A New Wesley Parsonage

It is official! Our bid to purchase the Mineta family home at 545 N. Fifth St. was accepted and we are expecting to close escrow any day now, hopefully by the time you are reading this article! The process was a whirlwind of an experience, with a tight schedule to acquire all of the necessary approvals from the California-Nevada Conference of the United Methodist Church, the El Camino Real District, and our Wesley congregation before we could officially move forward with bidding on the property and selling our current parsonage. What many may not know is that the original deadline to receive offers was set for April 3, 2024. However, after several Japantown organizations quickly rallied and mobilized to communicate the need for additional time, the Mineta’s realtor was able to negotiate a later date. At the same time, Wesley staff and leadership were busily working to explore our options, resources, and next steps.
Thank you to all who were able to participate in our Special Charge Conference on April 14. Special thanks to Rev. Dick Corson for presiding, to Wayne Haraguchi, Keith Nakashima, and Warren Hayashi for being our panel for the morning, and to Rev. John for rushing straight to church from his flight home from Japan - appropriately, with his suitcase in tow! - to provide a welcome and greeting to begin the conference. We had more than 70 people attend in-person and several others participating via our YouTube livestream and Zoom meeting, where people were allowed to cast their votes. The motion was proposed by Keith Nakashima and seconded by Jeffrey Oldham, “I move that Wesley offers a price not to exceed $1,600,000 for the purchase of 545 N. Fifth St. to be used as our new church parsonage and that additional capital for necessary repairs not to exceed $400,000 is provided by means of short-term financing and/or a 2024 capital campaign, dependent upon sale proceeds of the Valley Heights property.” After a productive session of questions and feedback, the motion passed 64-5-3.
Wayne Haraguchi skillfully crafted our bid on the Mineta property and submitted it on April 16. On Thursday, April 18, we learned that our bid was accepted over three others.
Throughout this journey, we have experienced several unexpected blessings. District Superintendent Samuel Hong called special meetings and secured approvals from the district and conference level so that we could move forward. Church leadership organized and worked on all details of the acquisition through countless emails, meetings, phone calls, and text messages. Many thanks to the Mineta Property Acquisition Task Force: Rev. John Oda, Dave Brown, Wayne Haraguchi, Warren Hayashi, Kelli Saito Martines, Keith Nakashima, Dale Sasaki, Lori Tabuchi, and Keith Urauchi. The congregation showed up, with thoughtful questions, passionate discussion, and, ultimately, overwhelming support. Our Japantown community reached out to us, offering words of encouragement and a willingness to help us fundraise, if that was necessary.
In Proverbs 3:5-6, we are reminded, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths." We are grateful for this path and for the incredible opportunity to build a legacy for Wesley generations to come, provide a home for future Wesley pastors, and continue to strengthen the roots of our rich Japantown heritage.