A letter from Thomas Goetz in Japan
December 2011
I have lived in Japan for nearly half of my life and have learned a lot in the in-between time. There many times when people in America ask me what it is like to live here, how different it must be. The longer I live here, the more similarities I see rather than differences. There is a difference that remains quite big, and that is the difference between Christianity in America and Japan. The Christian population here is quite small, and it is also a fragile community. It is delicate with regard to internal theological opinions that may veer toward divisive directions. One theological issue that presently divides the UCCP or United Christian Protestant Church is whether non-baptized Christians should be welcomed to participate in communion.
The church is susceptible to pressure and suspicion from the outside general population as well. The wider non-Christian population has never really warmed up to the church in any broad or inclusive sense. Anyone who has read Shusaku Endo's work Silence will recall how the Japanese government of the time believed that the missionary priests and converts would show greater allegiance to foreign leaders, hence the subsequent pogrom and banning of the Christian religion until the mid-19th century.
Within this context, together with two non-Christian friends, I hope to show that there is more to this weighty history that follows not just Christians in Japan but everyone who knows the history, and that there is room for giving and room for joy in the present.
I would like to introduce two people, Atsuki and Katsumi. Atsuki is a professional announcer, musician, pianist, organist and soprano. Katsumi is a professional announcer and baritone. We met after a chapel concert held at the university where I serve as a professor of English, Hokusei Gakuen University. Japan today is a digital land. One aspect of our university chapel's programs is to bring in local artists for live performances. Music is more than what one can download. Music is best when it is live. Music is more than entertainment, it is art. Together with other musicians, Atsuki and Katsumi's performance featured the music of John Dowland and others from the Elizabethan period, mostly popular, but also sacred. Initially I mistakenly thought they were Christians. But with an exchange of business cards, emails and phone calls, a meeting was set to discuss another concert, and I learned that they, like many Japanese, are largely secular in scope while Buddhist in membership. Our meeting was to organize a charity concert to benefit two local agencies that reach out to children. The ideas just flowed. In two meetings we had decided which agencies to approach. We contacted the Sapporo office of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and the Sapporo Project Santa. Make-A-Wish is quite famous in Japan for its work with families who have a child with a terminal illness. And the Sapporo Project Santa serves four children's group homes with toys for kids who cannot live with their parents due to unemployment or some kind of abuse. Our central theme centered around children at risk and how we can help. My role was to set up a larger structure by volunteering to be the underwriter, Atsuki and Katsumi volunteered to put a Christmas holiday program together. What they came up with was a dramatized version of Oscar Wilde's The Happy Prince.
In short, and thanks to Wikipedia, a swallow meets the statue of the late "Happy Prince," which houses the soul of the original prince, who in reality had never experienced true happiness. The statue inspires the swallow to selfless acts (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Happy_Prince_and_Other_Tales). The performance features Atsuki providing vocals and keyboards, Katsumi the narration, and a contemporary dancer, who interprets the swallow. The three together bring the story to life so that by the end of the performance the audience walks away not only having enjoyed themselves but hopefully appropriating the core message of Oscar Wilde’s Happy Prince, that giving, rather than receiving, is the surest, straightest, most reliable way to happiness, blessedness, peace, or shalom.
Last year was our first year. We met in a local church. About 100 people showed up. We were able to raise approximately $2,000.00, which was evenly split for the two local charities we sponsored. Exhausted but happy, we agreed to do it again this year.
And we did! We repeated the event on December 2, 2011, with similar success.
What made for the success? Careful planning. OK. But there is also trust. Trust between non-Christians and Christians, finding common ground and making new discoveries. One discovery we made was that the man who dons the Santa costume is Jewish! With so many religious traditions in cooperation to make this event a success, I have a renewed sense of hope for God's work in this part of the world. People within our group walked their talk and in so doing set into action God's love.
The 2011 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 148
The 2012 Presbyterian Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 200
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