８月30日（日）に、第2回の「ウエルカムサンデー」を開催いたします！
テーマ：「へいわー世界の平和とつながる自分自身の平和」
「教会に行ってみたいけれど、少し緊張する…」
「聖書のことを何も知らなくても大丈夫かな？」
そんな方にこそ、ぜひお越しいただきたい特別な日です。
教会が初めての方、久しぶりの方、どなたでも大歓迎！
クリスチャンじゃなくても、聖書を知らなくても大丈夫。
どうぞ、お散歩の途中に立ち寄るような気持ちで、気軽な服装でお越しください。
日常の忙しさから少し離れて、ホッと一息つけるような温かい時間をご用意しています。
日時： 2026年8月30日（日） 12:30～13:15
場所： 神愛教会 礼拝堂
参加費： 無料（※どなたでも自由にご参加いただけます）
持ち物： 特にありません。聖書や聖歌集は教会でご用意しています。
あなたにお会いできるのを、楽しみに待っています！
2026年4月より、礼拝の日程が以下のとおりとなります。
＊4月より、こども礼拝は第1・2・4日曜日に行われます。
· 第1日曜日： こども礼拝・聖餐式
管理牧師 下条裕章司祭
· 第2日曜日： こども礼拝・聖餐式
佐々木道人司祭
礼拝後 聖書を味わう会
· 第3日曜日： 聖餐式
神﨑和子司祭
· 第4日曜日： こども礼拝・
信徒によるみ言葉の礼拝
· 第5日曜日： 聖餐式
上田亜樹子司祭
礼拝後 「ウエルカムサンデー」
お時間につきましては、こども礼拝は9時半から10時ごろ、聖餐式は10時半から11:45ごろとなります。
皆さまと共にお祈りできる時間を楽しみにお待ちしております。
【Zoomにて参加ご希望の方へ】
本HPの「お問い合わせフォーム」を開く
「参加希望日」と「メールアドレス」を記入して送信
届いたURLから当日参加！
遠方の方も、初めての方も、ぜひ一度オンラインで礼拝を体験してみてください。皆さまとの出会いを楽しみにしております。
Did everyone have a wonderful Christmas? I imagine some of you spent such lovely times—perhaps gathering with family you rarely see, or meeting friends you hadn't seen in years.
On the other hand, for those who spent Christmas separated from loved ones—whether hospitalized, imprisoned, or in a situation that felt like a prison even without physical custody—I believe it must have felt hundreds of times more painful than the actual circumstances.
Once, I used to visit a women's prison in Massachusetts every week. But come Christmas, the previously calm atmosphere would change completely, and the inmates would become very irritable. It's a season meant for gathering with family and feeling warmth, yet they had no loved ones there. It must have made them feel terribly lonely and sad. For various reasons, I think the family of Mary and Joseph, who welcomed the baby Jesus, might have felt something similar. They weren't the “holy family” depicted in religious paintings, with perfectly pressed robes and a noble domestic life. Rather, they were a family burdened with much suffering, sorrow, and anxiety. That, I believe, was the true image of God's family.
Mary, a pregnant woman in her final month, and Joseph, who had never even lived with her, began their journey by crossing mountains and valleys—a trek stretching over 100 kilometers. Even upon reaching their destination, they found no place to stay. Finally, they lay down in a filthy, dung-covered stable. In a land where they knew no one to turn to for help, the only visitors who came seeking them out were foreigners from a different culture and customs—whose language they likely didn't even understand—and shepherds, whose occupation was hardly considered respectable. Shortly after the child was born, the king issued an order to kill all male infants, forcing them to flee the country. Their life as a “family” began with an uncertain exile, living under constant threat to their lives.
But their hardship didn't end there. From the very start of their sudden cohabitation, Mary and Joseph had a newborn baby whose origins were unknown, before they had even gotten to know each other well. And once they eventually returned to their hometown, they surely faced gossip and hostility from the locals. But survival came first. There was no room for even a hint of sentimentality; reality began without any break.
As we face this cold winter, we remember that many children and adults, both within our country and abroad, are facing life-threatening dangers. Jesus, from the very moment of your birth, you were thrown into the harsh reality of homelessness, suffering exposed to rain and wind, and the life-threatening dangers of hunger and thirst. You know well the pain and sorrow of those who fight desperately to protect their lives and survive. You are right in the midst of them, and you call these people “My family.” Open my eyes to our lack of understanding, so that I too may be counted among your family. Grant me the courage and strength to accept them. In the name of God who accepts us all, Amen.
Hello, my friends!
It is getting to the end of 2025, and Christmas is just around the corner. Today, beyond the festive and the happy Christmas atmosphere, there exists a story that is no different from the struggles people are facing in life.
When we imagine the society’s circumstances that Mary and Joseph, who were supposed to be Jesus’ parents, were surrounded under Roman rulers, they were also a part of the people who were grieving with sadness and difficulties, because they cannot protect the lives of their loved ones. That was very painful. The era in which Jesus was born was where people lived under foreign dominations, subject to violence under emperor's orders. Sometimes, soldiers would even force their way into homes. Accidents were covered up, and raising objections could be a matter of life and death.
Even if all Romans were not like that, but being forced under conscription to carry out the task of “killing people” undoubtedly imposed stress beyond human limits. One can imagine how utterly exhausted the people were at that time. It was not likely a society where, even when violence was inflicted, the victims were branded as having “fallen from God's grace.”
In such an environment, the young girl Mary became pregnant in a way that would subject her to lifelong gossip and finger-pointing. Pregnant with a child whose father was unknown, Mary must have agonized terribly, utterly at a loss about what to do. Though the details of the when and how Mary and Joseph were not completely known, but I believe they chose to trust in God who works beyond the law, bringing grace and love, and to obey His voice. This is a story of staking everything on God's plan, with only this one thing as their sole anchor—God is with us.
Beyond Christmas lies such a complicated story. People prayed, prayed, prayed to God, called out to Him, crying out for guidance on what they should do in these circumstances. And then, God’s response came from heaven—It was the infant Jesus Christ.
So, the joy of Christmas is not separate from the real pain and the sorrow of this world. Nor is it separate from the darkness, sadness, and pain within our own hearts.
Indeed, God sent the infant Jesus into the very darkness of our hearts. This is so He might rescue us from the darkness, but also He walks with us through the darkness when rescue is not possible.
May the warmth of God, who so deeply desires your happiness, our all happiness. Even in your darkness—God tries to reach you.
This is for you. I hope you have a very happy Christmas time.
Well, we have a church service at 10:30 every Sunday morning, and also we have a Christmas Eve service at 6 PM of December 24th, and also Holy Eucharist will be held at 10:30 AM of December 25th.
If you have any chance to stop by, please do so. I hope you can enjoy our little garden in the church area, taken care of by parishioners, and the simple and very homely services in Japanese style.
At the end, let us pray.
Dear Lord, please let us walk with you in sickness and in health. You sustain us, help us, and you continue to love us unconditionally. Let us live in peace in a new year too. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
