Welcome!

We are a small congregation in the Diocese of Chubu, Nippon Sei Ko Kai (Episcopal/Anglican Church in Japan), worshiping together and celebrating communion (= Mass, Eucharist, Lord's Supper) in English in Nagoya, Japan.

We have set up this blog for easier communication with you and others who might want to join our service!

Epiphany greetings, 2012, Year B

Good day to all,


It's been a long time since we didn't post, sorry for that.  Anyhow, its a wonderful year ahead of us.  We started this Year with the gospel according to Luke 2:15-21, the presentation of our Lord Jesus Christ in the temple.  January 1 was a Sunday, a very good day indeed to start the year.  Let us all be glad together with the shepherds on the day Christ was born here on earth and proclaim Jesus in all the world that He is the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God who came to be with His people.  "O come, O come, Emmanuel"

We continually invite you to attend our English service every Second Sunday of the month in the Cathedral of Saint Matthew in Nagoya (please find map in the blog).  We also invite you for a Bible Study before the service, at 16:00 am in the cathedral hall.  Let us explore together the Word of God in the Bible.  Bring along with you a Bible, any translation/version will do as long as you can understand it.  Our lesson this February 12 is a continuation of our past study of the Holy Orders of the Church, Bishop, Priest and Deacon.

Bishop, Priest, and Deacon is a common leader in the church and I wish for the group to study about them and where they are in the Bible. For this, please try and read some of the reference of this Holy Orders in the Bible particularly in the New Testament. We will only simplify our discussion with the common understanding of the Bible's writings about these Orders. Thus,

1. Bishop; also referred as “Overseer,” from the greek word “episkopos.”

-Acts 20:28

-1Timothy 3:1-2

-Titus 1:5-7

2. Priest; also referred as Elders, from the greek word “presbuteros,” and also called presbyter.

-1Timothy 5:17(Responsibility)

-James 5:14-15

3. Deacon; from the greek word “diakonos,” it means servant.

-Acts 6:1-6

-1 Timothy 3:8-10

There are other references as to where we can find “elders,” “overseer” and deacon in the English Bible but we need not discuss all due to limited time. There are also references of chief priests in the gospels and priests in the Old Testament (i.e. book of Leviticus) but we will not deal with them although it is important resources also in the understanding of the temple worship of the Jews. What we will particularly talk about is the presence of the the Holy Orders (Bishop, Priest and Deacons) in the New Testament as we see them today in the church.

 

Hope to see you soon,

Deacon Glenn

Bible Study lesson on November 13, 2011

Greetings of peace!

Its been a while since that last post.  I hope you are all fine.  Please be reminded of our monthly English service every second Sunday of the month.  This month of November is on the 13th at 17:00 in Saint Matthew's Cathedral.
We will also have a bible study session at 16:00 in the Cathedral Hall.  Our text is on Acts 8.

We shall read this together and try to learn and experience the Word of God in this particular chapter of our church history.

While reading please try to figure out answers to some of these questions.

1.  Why weren't the apostles scattered?  Why does the disciples other than the apostles went away from Jerusalem?

2. Is Philip an apostle?  Who was he? and whom does he represent in the church?

3.  Who is Simon and what does he do?

4.  How did Philip travel to other place?

And for Reflection:

    - Do we bring Christ along with us when we travel to other places?  How is the works of the Holy Spirit in us?

Hope to see you in our Bible Study lesson,

Deacon Glenn

October 9-10 Diocesan gathering in Nagano

Dear Friends,

I'm sorry to inform you that we will cancel our October English service due to the scheduled Diocesan Gathering in Nagano on October 9-10, 2011. 
On September 11, however, we will still have our English service at 17:00 and we have Bible sharing/study at 16:00 before the service.
We will continue learning about the early Church/Christians by studying the book of Acts of the Apostles.  Last time we studied and learned about the problems that the early Christians encountered in Acts 6 and how they managed to settle this problem.  In our next meeting on September 11, we will deal with the conversion of Saul on Acts 9:1-31 whom we will later know as Saint Paul who had written some of the Epistles that we read in the New Testament.  While reading, you may want to consider asking yourself why would God convert someone who had been persecuting Christians?  What is the purpose of Saul's conversion?  How does the other disciple thought of his conversion?  Who accompanied Saul to the Apostles and what could be their reaction?

I hope we will see each other on September.  May you have a blessed Ubon yasumi this August.

Deacon Glenn

Reflection

Read and reflect on our readings today:

Wisdom 12:13, 16-19 (Book from the Apocrypha)
Psalm 86:11-16
Romans 8:18-25
Matthew 13:24-30,36-43

Weeds are part of planting.  They cannot be totally eliminated.  They come and withered as time goes by.  We also have weeds in our lives.  This are problems that we encounter but as time goes by they will wither and our life will be fine once again.  Christians learn to be hopeful for the best in this life or in the afterlife.  If there are followers of Jesus Christ in this world, there are also followers of the devil and they are deceitful and full of lies.  The followers of the devil who goes along with Jesus followers are the weeds who will be eliminated and be burned eternally where "they will weep and gnash their teeth" in the eternal fire in hell.  Strive to be righteous and faithfully follow Christ for He leads us not into death but for life everlasting.

renewal of our blog

Dearest everyone,

Its sad to say that in past previous months our blog find difficulty in opening up but as of this time we are glad that we renewed posting in our site.
How are you all?  I hope you're in good health and in good condition.  Be careful this summer, there are reported cases of heat stroke.
We have important announcement to make.  Last two months ago we started a Bible study at 16:00 before the English service.  Next month, August 14, we will again share God's word.  Everyone is invited to attend our Bible study.  Come one,come all.  Our text is: Acts 6:1-7.  We will share our experiences in our Christian lives as we discover how the early Christians responded with some of the challenges that befell the church during their time.
Second announcement:  We are invited to participate in a diocesan wide gathering of people at Ryujo gymn, beside Saint Matthew's Cathedral on October 16, 2011 at 14:00-17:00.  The event will be hosted by the Anglican Kani Mission Church who will show us how to make a traditional arts craft from the Philippines and learn a kankana-ey praise song (Tribal dialect in the northern tribes of the Cordillera Region in the Philippines).
Third announcement:  The Saint Mark's church in Nagoya is inviting us to attend their bazaar on October 30, 2011 at 11:00-14:00.
Some announcements will be made soon when we meet on August.

Hoping to see you soon,

Yours in Christ,

Deacon Glenn

Easter Sunday Celebration

Greetings this Holy Week,

The Anglican Kani Mission Church in Kani city, Gifu Ken will celebrate Easter Sunday on April 24, 2011. All are invited to attend this celebration together with Filipinos in that area. We will have Easter Egg hunting after the Holy Eucharist and some games and food to share.
For directions please refer to the Anglican Kani Mission Church website:

http://kanimission.wordpress.com/

See you soon! "Let the People's praise you O God, Let the People's praise you!"

Deacon Glenn