The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s mission partners and institutions have expressed
thanks and provided information about specific situations and responses in the
disaster’s aftermath.
“[Your] encouragement makes us realize in Christ we are not alone,” wrote the
Korean Christian Church in Japan.
Church members and partners have told of people suffering from the disaster,
refugees living in shelters and the shortage of food, relief supplies, and fuel. They are
organizing to assess the needs and help get aid to those in the greatest need.
A spokesman for the Reformed Church of Japan wrote: “We would like to be
effective witnesses to the Lord in the midst of devastation.”
The United Church of Christ (Kyodan), a church the PC(USA) works closely with,
reported a number of members missing and at least one confirmed death. A staff
member of a nursery school related to Iwaki Church died the day of the earthquake
while communicating with the children’s parents.
Some of the churches have hosted refugees. The chapel of Shinsei Kamaishi Church
in the coastal fishing city of Kamaishi was reportedly filled with mud and oil. Built
in 2000, it was known as a pioneer “eco-church,” with a solar-power system and
transparent glass roof.
Rev. Isamu Koshiishi, moderator of the National Christian Council in Japan (NCCJ),
said, “We have been encouraged and strengthened by the many messages of support
from our Christian brothers and sisters all over the world.”
Yodogawa Christian Hospital in Osaka, one of the institutions with which the
PC(USA) has a strong relationship, wrote: “Thank you so very much for your prayers.
Our hospital patients and staff and their families are all safe, but our hearts ache as the
earthquake disasters are spreading in other parts of Japan. We are praying for God’s
protection and comfort over those people in the earthquake-affected areas.”
