Happy Reformation Day!
Dear WTUC Family,
I hope that you had a good week. October 31 is known as Halloween - or All Hallows Eve, which comes the day before All Hallows Day - or All Saints Day - on November 1. October 31 also happens to be Reformation Day. Back in 1517, Martin Luther had nailed the 95 Thesis to the door of the All Saints’ Church in Wittenberg, which is now in present day Germany. Luther, being the academic that he was, wanted to begin a discussion with some theological points regarding the Roman Catholic Church, but this sparked something so much more - to the point where this day is seen as the start of the Protestant Reformation. I came across the Presbyterian Church (USA) website, where each year, they produce materials about different reformers for Reformation Sunday, the last Sunday in October. This year’s entry is about John Knox, the man who lead the reformation in Scotland. You can read more about him here.
Coming up this Sunday, we are going to be gathering in person on the campus of Japan Lutheran College and Theological Seminary in Room 105 at 11:00 a.m. We will be observing the Lord’s Supper during the service. If you will be attending, please bring finger food or a snack to share during our fellowship hour after the service. You can learn more about the service on our calendar page!
As a reminder, we will be having our Thanksgiving Fellowship on Sunday, November 16 off-site at Ann Tang’s house after our service. We will have a wonderful time giving thanks to the Lord for this past year as well as for the past 60 years at West Tokyo Union Church. We are asking folks to bring dessert. If you could contact Ann Tang at membership@wtuc.net to let her know, it will help us in terms of coordination. In addition, if you are able to drive and help shuttle us over from our worship site to where we are gathering for fellowship, please let me know at pastor@wtuc.net so that I can get an idea of who is available.
I hope that you have a wonderful rest of the week, and I will see you on Sunday!
Jonathan