Pray with Japan on Sunday, September 9, 2018

Lectionary Selection:  Mark 7 :24-37

Prayers for Japan:

Life giving God, we pray for your healing grace for people in Japan, where severe heat, torrential rains and landslides have taken precious lives and left people in despair.

For those who have lost loved ones, we ask for your comfort.

For those who have lost their homes and means of livelihood, we ask for your guidance. May they be given the assistance needed to restore their lives.

We pray also for the people in Fukushima, who suffer from health problems caused by the nuclear disaster and are still anxious about their future.

May the leaders of Japan make wise policy choices that are safe for the environment and future generations.

We pray for the people of Okinawa, who mourn the passing of Governor Onaga, a tireless leader standing up against the Japanese government in the pursuit of peace and justice for the people of those islands. We ask for your blessings on the upcoming elections and on the continued work for peace.

We pray for the Bazaar Café Ministry in Kyoto. May it continue to be a healing community grounded in your love.

We pray in the name of Jesus Christ, who brought healing to those he touched, and continues to be our inspiration for healing and peace.

Amen

Mission Stewardship Moment from Japan:

September 8th would have been Teruko’s 56th birthday. Teruko Enomoto, who passed away in April, was a pastor who started an AIDS ministry in Japan, and was a counselor, friend, teacher, for hundreds and hundreds of persons with HIV, LGBTQ persons, those with various medical conditions, disabilities, addictions, as well as many young students. She was the inspiration behind the Bazaar Café, a coffee house ministry in Kyoto. She had amazing charisma and charming humor, a wonderful ability to relate to people, and a knack for connecting people. In her final years, confined to a wheel chair and on oxygen, she continued her teaching and counseling, and still managed to inspire people. In her final months, limited to her hospital bed, she wrote Facebook posts that spoke candidly of her struggles to accept her physical limitations and about her appreciation for all the people who helped her in her weakest moments. She also spoke directly about death and about her strong faith. Hundreds of people, mostly non-Christian, followed these lengthy posts, which were like sermons. Two weeks before she died, she asked me to come to the hospital. She told me that she wanted to make sure that the Bazaar Café really focused on being a healing place for people who are weak or ill, lonely or depressed. That was her last message to me that I hold in my heart. Together with other staff I want to help nurture the Bazaar Café community to be a healing place where people can feel the hope for life.

                                                            (Prayer and Mission Moment by Martha Mensendiek)

Mission Partners in Japan:

More information on Japan: https://www.globalministries.org/japan

Global Ministries Mission Coworker in Japan:
Martha Mensendiek, serves with Doshisha University, Kyoto, Japan as a social welfare teacher. Her appointment is made possible by your gifts to Disciples’ Mission Fund, Our Churches Wider Mission, and your special gifts.