ベサニー・キリスト教会

大阪府堺市のはずれにある、泉北ニュータウンのそのまたはずれにある村の小さな教会。
でもそこに一歩踏み入れたら暖かい家庭的な雰囲気にあなたの心もなごむことでしょう。
聖書の中にある、一世紀当時の教会の姿がここにはあります。
まだ一度も教会に行ったことのない方､以前教会に行っていたけど今は行っていない方､どなたでもどうぞご遠慮なくお出で下さい。

Reiko and I are now in Maryville, Tennessee for Thanksgiving. My doctor gave me the ok for this trip and so we are very thankful to God that is has worked out. However, traveling is very hard on my system and I have had one very bad night here. By God's grace I am now all right but I can tell that taking this trip was a challenge to say the least. I would ask all of you who support us in prayer to please pray that I will have the needed strength for the return trip on the 6th of December.

My brothe, Dave, is now here with my folks and we are enjoying daily fellowship together. For my health, Reiko and I are staying at a motel in Maryville. I am looking forward to Thanksgiving dinner with my family-we have a lot to be thankful for. Of course, for me personally, my biggest thanks is that by God's grace I am still alive! I will be visiting my doctor here in Tennessee and also catching up with friends in America.

Thank you for your prayers and please keep praying for us. I need prayer about my physical condition and Reiko needs prayer for her mental and spiritual condition as she supports me in my fight against cancer.

The New Testament exhortation is for Christians to be always ready to defend our claims against anyone who asks a reason for the hope we hold. (1 Peter 3:15) Hope without reason has little in common with the Christian hope which is focused on Jesus Christ, who has come and is coming again. True Christian hope is always Christological in its foundation.

From the Introduction to "God, Revelation, and Authority" Volume I by Carl F. H. Henry

愛する教会の皆様。私達は昨日夕方、無事にテネシーに着きました。主人は皆様のお祈りに支えられて来たと言うしかありません。色々ありましたが、守られました。本当にありがとうございました。こちらはとても寒いです。主人の両親のアパートはとても小さい為、近くのモーテルに宿泊しています。ダイニングがありますので、朝昼はこちらで食事をし、昼から両親の家に行くつもりでいます。皆様の為祈っています。特に悲しみの中におられる家族の兄姉を思います。寒さに向かいますね。どうかお体大切にしてください。心から祈っています！ＲＳ

Patti Davis speaking about her father, Ronald Reagan

"He did have something special with God; he talked to God all the time. It didn't mean that he was anymore special in God's eyes or that he believed that. We are all special with God. It's not that God's speaking to anybody more than anyone else, it's that some people choose to listen. And talk back. And my father talked to God. That's what I got as a child, I got that he just talked to God all the time. He just had conversations with God."

Page 154 of "When Character Was King" by Peggy Noonan

English service at the Bethany Christ Church
On Sunday the 9th of November from 4:00pm, we will be hosting our English serivice. It is an informal get together, praising and worshipping the Lord with our brothers, sisters, and friends. The service is conducted in English, with Japanese interpretation, so no one would be feeling left alone.
Remember, this service will be the last one to be held in this year, as we will not be having the service in the month of December. Please come and join us. We also enjoy chatting over coffee and cookies after the service. See you there!


ベサニーキリスト教会　英語集会
11月9日（日）の午後4時から英語集会を行います。兄弟・姉妹・友達と共に、リラックスした雰囲気で賛美と礼拝をおこないます。集会は英語で行いますが、もちろん日本語の通訳も付きますので、どなたが参加して頂いても大丈夫。
今回の集会が今年最後となります。12月の集会は予定されていません。是非ご参加ください。集会後のコーヒータイムでおしゃべりするのも楽しみの一つです。お待ちしています。

This is from Peggy Noonan's book, "When Character Was King" and is talking about Ronald Reagan's mother.

"She was busy and bustling and she believed completely in what was known as, in the title of a popular book of the era, The Christian's Secret of a Happy Life. This was the secret: Jesus is with you, is aware of your life and fully engaged init; God is in everything; He will let little befall you that will not be to the ultimate benefit of your soul. Sometimes He steps aside for trouble coming your way but only if it will refine you or prepare you to be with Him someday in heaven, where you'll know a happiness beyond all human understanding. So there is no cause then for sadness, only for joy. "Do not be afraid.""

Page 20 of When Character Was King by Peggy Noonan

Why do I so enjoy rock climbing? What makes it so special to me ? I have been asking myself these questions lately and that has brought back some childhood memories of mine while growing up in Shiga Prefecture, Japan.

My earliest memories of "outside" play are of me playing in the traditional Japanese garden of the WEC Japan headquarters. This building and garden was built by a rich "Ohmi Shounin" (a merchant from the Ohmi area of Japan now known as Shiga) and was huge. In the garden were quite a number of really large boulders and my main activity there was climbing them. For a small child some of them presented quite the challenge. Also, some were in groups so that smaller boulders had to be first climbed in order to get to the top of a larger boulder.So, for me, "play" in the outdoors first meant climbing boulders.

When I got a bit older, the younger missionaries used to take me with them when they went on outings, These outings usually consisted of climbing the nearby Mt. Kinugasa. And of course this involved even more boulders-only larger. It also exposed me to real rock faces and I had a great time climbing there.

Finally, when I was in grade school I was able to attend many of the church summer camps held at the WEC campsite located near Lake Biwa. For most campers the beautiful beach of white sand was central but for me the endless line of boulders on both sides of the beach was more interesting. I spent endless hours climbing these boulders and sometimes seeing how far I could get out into the lake by jumping from one boulder to the next. I attended these camps all the way through my junior high school years and never stopped enjoying climbing the boulders there.

These memories of mine seem to be the answer to my questions to myself about why I enjoy rock climbing so much. Rock climbing has always been a part of my life and it looks like it will continue to be so. I am now in my 50s but I meet many rock climbers in their 60s and 70s and they seem to enjoy the rocks and the mountians now just as much as ever. So, I will no doubt do the same.