SAKURA DAYORI 桜便り 2019.pdf · 2020-03-12 · Sakura Dayori Page 4 March 2019 ESSAGE power to otherwise. It’s having the ability to see the big picture, instead of being focused

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Volume 55 March 2019 No. 3

SAKURA DAYORI 桜便り SJUMC, the Garden Church

Senior Pastor: Rev. Motoe Yamada Foor

Pastor Emeritus: Rev. George Nishikawa

Pastor of Visitation: Rev. Peter Willms

Family Ministry Director: Momoko Tamaoki Newsome

Choir Director: Lyssa Ogilbee

Office Manager: Cathy Mayeda

Phone: (916) 421-1017 Fax: (916) 391-3620

Website: www.sacjumc.com Worship: Sunday at 10:30 a.m.

Disciple Making Workshop

Creating a Discipleship System March 2 at Faith UMC (9:30am-12:30pm)

Futurecasting, with Rev. Dr. Craig Kennet Miller

March 30 at Sacramento Japanese UMC 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM

March 10th

LENT - Busy: Reconnecting with an Unhurried God

Come to me all you who are weary and are carrying heavy bur-dens, I will give you rest. — Matthew 11:28

The season of Lent has often been a time when we think about "giving something up”—a holdover from its penitential flavor in the medieval church. But what if we thought lless about "giving up" and more about "making room?" In this Lent series, we will find out what it really costs to be so busy. Let us reconnect to an unhurried God.

Ash Wednesday Service

Wednesday, March 6 7:00pm

(child care 6:30 -8:30) At SJUMC

March 13 – April 27

Wednesdays at 1:30pm

Bible Study Journey to Jerusalem

With Elaine Deatherage

Elaine Deatherage will lead a class for Lent, “Journey to Jerusalem”. We will study and discuss the gospel of Luke. All are welcome to join us on our journey with Jesus!

to Jerusalem JOURNEY

http://www.sacjumc.com/

Sakura Dayori Page 2 March 2019

Ushers March 3 — Philip & Lois Yuki March 10 — Tod & Christie

Nakatsuka

March 17 — Karen Fong, Susan Otani

March 24 — Julie Nishite, Meggie Tanaka

March 31 — Elaine Maeda,

Joyce Oshiro

Greeters

March 3 — Frances Lee

March 10 — Yoshiko Harper

March 17 — Millie Wataji

March 24 —Kiku Ito

March 31 —Belle Ito

Welcome Table

March 3 — Kathy Marquardt,

Lorenzo Moreno

March 10 — Albert Shum, Yuki Kozuma

March 17— Kyung Chang, Julie Nishite

March 24 — Keiko Kato, Wayne Shimizu

March 31 — Yoshiko Harper,

Yoshiko Nishikawaa

March 3, 2019 Last Sunday after the Epiphany Exodus 34:29-35; Psalm 99; 2 Corinthians 3:12–4:2; Luke 9:28-36, (37-43a)

March 10, 2019 1st Sunday of Lent Deuteronomy 26:1-11; Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16; Romans 10:8b-13; Luke 4:1-13

March 17, 2019 2nd Sunday of Lent Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18; Psalm 27; Philippians 3:17–4:1; Luke 13:31-35

March 24, 2019 3rd Sunday of Lent Isaiah 55:1-9; Psalm 63:1-8; 1 Corinthians 10:1-13; Luke 13:1-9

March 31, 2019 4th Sunday of Lent Joshua 5:9-12; Psalm 32; 2 Corinthians 5:16-21; Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

Invitation to Worship

March Security Tobans Eric Hirata, Jim Williamson


Introducing SJUMC’s new Friendly Visitor program!

Have you ever been blessed by “bringing the church” to those at Carlton Plaza? Or visited a loved one who is confined to their home? Their joy at seeing you, and knowing someone cares for them and has taken the time to come see them is priceless! God also blesses the widows and orphans and calls

us to visit them and remember them, on behalf of Jesus Christ.

“And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison

and visited you?' Matthew 25:39

What is a Friendly Visitor? It is someone who will visit, call or send a card once a month to a person who is not able to come to church/a shut-in. It can be a short visit - 10-15 minutes or

longer (depending on the person’s capacity).

• Bring a Sunday bulletin, Upper Room or the latest newsletter.

• Ask how they are doing, share what’s going on at the church, and remind them that God loves them and that we remember them. Our prayer group prays for all the shut-ins every 3 weeks and our pastors pray for them regularly, so please tell them they are prayed for by the church. (as a Friendly Visitor, you are representing the church when you go to visit

someone)

• You can read scripture or the Upper Room, and pray for them (it can even be a prayer you

read from a card) or you can sing songs or hymns (there are song sheets in the office).

For Easter and Christmas, the UMW provides flowers or a devotional book that you can bring

to your person.

The Caregiving team meets once a month on the second Tuesday at 10:00 am. Friendly

Visitors are welcome to attend the meeting but it is not required.

There is a brief log that we ask you to fill out after your visit or call. Periodically, Rev Motoe would be interested in reading your log so she can keep up to date with these church members. Of course, if anyone would like a pastoral visit, please be sure to let Rev Motoe know so she can

visit them.

If you haven’t done this before, we encourage you to try this out during Lent (it will be one of the Lenten mission opportunities). You don’t need to commit to visiting this person monthly, just one or two times during Lent and Easter would be great! Then, you can decide if it is something

you’d like to continue doing throughout the year.

You can also team up with 1-2 others to make it a group activity, or go with your small group.

Families with young children would be a special treat for these people/shut-ins!

May God guide you and grow your faith as you become a Friendly Visitor to someone who would really appreciate seeing you! A list of names and addresses of these church members will

be available in the office.

Thank you and may God bless you as you go out and take the love of Jesus Christ to people!


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

As of January 31, 2019

GENERAL FUND

In Celebration of Stimson & Betty Suzuki Kokka, M/M Harvey In Memory of May Ukita Alicaya, M/M Chuck Ronay, M/M Kelvin In Memory of Kazuko Matsuoka Gosney, Kathy Hamai M/M George Hamakawa Mayumi Ikami, Lily Ito, Shizue Kashiwagi, Sue Kobayashi, M/M Charles Kushi, Frances Niiya, M/M Herbert Oguro, M/M Keith Sakauye, M/M Jiro Matsumura, Jill Shimazu, Glen Takehara, Janet Yamadera, Mickey In Memory of Francisca DeGuzman Kubo, M/M Edwin DeGuzman, Joel In Memory of Kay Kodakani Hamai M/M George In Memory of Jay Kubochi Yamadera, Mickey Yamadera, M/M Richard In Memory of Sabuo Kawamura Kawamura, Shiro

Choir Fund Imagire, M/M Art Kubo, M/M Edwin Ishii, Carolyn

Human Relations Day Imagire, M/M Art Kawahara, Amy Otani, Susan Shibata, M/M Victor

Christmas Offering Fong, M/M Dan Hamai, M/M George Harvey, Yurie Koshiyama, Hiroko Kunz, Tomi Matsuo, M/M Ben Oshita, M/M Michael Sato, Kenneth Shibata, M/M Victor Matsui, Doris Yamdera, Mickey Yee, Dorothy In Memory of Rev. Casper Horikoshi Horikoshi, Kathy

IMPROVEMENT FUND

In Memory of Ben Sakakihara Lucille Sakakihara In Memory of Keiko Nakata Marquardt, Kathy In Memory of Francisca DeGuzman Marquardt, Kathy In Memory of Kazuko Matsuoka Marquardt, Kathy

KINGDOM FUND

In Memory of Kazuko Matsoka Maeda, Elaine


Holy Baptism These Children were baptized on February 17th

Welcome to SJUMC!

Kiley was born on October 13, 2008 in Sacramento. She is 10 years old. Her

mother (Michelle) was baptized at SJUMC and her father (Kip) was born in Phoenix, AZ and baptized at St. Henry Cathlolic Church, Buckeye, AZ. Kiley loves arts, crafts, playing outdoors, and can bake a really yummy apple pie from scratch. She is really creative, funny, kind and loving.

Keilani was born on May 15, 2014, at Mercy General Hospital in Sacramento.

She is four years old. Her mother (Liane) was baptized at SJUMC and her father (Wayne) was baptized at Bethel Christian Center in Riverside, CA. Keilani’s favor-ite bedtime prayer is “Gentle Jesus.” She is looking forward to starting kindergarten this year and enjoys swimming and playing soccer. One of Keilani’s greatest attrib-utes is being a loving, caring and patient big sister to Eliana.

Eliana was born on March 11, 2017, at Sutter Medical Center in Sacramento.

The meaning of her name is “God has answered.” Eliana is 23 months old. She enjoys dancing, singing and being read to. Eliana looks up to her older sister Keilani (KK) and likes to mimic KK’s ac-tions. Her favorite song is “Baby Shark” and she LOVES eating raisins.

On this day of baptism may God, who loves us all, smile lovingly upon each child, so innocent and

small...and may God guide these girls throughout the years ahead as blessings light the pathway where

those feet are led.

Join us in Family Worship:

1st Sunday of each month!

Come to our family service where all ages can worship together.

Bring your whole family!


power to otherwise. It’s having the ability to see the big picture, instead of being focused on the respect, deference, and treatment we feel we deserve. If we want to be people who love mercy, we need to remember: (1) how much mercy we require from God: Despite constant betrayal, God responds with pa-tience and mercy, ultimately, sending the sinless Christ to the cross for our sins. How much mercy we require from others: We need to remember how much mercy we’re shown by the people around us, and the fact that it’s not always an easy choice for them either. (2) Mercy can do what judgement can’t. Showing mercy can often engender true change when doing what seems just can’t. (3) We’re called to follow God’s exam-ple. Jesus said “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36). By showing forgiveness, deep kindness and warmth for others and wanting the best for them—even when they might not deserve it—we’re be-coming lovers of mercy. We have a model for humility in Jesus. He personified the humble character that God expects from us, He wasn’t a wallflower who lacked confidence. Paul wrote: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Ra-ther, in humility, value others above yourself, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of others.” (Philippians 2:3-11) Five tips for walking humbly that we can learn from this passage: (1) Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Our intentions matter. We’re not to make decisions based on our prominence or how it will make us appear—even if the action is right. We need to cultivate a healthy self-awareness that helps us see when we’re doing things to pro-mote and elevate ourselves. (2) Value others more highly than ourselves. We need to

In preparation for Lent this month, I was plan-

ning on writing an article promoting the vari-ous opportunities for service available at SJUMC. However, my practice is to pray before starting to write and ask God what God wishes me to express. Instead, the above Bible passage was given to me. So, I went online to various sites to unpack inter-pretations of this well-known verse. Following the Holy Spirit’s lead, I guess I’m meant to share some of what I learned with you! (Excerpts from jesusfilm.org) What does it mean to act justly? Tips for learning to do justice: God’s justice isn’t about punishment—it’s about fairness. Learning to do justly is about learning to see the world with God’s sense of impartiality. We do justice when we: (1) Recognize that social systems are not always equitable. Who in our community needs someone to care for them? The poor? The homeless? Immigrants? (2) Realize that God expects us to act. It’s not enough to be sad about injus-tice or to hope that we’ll eventually get around to doing something for someone in need. God wants people who care enough to take action. (3) Realize that justice isn’t based on personal virtues. God’s sense of equity ex-tends to all. He doesn’t show preference to good people and allow bad people to suffer. God sends his warming sun and the refresh-ing rain to them all. And he wants us to show the same kind of impartiality. In an unfair world, we should be a stabilizing force, help-ing to make the world a more equitable place to live. What is mercy? Mercy is a sacrifice. It’s not just about being nice. It’s a kindness that is extended at personal cost when it’s within our

MESSAGE FROM OUR LAY LEADER

“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you?


Donations Given for Pledges

Received as of January 31, 2019

IMPROVEMENT FUND PLEDGES

M/M Chuck Alicaya Scott* E. Chung M/M Dale* Fong Karen* Fong Lincoln* Fujii M/M Mark* Hagiya M/M Jeff Harada M/M Stanley Hiuga M/M Art* Imagire Belle* Ito M/M James Ito M/M Henry Johnson M/M Russell* Kanemasu George* Kashiwagi M/M Raymond Kato Amy* Kawahara M/M Robert* Kimoto Yuki* Kozuma M/M Tony Lewis M/M Ben Matsuo Joanne * Mikami Mary* Nakamura M/M Kent* Nakashima Mary Ann* Nakashima Tod Nakatsuka M/M Herbert Niiya Julie* Nishite Susan* Otani Margaret* Saito M/M Roy* Sato M/M Stuart* Satow M/M Victor* Shibata Glen Shimazu M/M Russell I. Tanaka Sue* Teranishi Millie Wataji Mickey* Yamadera M/M Philip* Yuki

KINGDOM FUND PLEDGES Scott* E. Chung M/M Dale* Fong Belle* Ito Amy* Kawahara M/M Robert* Kimoto Tod Nakatsuka Susan* Otani M/M Kelvin Ronay M/M Roy* Sato Curtis Takechi Sue* Teranishi M/M Simon Yeh M/M Stuart* Satow

Lake Tahoe Fellowship Retreat July 21-26, 2019

Registration for Zephyr Retreat is open! The 40th Northern California Japanese Chris-tian Church Fellowship (NCJCCF) will be held at Zephyr Point, Lake Tahoe, July 21-26, 2019. It is a scenic and peaceful lake side location ideal for relaxation and spiritual renewal. This year’s guest speaker will be Rev. Mike Frie-drich. His theme is “Ordinary People Finding Themselves with Extraordinary Powers .” Rev. Mike is a United Methodist minister serving the Bay District as a free-lance volunteer deacon. Prior to ministry, he spent 35 years in the com-ic book industry as a writer, agent for artists, etc. He retired in 2011 to attend seminary. Early bird registration deadline is March 1st. Last day to register is March 22, 2019. Please see the website for more info and forms. Ques-tions? See Jill Kanemasu or Lori Lee. Hope to see you in Lake Tahoe this year!


Donations Given for PLEDGES

Received as of January 31, 2019

GENERAL FUND PLEDGES M/M Nelson Akabori M/M Chuck Alicaya Scott* E. Chung Roxanne Davenport Michiko Fagin M/M Dale* Fong Karen* Fong Lincoln* Fujii Megumi* Goi Louise Gotan M/M Mark Hagiya Mayumi* Hamakawa Yoshiko* Harper Yurie* Harvey M/M Tom Hoshisaki M/M John Hosoume Lily* Ikami M/M Art* Imagire Andrew* Inouye Belle* Ito M/M James Ito Shizue* Ito M/M Henry Johnson M/M Clarence* Kado M/M Russell Kanemasu George* Kashiwagi Keiko Kato Amy* Kawahara M/M Robert* Kimoto George "Chip" Krause M/M Edwin* Kubo Norman Kujubu Loretta Lee M/M Tony Lewis Ernest Lehr Patty Lum Dr/M Melvin* Maeda Elaine* Maeda Kathy* Marquardt Ayako* Marshall Christopher* Matsumoto M/M Ben Matsuo Mark McLean

Joanne * Mikami M/M Max* Mizoguchi Lincoln Morinaga Janice Nakamura Mary* Nakamura Emma Nakamura & Family M/M Kent* Nakashima Mary Ann* Nakashima Roger* Nakashima Tod Nakatsuka Ken Namikawa Rev/M George Nishikawa M/M Curtis Notsinneh Irene* Osuga Michiyo* Osuga Susan* Otani M/M Kelvin Ronay Chuck Rudberg M/M Isaac Isao Saito Katherine* Sakamoto Vickie* Sakauye-Tom M/M Roy* Sato M/M Stuart* Satow M/M Victor* Shibata M/M Albert Shum Frances* Sumida M/M Stimson Suzuki M/M Curtis Takechi Atsuko* Takeda Frank Tanaka M/M Russell I. Tanaka Dr/M Jun Tanimoto Seiko Tateishi Sue* Teranishi Linda Tomita M/M Kenneth Toyama M/M James Umino Millie Wataji Rose Williams Gladys* Wong Mickey* Yamadera M/M Richard* Yang M/M Simon Yeh Frances* Kushi


are available in the Fellowship Hall

SJUMC Sunday Hospitality

Schedule

Please mark your calendars for the God’s Community Table Sundays (3/17)! We have been having much better participation and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts! Open dates are available for any group, fami-ly or friends to host. Please consider helping out by hosting a Sunday! Open dates are 4/28, 6/2, 7/28, 8/4, 9/29, 10/13, 11/3, 11/17, 12/29. Also, anyone who wants to sign on as an on-call Fellowship Hospitality Team per-son, please let either Jayne Muraki Rasmus-sen or Kimi Ronay know.

March 3 SPRC 10 Nacho Fundraiser for Youth 2019 17 God’s Community Table 24 Finance/Stewardship 31 Mission Committee

place others above our comfort and conven-ience. Humility is found when we’re willing to serve when it’s inconvenient and when the personal cost is high. (3) Care about the interests of others. What is truly amazing is that when we’re all committed to carrying each other’s burdens, our own burdens be-come lighter. As humans, we are hardwired to put ourselves first and see everything else through a lens of our needs, desires and wants. It takes genuine effort to train our-selves to take a step back and truly care about the experiences and troubles of others. (4) Use your position for the advantage of others. It’s easy for us to assume that any privileges or authority we have, we’ve earned. But when we look at Jesus’ example, we see that we’re becoming humble when we give up our rights or entitlements to serve others. (5) Be willing to take the lowest position. Are we willing to do the difficult jobs and task that no one wants? Humility isn’t just about taking the lowest position, it’s also about accepting the stigma that might come with it—and that’s a much tougher pill to swallow. Humility is the highest virtue. It protects us from the insidi-ousness of pride. The danger of pride is that; it’s largely invisible to us. By emulating the humility of Christ, we learn to recognize pride’s presence in our life. I always receive so much more than I give when I get these assignments! While this passage deserves more study than this page allows, I hope it gave you a few insights into the nature of justice, mercy and humility and piqued your curiosity to delve deeper. I guess this may prepare us for Lent after all! In Christ, Jayne Muraki Rasmussen, Lay Leader


Want to make this Lenten season truly memorable and

life-changing?

40 - Day Prayer Challenge II & Prayer Partner March 6 - Ash Wednesday

to April 21- Easter Sunday

• Read the daily devotional

• Come to the worship service

Purchase the Draw the Circle 40-Day Chal-lenge paperback book ($10) available at the church, payable to SJUMC. To join register at https://studygateway.com/prayer. RSVP: Please let Mary Nakamura ([email protected] 916-681-0193) or Mindy Takechi ([email protected] or 916-638-2456) know that you signed up on line.

Lent is about letting go of what’s distracting us and getting back to basics, individually and corporately. How can you deepen your rela-tionship with Jesus? In what way can you remember his suffering for us?

- Lenten Commitment Card—give up some-thing, add something and/or do something for the community to be a better disciple. Start to think about what you will do! - Lenten Daily Devotion booklet is available

Lenten Prayer Partners!

Please sign up to have your Lenten prayer partner! You can notify the office or Rev. Motoe that you are interested in, and/or to find out more info. Some of the examples for prayer partners are

1. Getting together with your prayer partner to find out the needs and concerns of your prayer partner.

2. Pray for your prayer partner

Lenten Prayer Partner is NOT mandatory

Lent is a time to step out of our comfort zone and remember Jesus’ love and suffering for us.

March 13 – April 27

Wednesdays at 1:30pm

Bible Study Journey to Jerusalem

With Elaine Deatherage

Elaine Deatherage will lead a class for Lent, “Journey to Jerusalem”. We will study and discuss the gospel of Luke. All are welcome to join us on our journey with Jesus!

to Jerusalem JOURNEY


SJUMC Prayers Comfort and Prayers for the families and friends of: Francesca DeGuzman Grace Sugiyama Rene Nishikawa Maki Toyama Joyce Freeman

Special Prayers Kimi Ronay Paul Bayne Rev. Peter Willms Bob Jovalis, Russ Kanemasu, Chewy Yasushi Ito, Larry Fong, Jean Kanemoto, Marion Murai, The World Situations People who are facing surgeries People who are recovering Those who are affected by Natural Disasters

Thanksgiving New members, Mio Yanagisawa & Issac Saito-Yanagisawa Three baptisms of Kiley, Keilani, Eliana Rev. Peter and Mary

Baptism and Transferring Membership

Would you like to be baptized or join the church officially? Please contact

Rev. Motoe.

Did you know SJUMC is on Yelp? Please rate us with 5 stars and make a positive com-ment so more visitors will come to enjoy our church! Also, if you use the iPhone map, whatever you put on Yelp reflects the location, including our church. We need you to rate us good :)

Prayer Group ~

Would you like to pray with someone? The group meets every 3 weeks on a Thursday in the Library at 11:15am.

Mission Trip to Japan POSTPONED

Leader Sue Teranishi

BIBLE STUDY @ SJUMC Sundays at 9:15 am

in the Office Classroom

Welcome back, Rev Peter and Mary! Our Bible Sur-vey class is back on again. Please join us as we continue our journey through all 66 books. As we open our hearts and minds to the Bible's message we will gain new insights for our spiritual development and growth in faith. Those who cannot attend eve-ry week should feel free to come when they can. So Come!

The 2019 Flower Chart is on the bulletin board in the Fellowship Hall. All are invited to honor a loved one or give flowers in their memory on Sundays. Thank you for helping to beautify the sanctuary for worship with your Altar Flowers!


HEALTH DAY CLINIC

By California Northstate University College of Pharmacy and Breathe California Sacramento Valley Region

Thank you so much for giving us the opportunity to serve your congregation. Our volunteer students and pharmacists en-joyed the SJUMC CLINIC DAY and took advantage of the Clinic Day to serve, learn, and enjoyed working with many

seniors. Thanks to Cathy for making those great flyers for the Sunday Programs and for posting around the church. We were busy, we did over 12 spirometer tests and think we served at least 50 members of your congregation. One teaching highlight was when a student identified the need for additional follow up with a pharmacist, who was able to consult with the patient. The students also received instruction from Dr. Judy Higashi, RN on blood pressure monitoring tech-niques and glucose monitoring. Judy stepped right in and helped facilitate that process with her usual expertise and leadership. The pharmacists had some challenging consults and managed them professionally. If you have any feedback, please pass it back to us, as we can always learn and improve from each clinical session.

My special thanks to the volunteer CNU COP Team!! They were generous in sharing their time and stepped in and served professionally and compassionately. Likewise, we were fortunate to find three Doctors of Pharmacy from our community who stepped up and contributed the pre-cious gift of time. The RPHs also had time to share their perspectives with students, making it a great overall learning process. It is always a unique pleasure and honor for me to work with these bright young professionals!!

Clifford L. Wong, PharmD Independent Consultant To Organizations

Holy Week Worship Schedule

April 14, Palm Sunday Service with Children’s procession - 10:30am

April 19 Good Friday Services SSIP - 12:00pm With Parkview Presbyterian at SJUMC - 7:00pm

April 21, Easter Sunday Garden Service - 8:30am Easter Breakfast by Youth - 8:00 - 10:30am Easter Egg Hunt - 10:00am Easter Traditional Service - 10:30am


Save the Date:

April 7th

All Church Clean

up and potluck!

Come Join SSIP for their Bowl-A-Thon March 10, 2019 1-3pm AMF Land Park Bowling Lanes—5850 Freeport Blvd.

SSIP will pay your entrance fee if you get $30.00 in pledges when you bowl. We thank you for your support as we give food to over 5,000 individuals a month. Registration will

be in the Fellowship Hall or contact your SSIP Representative for your Pledge sheet.

Join us to pack 20,000 meals!!! Sunday, March 24,

1pm - Orientation 1:30pm - Packing Sacramento Japanese UMC

Sponsored by Sacramento Pentecost Circuit

Serve the world! We will be packaging 20,000 meals for international hunger relief in this 6th year of hosting this event. The other 6

churches in the circuit are joining us again this year! Please register online by using the link on the church website at sacjumc.com to find the link to register and/or donate. See

riseagainsthunger.org for more info on this organization.

Mission Opportunities!

Introducing SJUMC’s new Friendly Visitor program!

Have you ever been blessed by “bringing the church” to those at Carlton Plaza or ACC, or visited a loved one who is confined to their home? Their joy at seeing you, knowing you care for them and taken the time to come see them is priceless! God also blesses the widows and orphans and calls us to remember them with the love

of Jesus Christ.

What is a Friendly Visitor? Please see page.

19 for more details.

We encourage you to try this out during Lent. Just visit someone once or twice during Lent and Easter. Then, you can decide if it is something you’d like to continue doing. Team up with 1-2 others or go with your small group. Families with young children would be

a special treat for these people!

h these church members. Of course, if any-one would like a pastoral visit, please be sure

to let Rev Motoe know so she can visit them.

Volunteers Needed! Bowling Green Community Reading Days are happening on Friday March 1st, 8:30-10-30am, at Bowling Green Chacon Academy and on March 8th, 8:30-10am, at McCoy Academy. If you're interested in volunteering to read a favorite book or poem, please contact Sue Teranishi.


Busy: Connecting with an Unhurried God

3/6/19 Ash Wednesday: “Busy” – Matthew 6:1-6 In this 21st century world many of us have come to believe, however subconsciously, that being “busy” is what is required of us and ulti-mately what makes us a good person. But perhaps we’ve forgotten that God isn’t looking for humans to “perform” as if we must earn God’s love (or anyone’s love) through succumbing to a faster pace for more productivity in order to be “worthy." How can we be “simply and honestly” present in this Lent season? We begin by repenting or “turning around” from unrealistic expectations and false beliefs.

3/10/19 “The Right Tempo” – Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus never promised that the yoke would literally be "easy." This is a mistranslation. In this context of yoking oxen, the translation means "well fitting." As we begin our "Busy" series, we discover that each of us has a tempo that fits well, that energizes us. What tempo gives you life and energy?

3/17/19 “Preparing a Table” – Psalm 23 The Twenty-third Psalm is a great comfort to us as we imagine the green pastures and still waters. It also recalls the dark valleys and calls us into the not-so-easy practice of sitting down at the table with our enemies. An unhurried God is present with us in the good times and in the difficult time and invites us to be radically present to each other in the same way. Have we been too busy to be really present to one another?

3/24/19 “Tuning In” – Luke 10:38-42 Martha was busy. Mary chose to be still, to tune in to Jesus. The lesson here is not that it is bad to work, but that we also need times of connection to God. Tuning in to the holy may mean just taking time to notice things that are beckoning to dwell with us a while. What contemplative practices can feed and nourish our active lives?

3/31/19 “Living Light” – Luke 12:29-34 No one, at the end of their life, would say, "I should have spent more time at the office." And yet many of us live with the tyranny of measuring-up that keeps us weighed down. Lightening the load of expec-tations and "shoulds" is one way to lighten up as well as to literally lighten the clutter that crowds out our serenity. How do we create space to flourish in the ways God intends?

4/7/19 “A Time for Every Matter” – Exxlesiastes 3:1-13 For many of us in this modern, industrial, tech-savvy world, we have lost touch with the seasonality of life. We want what we want, when we want it. We come to believe that no time is off limits and the lines between busy and rest, work and play, have become increasingly blurred. How far are we from the rhythms and "pleasure of our toil?" What cost to ourselves, to our relationships, and to our planet is this frantic pace?

4/14/19 Palm Sunday “Give it a Rest” – Mark 2:21-28 The commandment to keep the sabbath is one that might not seem as important as the one about not murdering. But what, and who, suffers in our society when we value economic security over well-being? As we give witness yet again to the story of Jesus' entrance into Jerusalem, proclaiming justice for the oppressed, we must also proclaim justice and peace... and rest... for the weary of this world.

4/19/19 Holy Week – “Reconnecting to an Unhurried God” – John 13:12-35 At the Last Supper, Jesus was doing and saying things that he knew would be his last. How would we spend our time if we knew there was not much of it left? This Holy Week worship experience will be one that can be done at homes in small groups or together at the church. It will make space for guided con-versation and stories, food and reflection–a time of naming and claiming the most important things of life.


California-Nevada Annual Conference, The United Methodist Church, The Committee of Young People’s Ministry invites you to

Pre-Youth 2019/Young People’s Summit

March 9, 2019 10 am – 2:30 pm at SJUMC

•Worship

•Fellowship

•Panel of Conversation

•Orientation to YOUTH 2019 - Kansas City, MO

•Introduction to Youth and Young Adult Delegation to Cal-Nev Annual Conference 2019

•Introduction to United Methodist Youth Fellowship and Young Adult Fellowship

Rev. Samuel Yun Inspirational Speaker

Please contact: Rev. Fel Cao 916-374-1515 | [email protected] or

Karla Lundin 408-219-7289 | [email protected] for any questions.

Dear God, Thank you for the precious gift of love you have given to us. Thank you for blessing

us with your love, power and strength that we receive from you every day. Without your love, we are lost, we are weak, we are afraid, we can't function, we can't even breathe...because we need your love to sustain ourselves. Your love is like food and medicine for our soul. Please continue to surround us, comfort us with your everlasting love. Although we have not always been good at expressing and sharing your gift of love with others, we will try our best to love our family, friends, neigh-bors and people who need us the most. Some peo-ple are harder to love than others, but we want to be like Jesus with compassion and empathy, so please continue the work you are doing in our hearts, so we can continue to love God, serve others, and trans-form their lives. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

2019 JHC, Asian Camp Parents/Youth Information Meeting, March 31, 2019 at 9:30 AM at Youth Room (Classroom # C6)


VBS/Kids Camp 2019—Roar

March 2019 Sunday School Schedule

• 3rd: No Sunday School (Family Sunday)

• 10th: Sunday School



• 31st: Sunday School

Family Ministry Easter Baskets for Homeless Youth, March 24, 2019

Nacho Bar Fundraiser, March 10, 2019 for Youth 2019

Family Ministry is hosting a “Nacho Bar” fundraiser on March 10 during fellowship for Youth 2019. This will be the last fundraiser for Youth 2019. Please come and support!

This year’s VBS/Kids Camp is called “Roar”. Roar is an African adventure for the entire crew. Children will learn that God is good and will stay with them forever. Thank you Jayne, Loretta and Janet for attending the training with me on March 3. If you are interested in volunteering and dedicating your energies to supporting VBS/Kids Camp this summer, please contact Momoko. Thank you!

Join us to assemble the Easter Baskets for homeless youth in our area on March 24, from 12 to 1 PM. We appreciate dona-tions of socks, deodorants, travel size body wash, travel size mouth wash, Easter can-dy, plush bunny/duck. All are welcome to come and help!


プレイグループ Japanese Speaking

Outreach Program for Children Thursday

10:00am – 11:30am

参加費ー1回$1

場所ー教会ガーデンルームにて

10:00am – 童謡、あいうえお、数字、お

話

11:00am—持ちよりランチ

SJUMC is on Facebook!

March 5 for the April issue. Please submit articles to Cathy Mayeda

at [email protected]

SAVE THE DATES!

Japanese American United Methodist Caucus

Clergy Gathering and Laity Convocation

OCTOBER 19-20, 2019 in LOS ANGELES, CA

We will honor the ministries of two great giants in the United Methodist Church:

Saturday, October 19 and Sunday, October 20, 2019 will be dedicated to the Japanese American United Methodist Caucus and Laity Convocation. This will include a fellowship time together and a celebration dinner on the evening of Sat-urday, October 19, 2019, honoring Bishop Grant and Bishop Bob. On Sunday, Octo-ber 20, a celebration worship service will honor the ministries of Bishop Bob and Bishop Grant!

Bishop Grant Hagiya and

Bishop Bob Hoshibata!

General Conference Info Meeting with the Cabinet

March 5, Tuesday 6:30pm at First UMC (2100 J St, Sacramento, CA) Would you like to hear from our Bishop and District Superintendent how the General Con-ference decision affects the local churches? The cabinet will have 10 different meetings across the district to meet with churches. Please join us for the Sacramento location gathering to talk to our conference leaders.

What was Decided about the Bazaar?

The town hall meeting to discuss the church bazaar was held on February 10th in the Fellowship Hall. There were many ideas shared on whether to continue or discontinue the bazaar. The majority of attendees voted to discontinue the bazaar for this year and replace the bazaar with one or two food pre-sales.

Tommy Hoshiyama has agreed to be the chair for the first food pre-sale that is tenta-tively scheduled in May. More information to follow and thanks to all who attended.


TeamWorks Tools for Creating Vital Faith Communities: Connecting with Your Community

On February 16, 2019, forty-four lay and clergy from the three circuits comprising the Greater Sacramento Region of the Los Rios District of the California-Nevada Conference of The United Methodist Church gathered together to work on the second book in the “TeamWorks Tools for Creating Vital Faith Communities” series which focuses on “Connecting with Your Community”. https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/leadership-resources/teamworks

“TeamWorks Tools for Creating Vital Faith Communities” contains four guidebooks which are designed to help churches create a healthy leadership team that prays, learns, and dreams to-gether. The workshop was facilitated by Mr. Dann Hagstrom from First Taulanaga-U United Methodist and was hosted by First Taulanaga-U United Methodist in the Oak Park neighborhood of Sacramento, California.

The second book in the series encourages churches to discover how the neighborhood sur-rounding their church may have changed over the past five to ten years. The author suggests that there are three different stages of churches which range from churches that seek to protect their well established traditions to churches that strive to co-create a spiritual homeland with people from emerging cultures in the neighborhood. TeamWorks is designed to be self-led by leaders of the local churches so the Greater Sacramento Region will be hosting two additional workshops in 2019:

CREATING A DISCIPLESHIP SYSTEM March 2 at Faith UMC (9:30am-12:30pm)

FUTURECASTING, WITH REV. DR. CRAIG KENNET MILLER March 30 at Sacramento Japanese UMC

10:00 AM - 2:00 PM

Dr. Miller is the Director of Congregational Development at Discipleship Ministries of the Unit-ed Methodist Church. He is the author of numerous books, serves on the design team of the School of Congregational Development, and has a Doctor of Ministry Degree from Fuller Theo-logical Seminary. Participating churches are Sacramento First Taulanaga-U UMC, Florin UMC, Sacramento Japanese UMC, Faith UMC, St. Andrew’s UMC, Hope UMC and San Francisco Temple UMC.

Submitted by Mary Nakamura, Sacramento Japanese UMC


Tanoshimikai!

Delicious Japanese inspired meals. Freshly prepared locally. Wednesdays at SJUMC. Serving

lunch to those 60 or older.

The tax statements of your donations to SJUMC in 2018 have been mailed out.

If you have not received yours or if some-thing needs to be changed, please contact the church office. There are several state-ments which we do not have a mailing ad-dress for that we are holding in the office. Thank you for your partnership and financial support of our ministry which seeks to bring glory to God in the name of Jesus Christ. May God bless you!

SSIP needs your HELP with donations of brown

bags, plastic grocery bags and egg cartons.

We need brown bags or any plas-tic grocery bags to help distribute groceries and vegetables to clients at SSIP. Local grocery stores also give us eggs so it’s helpful to pack them into smaller egg cartons so every family can receive eggs. Leave your items in the fellowship hall by the box marked SSIP.

SPECIAL LUNCHEON TO HONOR THOSE 80 YEARS OLD AND OLDER

April 6, Saturday (11:30am)

Free! (Sponsored by Older Adult Ministry)

Please RSVP to Gloria Imagire by March 24th if you are 80 & over.

Card making at Tanoshimikai

On January 30, 2019, about 10 of us at Tanoshimikai

made Chinese New Year cards and Val-entine’s Day cards. The SJUMC card making group had all the supplies and creative ideas for making the cards and we had so much fun putting our cards together! Thank you to the card making group—Sharon, Betty, Emi, Joanne! You really brightened our day.

CARING FOR ONE ANOTHER

2nd and 4th Sundays at 9:30 a.m.

in the Merwin Chapel

Small Groups @ SJUMC!

• 2nd & 4th Sundays at

9:30am in the Merwin Chapel—Caring for One Another (led by Mindy Takechi & Mary Nakamura)

• Bible Survey - Sundays at 9:15am in

C-1 (led by Rev. Peter Willms)

• Two Walk to Emmaus Groups

• ACC group—4th Wednesday of the

month at 10am at the ACC Care Center on Rush River

• Prayer Group - Every 3 weeks on

Thursday in the Library at 11:15am

Documents

SAKURA DAYORI 桜便り 2019.pdf · 2020-03-12 · Sakura Dayori Page 4 March 2019 ESSAGE power to otherwise. It’s having the ability to see the big picture, instead of being focused