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From 1971 just after starting, retreat has been planed once a year as minimum,
and makes one or two night stay, including Sunday, somewhere far from Tokyo.
As keeping a Sunday service there, discussion is made on selected theme.
After the retreat, there happened a big changes on the Meeting many times.
Soon after Pastor
Aso assigned a principle pastor in 1975, this circle was started once a month. Objective
is for housewives in particular. Pastor Aso’s aim to the circle was to talk
about own thinking, therefore, the pastor did not lead a meeting at all. Theme
was used to be correlation between life experience and bible preaching, or
relation with social movement and own life, as reflecting the light of Bible. Order
was bible study by pastor, and reporter follows to introduce selected book.
Everybody was requested to read the book in advance, and spoke freely. Book
selection was made at reporter’s choice. Later, Bible study shifts to member’s responsibility
after Pastor Ka succeeded. (Roba 99)
Note 5; A Bible-study group
Since major
members of Bible study group at the time of Mitake joined to the
Ookubo-Meeting, the group was preserved after leaving from the Mitake. There was
no church buildings of the Ookubo-Meeting, therefore, held at member’s home or
a room of workplace. After Pastor Aso assigned, his home was the place of that,
and continued up to present. The bible study held twice a month, first and
third Wednesdays. Member was in charge of study from Old or New Testament, and
had a talk about impression or correlation with own life. Pastor made a comment
as necessary in the case of difficult to understand. All sat down around table
for dinner. Food stuff of dinner used to fetch from the Aso farm. (Roba 99)
Note 6; Korean language Bible-study
From September, 2006, Korean language Bible-Study was started for Korean
members once two weeks in principle. Mostly study about New Testament for
one or two chapters. Theological study was not main theme, but talked about
member’s experience of daily living through bible study. It was suspended
from 2008, because of less Korean people.
Note 7; Passion Week home gatherings
During Passion Week,
member used to visit 5 different homes every week days from Monday through Friday
and share the Passion Week. Every year, visit different home. Used to visit
evening and take meals together, but sometime gather at lunch time. The first
half is meals prepared by each home, or brought food with them. Second half is
reading bible and discussions, and end with pray. (See Pastor Weekly of April
27th, 2003, or Roba160)
Note 8; Afterwards, good news to the Kurd family
Tokyo immigrant office issued special one year resident permit for the Taskin family, all three of them, from the standpoint of humanity and considering eldest daughter could enter first grade of elementary school. Ziran (daughter) is now forth grade in Japanese elementary school. (See Incident 5, “Miscellaneous” in detail)
Note 9; Kyofu-kai; The women’s dormitory of the Women’s
Christian Temperance Union
This was founded
in 1886 and oldest women’s group in Japan. Active on a peace movement, pay
serious attention to human right with sexual relation, and have campaign to
prevent damages from alcohol and tobaccos. Main office is located at Hyakunincho,
Shinjuku-ku in Tokyo.
Note 10; A society problem study meeting
It is one of youth
group at the time of Mitake (Bibliography 13 “A start of new church---On reflecting
the problem of the Mitake church”.) Started from 1960’s movement opposing the
Japan-US Security Treaty, afterwards, kept to study about correlation between church
and social problems once a month regularly. Members were mostly 30s working
adults and sober at that time. Majority of group member shifted to the
Ookubo-Meeting, currently the Hyakunincho.
Note 11; Arrangement of Tables and Chairs
When started the
Mitake praying service (former Ookubo-Meeting), they rent a small room in
second hall of Kyoufu-kai. Equipped tables and chairs were rearranged in square
in order to sit down face to face. There is no pulpit. When Pastor Aso joined,
still used this small room in a short time, but moved to larger space of kitchen
since participants increased. Still, tables and chairs equipped in kitchen were
arranged in square obviously for a Sunday service. After more than 25years,
place was moved to second floor, then to third floor of main hall. At present,
rent a room near Takadanobaba station still square arrangement was maintained.
Note 12; Weekly
Prepared a
mimeograph to make a weekly. Young two ladies in turn voluntarily took a role
to prepare mimeographed copy of weekly from second issue for a half and four
years, until succeeding by the pastor. Pastor Aso added pastor weekly in back.
Member could know that the way of things was going around the pastor.
Approximately one year later, member’s weekly was added, as like present style.
Pastor Ka started to use a personal computer making a weekly.
Note 13; Professor Kenichi Kida joined to the
Ookubo-Meeting
He was a former
president of Yamanashi-Eiwa University, and Japanese leading Theologist for
Old-Testament. He went German to study for two years at the time of an
assistance professor in Aoyama-Gakuin University. After returned, he joined to
the Ookubo-Meeting from spring, 1973. He was missionary in the Mitake Church originally,
but supported our group’s movement just until he left to Germany.
After he joined as
a member, he made preaching aggressively. He addressed in a summer retreat
(Roba 8), and he mentioned about a Sunday service program, “It might be a good
idea that firstly expresses thanks and praise for God, then testimony would be followed
with mutual response. This style would be fine as the point of listening from
the Bible in total. Program was changed immediately and drastically from August
26th just after the retreat.
Those program showed
offering and offering prayer was scheduled a head of preaching or testimony,
then, lunch and response worked into schedule of the plan. After such try and
error works, the word of testimony was fixed in replacing of words of
encouragement or preaching.
He regularly made
a testimony based upon Old Testament, and major points were printed in “Roba”. “The
Bible calls for the human beings self-identity and responsibility. Waiving
those rights is true sin.” “Individual has priority over the whole.” “We have
to read the Bible critically in the sense of right.” He repeated speaking above
theme, and added that individual have to stand alone in front of God and think
about own belief under living ordinal life.
Note 14; Incident in the summer retreat in1974
What is purpose of
the Ookubo-Meeting existed for? This was a title of testimony done on July 21st,
1974, that gave a big impact on every member. Right after this testimony, the
summer retreat was opened at Karuizawa. There were hot discussions about “expectation
of new pastor”, “needless of pastor”, “necessities of joining to the UCCJ”, or
other subjects loaded on during these more than 3 years execution of the
Ookubo-Meeting without pastor.
Looking back from
now, it looked like final preparation time (Roba 12) for invitation of Pastor
Aso.
The seasonal organ
published since December 12th, 1971. The name of “Roba” was mean of donkey. The
second number by May, 1972, was issued by putting on this name.
Our community
trail is slow foot just like a donkey, “Roba”. That’ why, we put name on our organ.
It is silly-looking and slow-moving donkey that Jesus rides on. We shall go on
the way Jesus indicated slowly and slowly. (Roba 4)
Design of head was
changed from sixth issue on August 26th, 1973, and printed photo of
sculpture titled as “Roba and Discipline” made by Sculptor Goro Kakei.
Note16; Trials in associate with freedom of religion
and separation between political and religious affaires
Lawsuits
challenging the constitutionality about Tsu Shinto ground-breaking ceremony
which pacifies the local guardian sprits (1965~1977), denial against enshrined
together by a Self-Defense Force official (1973~1988) and so on, were handled
by two member attorneys. Other members supported (Roba 20, 23 and 27).
At that time, national
preservation legislation of the Yasukuni Shrine (Roba 1) was under the way of
materialization also. Therefore, it was very important trial as standing upon
securing minorities’ right.
In result of the
policy of forcing Japanese customs, cultures, etc, on Korea etc, under past Japanese
colonial rule, some of Korean or North Korean was suffered to become a class-B
or C war criminal. Above two attorneys brought a case against past class-B or C
war criminal in order to ask Japanese government for apology and compensation. Many
members of the Hyakunincho observed a hearing.
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