Taiwan Church News
3395 Edition
20 – 26 March, 2017
Church Ministry
Six Years After 11 March 2011 Earthquake And Tsunami, Rev Chang Te-chien Gives His Sermon At Japan
Reported by Chen Yi-hsuan
After six years of the 2011 Tohuku earthquake and tsunami, in order to commemorate the suffered victims, their families and the Japanese societies, Rev Chang Te-chien was invited by the United Church of Christ in Japan (UCCJ) to give his sermon in a memorial service at the lecture hall of Waseda University on 11 March.
In his sermon, entitled as “Relieve the sufferings, share God’s grace”, Rev Chang Te-chien, the general secretary of PCT then in 2011, stressed that a close relationship between the church of both Japan and Taiwan will be long standing, even facing a devastated disaster like this Great East Japan Earthquake. “This is because we are in the same body of our Lord, and we will share much more God’s abundant grace in the future!”, Rev Chang said.
Facing a giant catastrophe beyond our past experiences, Rev Chang encouraged the audience in his sermon, it is a practical task for us neither to look back and get trapped nor to beautify the event and get lost. Because in faith we have our Lord with us and our church by us, and we can have strength to overcome the problems lying ahead through mutual support to relive the sufferings and experience amazing grace from God, Rev said.
Rev Ishibashi Hideo, Moderator of UCCJ during the 2011 earthquake, expressed in the memorial service that he was once baffled and questioned God why this great catastrophe occurred to Japan in his term as UCCJ Moderator? But, after a working partnership with PCT to offer first aid to those needed, Rev Ishibashi said he had built a strong relationship with Rev Chang and learned much more precious experiences from PCT ministries in Taiwan.
The major purpose of UCCJ’s invitation of Rev Chang to attend the sixth anniversary of memorial service for the 2011 Tohuku earthquake and tsunami was to express UCCJ’s deep appreciation for PCT’s offerings and support for the ministry of rehabilitation and re-econstruction in the past six years. In the service, Rev Ishibashi, representing UCCJ, also presented a thanking certificate to PCT, represented by Rev Chang, for PCT’s generous support and persistent engagement in a challenging ministry for the traumatized Japanese people.
Translated by Peter Wolfe
