In Community:

September 2020 Newsletter

Coming This Fall..

By Pastor Mike Kurtz

We know that with the pandemic situation, things have slowed to almost a halt in our ministries. But we have been working behind the scenes to modify our approach and take on the challenge of teaching our church family the Word of God. I am fully confident in our teachers and staff to meet the challenge to provide resources that are just as good as “live”. But more importantly, I am confident in the fact that God will not let His Word be withheld from open hearts.

Children’s Education

Beginning Sunday, September 13, we will launch our virtual Sunday school classes for the following age groups:

• Pre-K/K
• 1^st-2^nd grade
• 3^rd-5^th grade
• Middle School
• High School

One the initiatives of our Family Resource Ministry is to provide families with resources to carry out the important task of discipling our children at home. With these classes essentially taking place in the home, this is an opportunity for parents to be more involved in this process. While the Covid-19 situation has many negatives, we believe this is actually a positive for the family as a whole.

After much discussion, we believe there is a strong need to go back to the beginning – the book of Genesis where we are introduced to God, His original intentions for mankind, and the introduction of sin into the world (and all the world’s problems as a consequence). From there we want to walk our children chronologically through the Bible to tell the bigger story of redemption. With this in mind, we have selected a broad, one-year curriculum from What’s in the Bible? ministries. Because our classrooms will be virtual for some time, we looked at several options to find something that would be fitting in this environment. We chose this curriculum not only because of its content, but also for its delivery. They created a digital church edition for this popular series – a short, animated video-based series that will keep children engaged while teaching them valuable truths. Small group discussion follows each video with take homes for the family during the week – again the whole family is involved.

For our middle school and high school classes, we are still trying to decide on a curriculum as of this writing. One of our hopes is that this “Sunday School” time will be more than just a class, but a weekly fellowship to learn, encourage, and build community within these groups.

All these classes will be offered online on Sunday mornings. At least for the younger classes, we are thinking the classes will be shorter than our in-person classes, probably starting at 10:15am rather than our typical 9:30am. We will probably use Zoom for the classes, but we are looking into Teams as well since they have some features that are unique (and free!). Once the details have been finalized, we will let you know.

Parenting Education

After a fast start last spring, we took a break over the summer to reevaluate our approach. While there was good turnout for our parenting workshops, we felt it was difficult to get deeper in these settings. It can be very difficult to share family problems with a large group! After much thought and discussion, we feel the best environment to help parents is in a small group where people can develop trust over time. Beginning in September (exact date TBD), Dave and Laurie Fukuda will lead a small group for a convenient 6-8 sessions. If you would like help with biblical parenting, we encourage you to take advantage of this special opportunity. We will send out details in the weeks to come.

We will also continue to send out helpful articles from Gary and Rieko Kato through our Ohana Talk emails. Please take the time to learn and grow from these crafted tips for parents and family.

This will perhaps be the most unique fall in FBC’s history. But that doesn’t mean it will be bad. We have some new opportunities that can help us improve our spiritual lives. We are looking forward with anticipation to this new school year. We pray you will join us as we disciple families together.

-Mike (for Dave & Laurie Fukuda, Gary & Rieko Kato, Vickie Jo, Mike & Carrie Ishimitsu)

Behind-the-Scenes of Live Streaming

By Pastor Mike

When the word came down that we could and should limit gathering in person for our worship services back in March, we had to quickly adjust how we worshipped together. “Going virtual” with our services was something we had considered in the few weeks leading up to the closures, but things changed quickly even a few weeks later. Initially, a larger group gathered with the most susceptible asked to stay home (i.e. seniors). But this lasted maybe two weeks before everyone had to stop meeting together completely with the exception of essential staff – for FBC, that meant the pastoral staff and those who were needed for the worship services – namely the musicians, the media crew, and the worship chairs. But it wasn’t long before even those restrictions were tightened further such that we had to cut back on our worship team numbers and essential staff at our worship services.

To limit the potential exposure of worship team members, worship teams were developed around families. We are very blessed to have families in our congregation with multiple members serving in the music ministry. The primary members of each team came from only one or two families per team. Kelly and Reiko Aramaki leading one team, Norin and Marsha Crawford another, Derek and Iris Sandbeck, Mike and Lyanne Kurtz. For the JLM, Hiroo and Hiromi Kuge have served as the primary team for the Japanese services. To further reduce numbers on Sunday morning, we chose to pre-record the music when possible to eliminate the need for on-sight audio and video staff. You’ll often hear Craig and Kohei talk about preaching to an empty sanctuary, because it is true. And that has been difficult without congregational feedback while preaching. Not that we are a vocal congregation, but it is nice to hear people laugh when Craig tells one of his corny jokes!

For the first month, worship services were 100% live, meaning there were no pre-recorded elements to the service. WYSIWYG (what-you-see-is-what-you-get) meant any adjustments to the stream had to be done immediately and without pause. Later, some of the service elements were pre-recorded, and that helped relieve some of the pressure on Sunday mornings. I remember those early days when the audio was stuttering so badly, we didn’t know what to do. If we shut off the stream, the streaming links would no longer work, meaning there would be no way for people to rejoin the stream. (Each live stream has its own unique link. Starting a new stream would require a new link, which no one would have.) I also remember feeling like every week that I would open the worship service the audio wasn’t working. And does anyone remember John Tsuji standing there quietly for what seemed like minutes waiting to “go live” when he already was? So much happens behind the scenes, it makes me smile (almost laugh) thinking about them. Oh, the anxiety before the service and the relief when everything was finished. I can still remember applauding when we finished our first live stream.

The Technical Side of Live Streaming

Live streaming our services is a bit more complicated then running a normal service. A system had to be assembled to stream video cameras, song lyrics, videos, and presentation slides all at the same time. Once these pieces were pulled together, they needed to be broadcast over the internet through some online service (in our case YouTube). To pull this off, we purchased a second computer that is dedicated to the live stream. Next, we had to purchase several video capture cards/devices to connect the multiple cameras as well as a video signal off the presentation computer (second computer) to the live streaming computer. Third, we had to install an audio capture device that could send the audio signal off our mixing console to the live stream computer. That audio signal had to be “mixable” and separate from the main in-house audio mix since the in-house mix might not be right for the live stream. And lastly, we needed to pull all these signals together into a single video/audio stream that could be sent to our streaming service. We chose OBS Studio (Open Broadcast Software©) for the task, learning and tweaking settings along the way. At this point, things have settled down, and we seem to be running smoothly four months later.

Another area where we have come a long way is in the pre-recording of the worship music. We have learned a lot since those initial recordings. All the recordings were so grainy. Lighting was always too dim. The human eye can compensate well, but cameras begin to lose quality as lighting drops, and quite frankly, we weren’t using very good cameras to begin with. Today, we use studio light boxes and borrowed cameras to improve the quality.

In the early weeks of pre-recording, we recorded our sessions in homes to provide a more intimate feel to our worship. Watching worship services on TVs it seems was difficult to engage. There were times, however, when people wanted things to feel more like a regular worship service to help create a connection with normalcy. In addition, moving all the sound equipment back and forth from church to house to church again proved to be a heavy burden. In an attempt to improve our recordings at church, we have played around with the stage set up and feel like the latest set up is the best, providing both a sense of “being there” and intimacy at the same time.

All this work comes with the benefit of a much easier and safer Sunday morning experience at the church. But it hasn’t been without cost. I remember recently recording a bunch of songs for the Japanese worship service, working our way through an extended set for use in later worship services in the month. After finishing the recordings, I came to the awful realization that I had accidentally placed one of the light boxes directly in front of the camera! It seems that after we had recorded the first song, I checked the video recording and found it to be too dark on one side, so I moved the light box and didn’t check the camera afterward. We had to do all the recordings over again. (At this point, I want to thank Daniel Mayeda for joining us to shoot and edit the video for each session, relieving me of the misfortunes of trying to rush through too much. Thank you, Daniel.)

Which reminds me of another incident when I brought our dog, Gracie, to a recording session. If you look closely, you will see her walking around the set while we’re singing. In fact, in one video, she was jumping up on my leg wanting me to hold her. We had to crop the video to take her out of the scene. There are so many stories like this. But you know what? It’s what makes this fun at the same time. Late night recordings turning into AGT auditions and Dick’s Drive In runs. Families being stretched to involve everyone (like Hailey and Nathan Crawford, Hannah Aramaki, Maili Kurtz) at the last minute. Memories that will last a lifetime.

So, the next time you watch a worship service, know that we have worked with love to help us all feel closer to God and to one another in these isolated times. We love and miss our in-person gatherings, but I think we are making the most of the situation. God is worthy of our worship and nothing can take away our ability to worship Him.

Upcoming Sermon Series: The Book of Ruth

By Pastor Mike

Beginning in September, we will open the fall with a new sermon series through the book of Ruth. It tells the story of two widows – a woman and her daughter-in-law – trying to make ends meet in the midst of tragedy, poverty, and famine. It is a love story of a landowner who shows compassion and care in their time of need. It is the story of fresh starts. But this is more than a small story tucked away in the middle of the period of the Judges, where everyone “did as they pleased”. This is a beautiful story of redemption and faithfulness and loyalty. It is a picture of God’s love for His people.

Walk with us through the journey of Ruth, Naomi, and Boaz and discover the devoted love of God and His transformative power in our lives. Beginning Sunday, September 13.

Bible Art Class

By Akiko Takeda

It has been about 3 months since we started an online Bible Art Class. Originally, Rieko Kato started an art class for Christian moms and children. Because of quarantine, I had been hearing concerns from many other moms that their children are not being able to have proper education or have opportunity to see and play with other children. While I was wondering about what I can do for my friends and their children, Rieko invited my children to her online art class, and I got an idea from her.

We have been sharing about God and our testimonies in a small group called ‘house church’ where we share what we are thankful for. However, it was mainly for adults. Children have a difficult time having long conversations online. I was wondering what the best way would be to care for our children and share God’s Word with these young souls.

Ecclesiastes 12:1 “Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, “I find no pleasure in them”

I received Rieko’s permission and started another art class for my friends, including non-believers. I’m not particularly good at art but Rieko shared her materials and I decided to start. However, children who came to the art class turned out to be under four years old and relatively young, so now I send out a picture that children like and each family prints it out at home and the children just do coloring pages together.

I begin this art class with prayer, read a story from the Bible, and then do the coloring page. Each child takes turns showing and telling about their coloring page. We close the class with prayer. The class takes about 40 minutes. I included Christian components such as prayer and a Bible story. I was worried if the children would enjoy this class. Despite my worries, the children listen to the Bible story, join in prayers, and enjoy this time together. Many children attend every week.

Our Bible art class was focused on children. Lisa Coquinco invited many of her friends to this class. Now non-believer moms also invite their friends to this class.  Because of God’s grace, the number of people who come to this class is increasing. I did not expect this but as we started this art class, those moms started to attend house church small group as well. They share deeply from their heart at the house church. I am very thankful that we have been able to develop bonds not only among the children but also with the entire family. Non-believers at our house church shared that their children were praying at home. I am convinced that God has been touching the children’s souls.

Before I started this Bible art class, I had many concerns and questions, such as “Would it be easier if it’s only for Christians?” “Are they interested in hearing the Bible story?” “Would it be appropriate to pray during the class?” However, these were not problems at all. I realized that the Lord is trying to give us the same grace toward believers and non-believers, and that our faithful God always reaches out to everyone’s heart in all generations.

As I stated before, I feel like I am such a small vessel since I do not have any special talent in art and I am not good at navigating the class online, but I realize that God still uses me and multiples the blessings. I’m glad to have this opportunity to connect with others and that it is used as a ministry to connect them to God.

I have confidence that I will be able to see these families at church one day, because the Lord is at work.  I am looking forward to having them join God’s family and Faith Bible Church.

バイブルアートクラス

武田輝子

現在、バイブルアートクラスを始めて約三か月が経ちました。はじめは、Faith Bible Churchの加藤理恵子さんが子供たちを抱えるクリスチャンのお母さんと子どもたちのために開催してくださったバイブルアートクラスがきっかけでした。私も多くのお母さん友達がQuarantine期間において、子供たちの教育や友達と会う機会が少なくなってしまったことに、不安を覚えていることをたくさん聞いていました。何か、その人たちのためにできないかと思っていたところ、私の子どもたちを理恵子さんがアートクラスに誘ってくださり、オンラインでクラスを行うアイデアを受けました。

それまでも、ハウスチャーチと言う感謝や生活を分かち合うスモールグループを通して、神様の証をシェアしてきましたが、それの多くは大人の方の参加でした。オンラインでの会話は、子供たちはあまり長続きしません。ハウスチャーチだけでなく、何か子どもたちのケアをできるような、また若い魂に神様の御言葉を伝えることはできないかと模索していました。

伝道者の書　12:1 あなたの若い日に、あなたの創造者を覚えよ。わざわいの日が来ないうちに、また「何の喜びもない。」と言う年月が近づく前に。

理恵子さんの許可を経て、アートクラスをノンクリスチャンも迎えて、私が開くことにしました。私自身は特別アートが得意な者でもないのですが、理恵子さんの教材をシェアしてもらい、始めました。しかし、集まった子どもたちは四歳以下で年齢が低かったこともあり、最近は皆さんの好きな画題を毎週送り、各家庭で印刷し、塗り絵するだけになっております。

まず、クラスはお祈りをもってはじめ、バイブルストーリーの絵本を読みます。そして次に、塗り絵にはいり、最後みんなの絵を一人づつ発表してもらい、お祈りで終わります。全部で40分ほどです。お祈りやバイブルストーリーなどクリスチャンの行うことをしており、毎回塗り絵をしていると子どもたちを楽しませられているか心配でした。しかし、子どもたちは聖書の話を聞き、お祈りも真剣にして、多くの子供たちは毎週きて楽しんでくれています。

バイブルアートクラスは子どもたちのために開いたクラスで、最初コクインコ　リサさんがお友達をたくさん誘ってきてくださいました。今はノンクリスチャンの方が他のお友達を誘ってくれています。ただ神様の恵みによって人数も増え続けています。そして、自分が考えてもいなかったことですが、アートクラスを始めると同時期に、そのお母さまたちがハウスチャーチに参加するようになってくれました。今、ハウスチャーチで徐々に心の内をシェアしてくれるようになり、子どもだけでなく、その家族との絆が生まれていることに感謝しかありません。また嬉しいことに、ハウスチャーチではノンクリスチャンのお子さんが家でお祈りをしていたと話して下さり、子どもたちの魂にも主が触れていてくださることを確信しました。

私はバイブルアートクラスをするにあたり、クリスチャンだけだとやりやすいとか、聖書の話は興味持ってもらえるのだろうか？お祈りをしても大丈夫かな？と色々心配もしましたが、全て問題ありませんでした。主は、クリスチャンもノンクリスチャンも関係なく、等しい恵みを与えようとしてくださっており、真実な神さまは、いつでもどんな年代にもその心に届き働いてくださることを知りました。

最初に言ったように特別アートの賜物があるわけでもない、また上手にオンラインでクラスを行うことができない小さい器の私でさえも、神様は用いて下さり、恵みはかみさまが何倍にもしてくださることを知りました。そして、今、人とつながるチャンスを与えられ、そしてまた神様につながる働きに用いられていることを嬉しく思います。

ここで出会えた家族といつか教会でお会いできると確信しております。主がすべてをなして下さるからです。Faith Bible Churchと神の家族にこの家族が加えられること心から楽しみにしております。

Church Yard Work

By Amy Li

On a beautifully sunny Saturday morning last month, members of our postgraduate small groups gathered in the church parking lot for the first time in many months, not for church service in the usual sense with music, sermons, and Sunday School, but for church service by way of yard work. We arrived on our beloved church grounds, happy just to be together again and ready and willing to do some manual labor. Well, mostly ready. Many of us are not homeowners yet, thus, with no yards to maintain, we did not have the first clue as to how to even landscape. Thankfully, Paul, Patty, and Lauren Mayeda were there to show us the way and even supplied us with the proper tools!

Our tasks ended up being pretty simple. We worked in sections along the perimeter of the parking lot, pulling out grasses, ivy, holly, blackberry vines, and other weeds with shovels, clippers, and our hands. The work was sweaty under the blazing sun, but oh-so-sweet, to be able to safely gather and serve together, as we’ve been meeting virtually during the quarantine.

A couple of hours (and a few large piles of yard waste, sorry Pastor Craig!) later, some of us left to go pick up lunch as a treat to everyone for their hard work. It was also a great opportunity to support our local restaurants and black-owned businesses, so we headed to Lil Red’s BBQ down in Rainier Vista. It ended up taking over an hour, so everyone was probably quite “hangry” by the time we arrived with the food, but all was forgiven after we tasted how flavorful and delicious it was.

While we wish we could have been at the church under normal circumstances on a Sunday morning with the rest of the ohana, we give thanks to God that everyone is healthy and safe and we pray in great anticipation for the day we can all meet again. Hopefully, it’ll be before all the weeds grow in again!

Mission Highlight

by John and Joy

Dear FBC family,

Warmest greetings!  Our lively little neighbor Adish loves to come over to play and “help” or do crafts with Joy, giving his mom a break.  Adish often brings us garden flowers and what he thinks are vegetables (sometimes weeds).  Our landlord’s dog Kris loves eating mango seeds and cucumbers, and once he brought me a yellow flower.  We wish we could bring you fresh flowers, luscious mangoes, and some of the hope and encouragement you’ve helped bring here!

Praises:  God worked out incredible timing to bring us out from our other country to here, able to help out during the unexpected crisis.  We got settled in a small, attractive, comfortable apartment with lovely garden, went through the long process to get extremely rare 5-year visas, made a work trip, and got back just in time before nationwide lockdown, no commercial flights in or out since March!  We just heard they’re no longer issuing long-term visas – what an amazing blessing that we were granted those!  We’re thankful to be here.

I’m also glad we’re in a place with tasty food!  The main ordinary meal here:  piles of rice ladled with tasty lentils.  We wish we could cook rice, dal, and curry for you, or even send you a special dinner set:  rice, lentils, richly flavored chicken/vegetable curry, fried vegetable, spicy pickles, yogurt, and a crispy piece of fried flatbread, served on metal plates with tiny bowls.  Or momos:  steamed dumplings stuffed with fragrant, tasty veggies, chicken, or “buff” water-buffalo meat.  Or “kati rolls”:  flatbread fried with egg, filled with stir-fried veggies, chicken if you like, and tasty sauce, custom-made for you and served with a smile.

Hungry people fed, local leaders empowered:  Through leaders in seven church groups and organizations, 419 families received rice, lentils, cooking oil, soap, school tuition supplies, or other help.  Funds came from CAMA Services and individual donors.  The leaders were very encouraged to have resources to help the neediest people and worked hard to distribute and do careful accounting.

Freedom from debt:  For months we were praying with new friends who were struggling with a big loan they couldn’t ever repay at 36% interest.  Although now illegal, debt slavery is not uncommon, often leading to children working as slaves, women trafficked, debt passed down to children, family lands lost.  In this case, the family could have forfeited their inheritance land, going deeper into poverty while avoiding slavery.  But last week the lender relented and greatly reduced the exorbitant interest, a kind American man unexpectedly donated at just the right time: the lender was repaid in full; the family kept their land and freedom!  A partial amount was set up as an interest-free loan/gift, so if the family can someday repay, more people can be helped.

Mice Madness:  Perhaps so we don’t get bored, or maybe as a test like Job’s (we hope it’s not judgment like Pharaoh’s plagues!), we’ve been fighting (without pesticides) and conquering mosquito swarms, invading ants, cloth-eating moths, mold sprouting everywhere, Unidentified Flying Organisms, a mouse family, etc.  Never a dull moment – but oh for a bit of boredom!

Praises:

• People were very happy to receive help, leaders were encouraged, and their work built up.
• The official mortality has stayed relatively low, even as cases have risen.
• God’s love and care showed brightly through many people in the darkest times.

Please pray:

• For millions struggling here, medically and economically and socially (lockdown is far harder in places with limited/no water and electricity and food, crammed into crowded housing).
• That John’s revised research proposal will be accepted, for a project that’s feasible even during lockdown, high quality, and useful.
• That the Ten Plagues of Techo would stop, and Joy could get some useful work and language study done.

We’re fervently praying for you, and for America.

John and Joy