Pray for Japan on Sunday, July 5, 2015
Lectionary Selection: Mark 6:1-13
Prayers for Japan:
Creator God, we praise you for your sustaining and healing presence in our lives. Your hope is like a new seedling springing forth from the ground. Thank you for the signs all around us that remind us of your ever-renewing love for the earth and for all human kind. Sometimes our hearts are heavy because of the destruction and alienation that we see before us. Sometimes we are confronted with the truth that it is our own human existence that has desecrated your beautiful creation. Bless us with the strength to repent, knowing that you will lead us to live out the Gospel, which means good news for all of your creation. As Jesus sent his disciples out in pairs charging them “to take nothing” for their journey, send us forth today, just as we are, to do your work of healing and reconciliation.
Mission Stewardship Moment from Japan:
Our partners at the Emmaus Center (Sendai, Japan), continue to walk alongside those who suffer on account of the great earthquake of March 11, 2011. This means to visit, to pray with, to work with, to plan events with, to dream with, and to continue to show concern for the families who lost houses and loved ones to the tsunami. It also means providing support for families who live in fear on account of the ongoing nuclear disaster. One day the Emmaus Center received a letter from a young mother sharing her concern for her own children, and pleading for thyroid tests to be provided in her town 50 miles north of Fukushima. With help from churches overseas, the Emmaus Center has been able to provide monthly thyroid testing for children since November 2013. They were able to respond to this mother’s request in May of this year, and are much aware that local demands for this service are ever growing.
(Prayer and Mission Moment by Jeffrey Mensendiek)
Mission Partners in Japan:
More information on Japan:
http://www.globalministries.org/japan
Global Ministries Missionary in Japan:
Jeffrey Mensendiek is assigned to Kwansei Gakuin University, on faculty of the theology department, and a chaplain of the Center for Religious Activities. His appointment is made possible by your gifts to Disciples Mission Fund, Our Churches Wider Mission, and your special gifts.