Church Mission Society (CMS)

41 years in Japan - an amazing life in mission

It’s not every day you meet someone who’s been a missionary in Japan for 41 years.

But yesterday I got to talk to Pam Cooper for some fascinating insights on Japan today, the place of the church there – and just how it’s changed since Pam first arrived in the late 60s.

The first thing that hit Pam (not literally) on arrival in Tokyo in 1968 were the doors on the taxis – they opened automatically – with taxi drivers always in white gloves. She was also surprised to see Max Factor makeup in the department stores – she’d arrived with a bag full of it from home.

Buildings were low-rise – and to my surprise they’ve stayed that way in Osaka, the city where Pam’s been based, as chaplain of Poole Gakuin University, for most of her time in Japan.

In recent years she’s been assistant vicar of Christ Church Shonai – and is ordained in the Nippon Sei Ko Kai, the Anglican Church in Japan.

In her 41 years, Pam’s seen worrying trends develop in Japanese society: a steep rise in suicide rates, breakdowns in discipline in education combined with tremendous pressure on young people to succeed, and the modern phenomenon of young people shutting themselves in their rooms and living their whole lives there – now seen as a legitimate lifestyle option by many.

Curiously, given the ubiquity of Japanese technology and Japan’s economic importance, Japanese culture, Pam says, is in many ways inward looking and isolated – perhaps due to the sheer difficulty of the language.

Most people in Japan may have a secular sensibility but traditional religion looms large in culture. Buddhism in Japan though is largely associated with memorialising and praying for the dead – Pam bemoans the dearth of spiritual teaching for this life.

It’s pointed up by the comment of one non-Christian woman in her 60s who’s been attending Pam’s monthly Bible study for graduates – “Coming here has taught me how to live.”

But the total number of Christians in Japan remains less than one per cent and Pam has a passion to see more Christians from all over the world go there and show the church there it is not alone.

Watch the podcast and audio pages of the CMS website for an edited version of my interview with Pam, who's been celebrated today at the CMS centre in Oxford with a surprise farewelll service and lunch.

For the time being I'll leave you with this short audio clip where Pam describes the mission needs of Japan in her own words.

Download MP3 audio: Pam asks you to pray for Japan

Jeremy Woodham

Congo Now at the SouthBank Centre

If you've been following the story of Congo over the past few years and are within striking distance of London, there's an interesting event coming up on the South Bank.

Congo Now (7 May) is an evening of art, performance and discussion featuring Eric Joyce MP, chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on the Great Lakes and Tim Butcher, author of Blood River (which features former CMS mission partner Louise Wright). There's dance, music and photographs, plus Marie Clare-Faray of COMMON CAUSE: Platform of Congolese Women.

Details:Southbank Centre > All Events > Congo Now: Tim Butcher, Marie Clare-Faray, Eric Joyce MP, Oona King and Susan Shulman.

There are other Congo Now events too:

Monday 4 May (11:00-11:45) – Congolese international and West Ham star Herita Ilunga will launch the week at a community football tournament in Regent’s Park in cooperation with Christian Aid. A Question & Answer session with budding footballers will be followed by a statement and photo opportunity at the Hub.

Tuesday 5 May (16:00-17:30) – The Road to 2011: conflict, governance and democracy in the DRC. Vital Kamerhe (TBC), former President of the Congolese National Assembly, and FCO minister responsible for Africa, Lord Malloch-Brown, will take part in a public debate in Parliament discussing prospects for peace and stability in the run-up to elections in 2011. Boothroyd Room, Portcullis House.

Friday 8 May (09:00-10:00) – Another Kind of Struggle: the Impact of the Global Economic Crisis on the Democratic Republic of Congo – a discussion chaired by Dr Muzong Kodi at Chatham House.

More details on the All Party Parliamentary Group website: http://www.africagreatlakes.org/

Faithful improv - new treasures and old

This is one of the terms picked up on by CMS's Jonny Baker in the latest Leadership Journal, as he reflects on the ways emerging churches in the UK and elsewhere are improvising new takes on very old traditions, as they try to create meaningful worship.

He cites among other the Hamilton Stations of the Cross in New Zealand (pictured) as examples of "one of Jesus' least known parables" - where a teacher who 'gets' the kingdom is like someone who goes to the cupboard and brings out new treasures as well as old (Matt 13:52).

"When tradition is kept alive," Jonny asserts, "it actually subverts the traditionalism that attempts to the choke life from a community."

Read Something Old, Something New by Jonny Baker

Celebrities appear on Sat-7 Easter special

Many of the most popular satellite TV shows across the Middle East are made in Lebanon, but few people know how many of their favourite personalities are Christians.

So say CMS's partners at Sat-7, which broadcast Christian programmes across the region.

Tomorrow several leading Lebanese TV show hosts take to the Sat-7 airwaves for an Easter special where they'll be talking about the importance of their faith.

These hosts include Ricardo Karam (from the LBC channel, pictured) who is well known for interviewing American and French presidents and famous celebrities like Celine Dion and Pavarotti.

Other Lebanese celebrities appearing on the programme include Hiam Abou Shdeed (the main presenter for Studio Al Fan), Maggy Aoun (LBC), and Katia Khoury Mounadalak (LBC, MTV).

All these famous hosts donated their time to appear on Sat-7.

During the Sat-7 Easter special entitled And Follow Me the guest hosts will profile of a number of ministries working to help the poor, refugees and orphans in the area, and each host is presenting a special gift to these ministries.

Archbishop of York profiled on BBC by CMS voices

Much in the news this week with his views on Englishness, the Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu is the subject of this weekend’s BBC Radio 4 ‘Profile’ programme.

Archbishop Rowan Williams (Patron of CMS) will take part and so too Margaret Ford (a former CMS mission partner who has vivid memories of him as a young man in Uganda).

John Martin, CMS Head of Communication also appears, talking about when he and Dr Sentamu were neighbours in Stepney.

Profile, BBC Radio 4, Saturday 11 April 1900 hours, repeated Sunday 12 April at 1745

PS Archbishop John follows CMS on Twitter - do you?

Indian churches call for elections to be postponed

Elections in the Indian state of Orissa should be called off until peace has fully returned to the violence-hit state of Orissa, say Indian church leaders.

The Church of North India has added its voice to protests by Christians in Orissa, saying that with 20,000 people still displaced and living in fear in Orissa's forests, they won't be able to exercise their right to vote.

People are worried that Hindu extremist parties will take advantage of the situation, said the Rev Dr Enos Das Pradhan, general secretary of the Church of North India at a seminar at CMS. Many displaced people are still too fearful to return home, let alone vote.

Churches are still frustrated at not being allowed to bring direct relief to Christians affected by the wave of anti-Christian violence that erupted last August.

The only permitted channel for relief is through the Indian Red Cross. Aid provided by the churches must be handed over to them.

The Rt Rev JW Gladstone, moderator of the Church of South India, told how violence and persecution was spreading throughout the country in a variety of ways.

He cited a recent CSI missionary who had his feet blown off by a land mine that had been laid on his regular path as he visited a certain village. In Kerala, which has a large Christian population, proposals for five new church buildings were blocked after objections by rightwing Hindu parties.

At the CMS seminar research scholar Brainerd Prince also gave a fascinating analysis of the different "narratives" which formed the worldviews of the different communities in Orissa, asking how much these were at the root of the inter-communal violence.

Country Life seeks unsung church heroes

The hunt is on for unsung church volunteers who keep their local communities alive - with the winners featured in Country Life magazine.

The magazine has teamed up with the Church of England to seek out the humble volunteers who work in churches and chapels of all denominations, keeping the activity going that makes these places the hub of the community.

Archbishop Rowan Williams writes in the competition issue of Country Life (8 April):

"In our countryside, armies of unsung heroes are keeping the circulation going in the community’s body. They are organising community celebrations and simple local services like mothers and toddlers groups or drop-in centres. But they are increasingly stepping into the gaps that have opened up in rural society in the last ten years or so."

Surely there are hundreds of CMS members and supporters out there who fit into this category? If you would like to nominate anyone, there are more details on the CofE website.

In 2005, a former CMS mission partner in Sudan, the Rev Richard Morgan (pictured), won Country Life's search for England's best-loved country parson, which garnered quite a bit of media coverage.

Let's see if another CMS hero can triumph this year.

Mark Berry and Safespace podcast

CMS's Mark Berry - pioneer leader in Telford with the Safespace community, who was the subject of a recent documentary on Radio 4 - is featured on this month's podcast from Fresh Expressions, of which CMS is a national partner.

Head over to the Fresh Expressions site to listen to Mark talking about what it means to create a 'safe space' for risk-taking.