Signed, sealed and delivered

As we set up the new church here, it's not all about contact-making and relationship-building; there are some bureaucratic matters to be attended to! One is to obtain a seal with the church name. Everyone in Japan has their own seal, often more than one - there would be one for everyday use and one which might be used for more official documents. Now that we have the church name decided, we ordered our church seal which we will use for anything from stamping receipts to opening a bank account. Somehow having a name and a seal gives us a certain sense of 'being', even though we have yet to begin worship services and only have one believer attached to our fledgling church. We'll say more about her in our next entry.

What's in a name?

In Japan a name is important. Most surnames would be made up of characters which have some meaning. You might greet a Mr 'Stone Field' or Mrs 'North Island'. And for first names, many people would spend considerable time (and sometimes money too) thinking about suitable 'kanji' (characters) for their newborn child's name. As we think about the new church we will start here, we are pondering the matter of the name. Do we include the name of the area or go for something different? What word or words would communicate positively to the people we hope to reach? Even the use of the word 'church' is not simple. Sometimes it is good to have the Japanese word for Christ before 'church' so it is clear that this is a Christian place. In our area there is a large building belonging to a Japanese new religion called Perfect Liberty which calls itself 'church'. It is quite a landmark in the area. But it has nothing to do with Jesus. As we consider the name of this new church in Hiragishi, may it be one which is appealing and attractive, but more than that one which will help to draw people to the only name by which they can be saved, the name of Jesus.