Mennonite World Review

Page 18
Mennonite World Review
August 18, 2014
EVENTS & PEOPLE
Japanese pastor moved by MB history program
BY GLADYS TERICHOW
Canadian Conference of MB Churches
WINNIPEG, Man. — As a pas­
tor of a Mennonite Brethren
church in Japan, Yoshio Fujii had
limited knowledge of the
church’s Anabaptist roots.
To learn
more about
the church’s
history and
theology, he
spent 2013-14
studying at
Fresno (Calif.)
Pacific Bibli­
cal Seminary,
Fujii
followed by a
five-week MB Historical Com­
mission archival internship in
May and June.
Through his seminary studies
and research at the centers for
MB studies in Winnipeg, Abbots-
ford, B.C., Hillsboro, Kan., and
Fresno, he gained a deep appreci­
ation for community-based disci­
pleship that strives to exemplify
the spirit and actions of Jesus.
“Anabaptists found a way to
have a living faith,” he said. “It is
a way of life. It is a beautiful
faith.”
Fujii and his wife, Megumi,
provide pastoral care at Senboku
Christ Church in Osaka. Before
moving to Osaka, they were pas­
tors of North Christ Church in
Hiroshima. Fujii also teaches at
the Evangelical Biblical Semi­
nary in Osaka.
Loss leads to questions
Fujii says his interest in the
history of the Japanese Mennon­
ite Brethren Conference stems
from the loss of identity and
roots that he felt when his father
died in 2011.
This personal loss took place
just a few weeks after an earth­
quake and tsunami struck Japan.
More than 18,000 people were
killed, and the Fukushima nu­
clear plant was damaged.
“To this natural and artificial
disaster, the [Japanese Mennon­
ite Brethren Conference], in­
cluding me, had no idea how to
respond,” he said. “I wanted to
know: How can we help people
who are needy and suffering?”
MB churches in Japan, he said,
teach the good news of salvation
and assurance of eternal life in
heaven.
“Individually, we say in our
hearts that we follow Jesus, but
it is an invisible faith to our
neighbors,” Fujii said. “How to
make our invisible faith into a
visible faith — that is my inter­
est.”
Christlike lives
While in North America, Fujii
learned how Anabaptist church­
es work for peace and justice
through demonstrating Christ­
like responses. He learned about
the history and ministries of
Mennonite Central Committee
and MB Mission in Japan.
During his archival internship,
Fujii read handwritten letters
and reports by MB missionaries
in Japan. He was moved by their
dedication and commitment to
starting MB churches and a Bible
college in Japan.
One his greatest sources of in­
spiration and learning was wit­
nessing the daily lives and choic­
es of his professors in Fresno and
the people he met during his
archival internship.
“It was through the way they
lived that I learned a lot about
Anabaptism,” Fujii said. “They
show kindness to foreigners.
They care for the marginalized
and minorities. They have com­
passion for the poor, the needy
and the hungry. It is not just a
private faith; it is a transformed
life.”
When he returns to Osaka, he
plans to use his influence as a
pastor and professor to inspire
and equip people to demonstrate
Christlike responses in daily life.
Some of the concerns in Japan
are inequality between men and
women, educated and uneducat­
ed, Japanese and non-Japanese,
Fujii said.
Men have a difficult time bal­
ancing work and personal lives.
The elderly and people living in
poverty and with disabilities
need love and care.
“We want to pay more atten­
tion to loving people,” he said.
MennoMedia begins
Denver couple recipients
Amish recipe column
of Everence Journey Award
n ‘Lovina’s Amish
Kitchen’ began July 1
n Regional honorees named
from across the country
MennoMedia
Everence
HARRISONBURG, Va. —
Lovina Eicher, an Old Order
Amish cooking columnist, is
now syndicating her column
with MennoMedia under a new
name, “Lovina’s Amish
Kitchen,” which began July 1.
Eicher is also the author of
several cookbooks: The Amish
Cook at Home, The Amish
Cook’s Anniversary Book and
Amish Baking Book.
In addition to recipes, the
wife and mother of eight writes
about her family. The Eichers
live on a working farm in the
Midwest.
Eicher was a girl when her
mother, Elizabeth Coblentz, be­
gan writing The Amish Cook in
1991. Eicher took over the col­
umn when Coblentz died in
2002. She has gathered a loyal
following since then.
“The past columns, written
by my mother and then by me,
are very much like a diary,”
Eicher writes. “Sometimes I
read through them and see
things that I wrote about the
DENVER — Merv and Ardith
Eigsti have been named the re­
cipients of the national Journey
Award from Everence.
The award was presented Aug.
3 at their home church, Glennon
Heights Mennonite Church in
Lakewood.
The award recognizes the
Eigstis’ abundant hospitality to
people of all races and nationali­
ties in Denver.
They are models of how ordi­
nary people can give their time
and share their home with immi­
grants, new neighbors and
church attenders.
“Merv and Ardith have lived a
life so full of giving that for many
in the communities with which
they interact, they have become
the very definition of humble
generosity,” said Glennon
Heights Pastor Betsy Headrick
McCrae.
Created in 2001, the Journey
Award highlights what people of
faith are doing as stewards of
their God-given gifts.
As a part of the award, Ever-
Peace Sunday
scheduled for Sept. 21
ELKHART, Ind. — Sept. 21 has
been designated as Peace Sunday
by Mennonite Church USA and
Mennonite World Conference.
Peace Sunday is the Sunday
closest to the United Nations’
International Day of Peace. The
Peace and Justice Support Net­
work has created worship mate­
rials that congregations may use
on this or any Sunday. Peace
Sunday is an annual opportunity
to acknowledge and respond to
the violence that continues to be
our culture’s all-too-frequent re­
sponse to conflict.
The theme for this year’s re-
children that I would have oth­
erwise forgotten.”
She is an active member of an
Old Order Amish church and
frequently writes about her
community and customs.
“As Lovina was thinking
about stopping her former col­
umn, we were pleased to be
able to partner with her in
launching this new endeavor
and become her syndicate,” said
MennoMedia editorial director
Amy Gingerich.
Eicher pursues this “family
journal” as a cottage industry
acceptable in most Amish com­
munities. She writes her weekly
column with pen and paper to
submit to MennoMedia. Staff
then type the column and send
it to papers via email. Staff also
post each column on a website,
lovinasamishkitchen.com, and
maintain Facebook and Twitter
accounts on behalf of the col­
umnist.
sources is “Pray for the Peace of
Jerusalem.” Materials include
prayers, sermon seeds, children’s
stories and song suggestions.
“The ongoing violence in the
Middle East grieves all peace­
makers,” said Jason Boone, coor­
dinating minister of PJSN.
“Jerusalem is a microcosm of
that violence. Engaging the ten­
sions and tragedies there prayer­
fully, as communities of faith, is
an important part of seeking
shalom for everyone touched by
the conflict.”
Peace Sunday resources were
written by Tom Harder, co-pas­
tor of Lorraine Avenue Mennon­
ite Church in Wichita, Kan, avail­
able at pjsn.org.
— Mennonite Mission Network
Documentary tells
N.Y. community’s story
CROGHAN, N.Y. — A documen­
tary about Lewis County Men­
nonites will have a free screening
at 6 p.m. Aug. 30 in the Lowville
Town Hall Theater.
The premiere will include the
45-minute documentary fol­
lowed by a question-and-answer
panel and a short piano concert
by Jacqueline Schwab — known
for her work on several Ken
Burns documentaries.
Simple Servants is the power­
ful, little-known story of the
Lewis County Mennonites whose
struggle to freely practice their
faith led them in 1833 to the
Everence
Merv and Ardith Eigsti are the recipients of Everence’s Journey
Award.
ence will make a $5,000 dona­
tion to the charity of the recipi­
ents’ choice. The Eigstis will give
a portion of the award to Rocky
Mountain Mennonite Camp,
Glennon Heights Mennonite
Church, Second Chance Center,
Community Ministries, Family
Promise of Denver and Hopi
Mission School.
Regional Journey Award hon­
orees, who can make $500 dona­
tions to the charities of their
choice, are:
n Ken Harder, Meade, Kan.
n Paul Munk, Chapel Hill, N.C.
n Wilmer Otto, Arcola, Ill.
n Paul and Maryann Payne,
Belleville, Pa.
n Ron and Arbutus Sider,
Lansdale, Pa.
n Bob Stoner, Millersville, Pa.
n George and Carol Tobin,
Harrisonburg, Va.
rugged wilderness of Northern
New York, where they finally
found a place to call home.
Filmmaker Dawson Grau, a
sixth-generation Lewis County
Mennonite descendent, spent
more than a year completing the
film. Grau researched local and
national sources on Mennonite
heritage and history. He
searched through thousands of
photos from local Mennonite
historians, church archives and
the Lewis County Historical So­
ciety to write, direct and produce
the film.
“I’m excited to share the story
of the Lewis County Mennonites
with the community and the
world because I truly believe it’s
an important but relatively un­
known story,” Grau said. “This is
the first time this story has been
told on film, which will reach
new audiences in a whole new
way, for generations to come.”
He worked hand in hand with
Schwab to create an original film
score featuring traditional
hymns used in Mennonite wor­
ship, including four-part harmo­
ny performed by local Mennon­
ites.
The screening is sponsored by
the Adirondack Mennonite Her­
itage Association and Lewis
County Historical Society. The
AMHA commissioned the film,
which will be available for pur­
chase in September. More infor­
mation is at simpleservants.com.
— AMHA and LCHS