2025-07-24 Good News

August - The Month of TransitionsWhen I was a kid, August always brought with it a strange mix of emotions. During my summer vacations I had carefree moments, late nights, and long hot summer days at some swimming pool.  In August, all that began to quietly slip away. I can still remember feeling a tinge of sadness as the days grew shorter and the back-to-school commercials started airing on telev...

Grace UsOne of the wise ones who shared the planet with many of us was Fred Rogers. Mr. Rogers leaves us with much to ponder, including this thought.“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’”This is a scary time for those of us who are in tune with the news, so with Mr. Roger’s advice, ...

We are thrilled to welcome Vanessa Perry-Mar as our new Youth Director at Wesley United Methodist Church! Vanessa brings a deep love for young people and a background in education—she currently serves as an elementary school teacher. We’re excited for the energy, creativity, and care she will bring to our youth ministry.At the same time, we say a heartfelt goodbye and thank you to Lauren Takaichi,...

Attending the 2025 California-Nevada Annual Conference from June 27–29 in Sacramento, was both meaningful and energizing. I was grateful to attend alongside our lay representatives: Warren Hayashi and Michiko Collins; as well as our El Camino Real District Lay Leader, Aton Abril. Being surrounded by clergy and lay leaders from across the conference reminded me of the breadth and diversity of our s...

The New Vision for the Church ;The United Methodist Church forms disciples of Jesus Christ, who empowered by the Holy Spirit, love boldly, serve joyfully, and lead courageously in local communities and worldwide connections. Last month, I had the honor of attending the 177th California-Nevada Annual Conference with Warren Hayashi, Rev. John, and Aton Abril, our district lay leader. Through this ex...

Asian Camp 2025— Lauren Takaichi Hello Wesley community!The Asian Camp 2025 theme was “Kaleidoscope”, exploring new perspectives and experiences that make up our kaleidoscopes, which represent our faith journeys. We took account of the values, experiences, and people that are represented within our kaleidoscopes, and learned how to anchor ourselves by God to see beauty in the experiences we have.Y...

NJAUMC Asian American Summer Camp — Rev. John Oda On July 3 and 4th, I spent two unforgettable days at the NJAUMC Asian Camp held at Camp Wrightwood in Southern California. It was a vibrant, faith focused space where this year 70+ youth (both middle school and high school aged) connected, reflected, grew spiritually in a community and had a lot of fun doing it. I also had the privilege of being wi...

A Church Happening: The Senior Appreciation Lunch— Barbara Hiura The sounds of joyful chatter filled the Wesley Fellowship Hall when some 115 “seniors” gathered for an Appreciation Lunch dedicated to them by our Umbrella Ministry team on June 25. It’s all about relationships and this event captured that needed feeling of being together especially for this particular group of God’s people.  For not...

私たちクリスチャンは二つの聖書、つまり旧約聖書と新約聖書を聖典としています。このうち前者はユダヤ教とイスラム教の聖典でもあるのですが、この「旧約」という言い方は、新約聖書を持たないユダヤ教では単に「正典」、または「TNK」と呼びます。Tはトーラー（律法の書、モーセ五書とも呼ばれ、創世記、出エジプト記、レビ記、民数記、申命記を指します）、Nはネビィム（預言書、ヨシュア記、士師記、サムエル記、列王記、イザヤ書、エレミヤ書、エゼキエル書等）、Kはケトゥビム（諸書、詩編、ヨブ記、箴言、ルツ記、雅歌等）となります。もちろんこの旧約聖書は誰か一人が一気に書いたわけではなく、500年以上に亘って多くの人々が書いた書物が時代を経て編纂されていったのですが、19世紀のドイツの神学者ユリウス・ヴェルハウゼンの研究を基に、それら原典は4つに分類できる、と言う仮説があります。この4つとは、書かれた年代順に J (...

The Declaration of Interdependenceon the 249th birthday of theDeclaration of Independence of the United States of AmericaJuly 4, 2024Conceived by Mark Teaglebelieved descendant of original signerEdward Rutledge of South Carolina When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for all people to recognize that we cannot long endure living only for ourselves. Economic and political self-inte...

Dr. Chen is a Tai Chi and Yoga Trainer whose mission is to empower her client’s well-being.  She has 40 years of experience as a holistic acupuncturist and is an MD neurologist from China.  Next class is Saturday, Aug. 16 at 9:30 to 10:30 in the Fellowship Hall. Doesn't Tai Chi look like fun?  This class was held in July with 11 participants.  Dr. Chen is in the center in blue.......

Please note, both the 6th Street parking lot and Dobashi parking lot (e.g. Garden parking lot) will be unavailable for parking from Monday July 28 to Friday August 1.  The 6th Street lot will be resurfaced and restriped, and Japantown Business Association members will be using the Dobashi lot per a parking agreement between Wesley and the JBA.  Thank you for everyone’s understanding and flexibilit...