered at JCC this morning to take part in our work-day – 10 from JCC and 10 from SABF (Seattle Alliance Bible Fellowship). The JCC team worked outside on the north side of the sanctuary, pulling weeds, mowing the grass, trimming trees and generally cleaning up. The SABF team worked mostly inside the sanctuary while part of their team pulled weeds and did yard work on the east end of the sanctuary. The weather was perfect, spirits were good, and I think most would agree that it was actually pretty fun to work hard together and see a real improvement on all fronts. Thanks to all who came… and we look forward to more work days together in the weeks ahead!

Some serious weeding, mowing, and cutting back branches produced a neater and cleaner garden and sidewalk!

All Church Retreat at Hood Canal

Posted on June 30, 2017June 30, 2017 by Japanese Congregational Church

Our All Church Retreat & Potluck at the Tsai’s Hood Canal home will take place on Saturday, July 22^nd. Low tide occurs at 9:41 AM so try to arrive around 10:00 AM for the best clam digging. Carpools will leave JCC at 8:30 AM. Maps & a carpool signup sheet are on the back table at church. Please bring a dish to share and put this day on your calendar for a fun day of clam digging, food & fellowship!! Address is 17041 East State Route 106, Belfair, WA. Please talk to Peter or Joyce (206-723-9406) if you have questions. These photos are from last year’s retreat.

JCC News (6/28/2017)

Posted on June 28, 2017July 7, 2017 by Japanese Congregational Church

Walk for Rice a Great Success!

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Seven of us made up the JCC team this year for the 27th Annual Walk For Rice event put on by the Asian Counseling and Referral Service. Donations and raised funds go toward stocking the food bank operated by ACRS. Here we are at the start line. Weather was glorious and there were fun performances prior to the walk getting under way. Here the Chinese Girls’ Drill Team did their thing and entertained the crowd.

The skies were blue, Mt. Rainier was out, folks were enjoying the lake on their boats, and it was a great morning for walking…

Tim, Carl, and yes…. Bi-lan coming across the finish line!

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Wish we had some photos of our lovely lunch following the walk! Peter grilled hamburgers and sausages for us, Larry made a wonderful Cesar Salad, and Nadine baked a marvelous raspberry (blackberry??) pie for dessert. Thanks to Joyce and Peter for hosting the event!

All Church Retreat & Potluck …
…will be held at the Tsai’s Hood Canal home on Saturday, July 22^nd. Low tide occurs at 9:41 AM so try to arrive around 10:00 AM for the best clam digging. Carpools will leave JCC at 8:30 AM. Maps & a carpool signup sheet will be at church. Please bring a dish to share and put this day on your calendar for a fun day of clam digging, food & fellowship!! Address is 17041 East State Route 106, Belfair, WA. Please talk to Peter or Joyce (206-723-9406) if you have questions.

Church Cleaning Day
We’re hoping a good number of folks will be able to come out on Saturday, July 15th at 9:00 a.m. and help us clean outside around the church. We will be working that day especially on the east end of the building. Signs are being repaired and re-done as well so come and be a part of the fun!

Worship…
Shun Takano will be speaking again at our worship service this Sunday, July 2. Pastor Tim will be preaching on July 9th and 16th. Craig Niiyama will be preaching on July 23rd, and Richard Nakamura will preach on July 30th. It would be great to see you there!

In it together,

Pastor Tim

JCC News (6/14/2017)

Posted on June 14, 2017July 7, 2017 by Japanese Congregational Church

SABF 22-YEAR ANNIVERSARY!

Our brothers and sisters of the Seattle Alliance Bible Fellowship celebrated 22 years as a church on the afternoon of June 4th, following JCC’s pentecost worship that morning. Peter & Joyce Tsai, Gene and Sue Hanson, and Pastor Tim were able to attend the celebration. Pastor Sam Badon gave special recognition to JCC for our long (18-year) history of sharing our building and space for their worship and programs.The worship team and choir provided a beautiful tribute in song and praise for the event and a magnificent feast was served next door in the fellowship hall following the worship time. Let’s continue to pray for Pastor Sam and for SABF – and to seek new ways that we can, together, be the hands and feet of Christ in our community. The photo below shows the choir performing. シアトルア　アライヤンス　バイブル　フェロシップの第２２回周年記念が６月４日に行われました。JCCから５名が出席されました。引き続き、SABFとJCCとの協力と伝道のために祈りましょう！ IMG_0443(1)

SOME UPCOMING EVENTS…

Our June Homeless Feeding / Lord’s Table takes place on Monday, June 19th. We always need servers, so if you’d like to help on a nice summer evening, our carpools leave JCC at 7:30 pm.
The 27th Annual Walk for Rice is scheduled for Saturday, June 24th. JCC is putting a team together again so we hope you’ll join us for this fun 2.5 mile walk around Seward Park. This is a fundraiser to support the Asian Counseling & Referral Service (ACRS) Food Bank. Go to www.walkforrice.org to register with our team – Japanese Congregational Church, or register in person at the day of the walk. We’re also planning to meet at the Tsai’s home after the walk for a potluck lunch. Important times to remember: 9:00 AM – meet at Tsai’s, or 9:45 AM, – meet at Seward Park. Walk begins at 10:00 AM and our lunch will begin at approximately 11:50 AM. Any questions, please talk to Peter (206-723-9406). The photo below is from our JCC team last year!

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Annual Retreat to Hood Canal has been scheduled for Saturday, July 22nd. Be sure to put this day on your calendar for a fun day of clam digging, food & fellowship!! More details to come.
Worship – for this upcoming Sunday, June 18th, Pastor Tim will be speaking from Matthew 9:35-38. The text is the well known account of Jesus instructing his disciples to “pray to the Lord of the harvest”.　We look forward to seeing you! 今度の主日礼拝ではジョンソン牧師はマタイによる福音書９章３５−３８節より「収穫の主に祈りなさい」と題してメッセージされます。是非いらしてください。

FINALLY, PLEASE CHECK OUT OUR NEW WEBSITE!
It’s still in the process of being put together but it should soon include most of the data and news that you need to have each week. We will be posting these newsletters on the website too, so if you ever want to see something again…. just visit the JCC website.

Grace & Peace,

Pastor Tim

Annual Walk for Rice

Posted on June 12, 2017July 7, 2017 by Japanese Congregational Church

The 27^th Annual Walk for Rice is scheduled for Saturday, June 24^th. JCC is putting a team together again so we hope you’ll join us for this fun 2.5 mile walk around Seward Park. This is a fundraiser to support the Asian Counseling & Referral Service (ACRS) Food Bank. Go to www.walkforrice.org, to register with our team – Japanese Congregational Church, or register in person at the day of the walk. We’re also planning to meet at the Tsai’s home after the walk for a potluck lunch. Important times to remember: 9:00 AM – meet at Tsai’s, or 9:45 AM, – meet at Seward Park. Walk begins at 10:00 AM and our lunch will begin at approximately 11:50 AM. Any questions, please talk to Peter (206-723-9406). The photo above is from our JCC team last year!

An Update from Japan…

Posted on June 12, 2017June 12, 2017 by Japanese Congregational Church

Here is a newsletter from Jeff Mensendiek, who has been active with relief efforts in the Tohoku area of Japan following the 2011 disasters. He also is the coordinator of our Christmas Card exchange project. Here is the link to his article which is part of the Global Ministries Newsletter:

Staying Connected…

JCC News (6/1/2017)

Posted on June 1, 2017June 30, 2017 by Japanese Congregational Church

Greetings from JCC!

This is a copy of the newsletter that went out recently to members and friends of JCC. We’ll try to post it here on the website as well… that way if you miss it, or change email addresses, you can always find the news here as a blog post as well.

Let me introduce myself to you. My name is Tim Johnson and since Easter (April 16th) I’ve been the new pastor here at JCC. Actually, I’m not completely new… I’ve been coming about once a month to preach at JCC as part of a rotating preaching team. Since I and my family live in Mount Vernon my pastoral position is by necessity part-time but I’m thrilled to take on this leadership role. My wife Andrea and I have served for the past 28 years as missionaries to Japan, serving with the Evangelical Covenant Church. For a number of family reasons we felt it was best to conclude our ministry in Japan and to put down some roots here in the U.S. It has been a huge transition for us but we are so grateful for God’s leading and provision. And we’re so grateful for the warm welcome we’ve received at JCC.

A Great Easter Celebration..

On April 16th we gathered for a special Easter worship service, preceded by a wonderful breakfast and concluding with a time of fellowship and a group photo! It was also a time for JCC to welcome me and my family on board as the new pastor. Check out the photo above… and the beautiful cake served in our honor…. and a photo of me, my wife Andrea, our youngest son Sky (struggling with a cold that day), our daughter Lilla, and Zukki! – who had treats for the children….

Quick Announcement!

I know Sue Hanson has already sent out a brief blip to many of you about our meeting this coming Saturday, June 3, at 9:00 a.m. but I’ll include it here too:

“Please remember next Saturday’s meeting!! Everyone is encouraged to join us as we gather together for two reasons:

this meeting will be a follow-up to the Saturday meetings we had before when we met to discuss JCC’s future.
With Pastor Tim joining us on a more regular basis now, we are feeling more hopeful and encouraged, but this meeting will be a nice opportunity to get to know Pastor Tim better and ask him about his thoughts on our church’s future. Be sure to come with your questions as well as be willing to share your own thoughts. We will meet from 9:00 AM through noon. Bagels & fruit will be served.

If you’re unable to join us on Saturday, we hope to see you on a Sunday soon. Please continue to keep JCC and those listed on our prayer list in your prayers.”

We look forward to staying in touch!

Grace & Peace,

Pastor Tim