Orlando, Fla., RPC

H.P. McCracken, pastor

The Orlando RPC was pleased to host the presbytery visitation committee on Nov. 4–5. Wade Mann, pastor of Elkhart, Ind., RPC, Kent Butterfield, pastor of First RPC in Durham, N.C., and Jason O’Neill, ruling elder of Christ’s Church in Brownsburg, Ind., serve on the committee.

A congregational meeting for the election of deacons was held on Nov. 10. Those elected to the office were Becky Farrant and Steve Garrow. Please be in prayer for them as they assess their new roles and anticipate their future on the Deacon Board.

As part of the church’s fall outreach, the social committee planned a movie night in the lot on Nov. 11. A week prior to the event, volunteers passed out flyers around the neighborhood. The movie shown was *Mary Poppins&. The church provided refreshments and popcorn while moviegoers were asked to bring their own chairs or blankets. Thirty-seven people attended: three came from the neighborhood and three were guests of church members. Other neighbors stopped by to take a look and talk.

Dr. and Mrs. Yusuke Hirata presented a comprehensive and impressive visual update on the Japan Presbytery and gave a personal testimony on Nov. 19, during the adult Sunday school. Please pray for blessing on their marriage and for their studies at RPTS. Pray for the positive influence of the Japanese Church on the population.

—Louise Turmenne, correspondent

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Japan Presbytery

Monday, Oct. 9, was a national sports holiday in Japan: the anniversary of the opening of the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo. Those responsible for the Covenanter Center Building took advantage of this vacation day by hosting an open house, which included reports, speeches, a musical performance, and even children’s games. More than 50 attended. It has been 19 years since the Covenanter Center Building was opened to replace the Covenanter Book Room building destroyed by the Great Hanshin Earthquake of 1995.

All the ruling elders of the four Reformed Presbyterian congregations are retired from their vocations; so the training, election, and ordination of younger ruling elders has become a critical need. Kasumigaoka RPC (Charles Leach, pastor) held an election on Oct. 1 for both elders and deacons but only succeeded in electing one deacon.

Pastor Leach has announced his intention to retire this fall from the Kasumigaoka RPC and return to the U.S.

Mukonoso RPC (Hiroyuki Kanamori, pastor) has welcomed two new families into its membership. The Oharas came from the Presbyterian Church in Japan, and Mr. Ohara is under care of the Japan Presbytery and attending Kobe Theological Hall. The Jongs came from a Korean church; they have lived in Japan for 11 years but only recently received permanent resident status. Dr. Jong is a scientific researcher. Also encouraging is that a number of conversions and subsequent baptisms have been reported in the various congregations this past year.

Kobe Theological Hall (KTH) continues to magnify the influence of the Reformed Presbyterian Church in Japan. A new annex for housing some of the books from the KTH library was opened this fall in Kasai City in a property rented by a member of the Keiyaku Church (Shigeru Takiura and Kihei Takiura, pastors). Two female students at KTH, Enmi-san (a member of the Reformed Church in Japan) and Hayashi-san (a member of Kasumigaoka RPC), and Carrie Leach (a daughter of Pastor Leach) have volunteered to provide day-to-day supervision of the KTH library. Retired seminary professor Alastair McEwen from the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Australia lectured at KTH in December, and Prof. Warren Peel from the Reformed Theological College of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Ireland is scheduled to teach in the spring.

For the second time in the past year, a mission team from the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Australia ministered among the RP churches in Japan in December.

The New Japanese Bible was published this past summer. Dr. Shigeru Takiura did the original translation work for a number of the books in the New Testament.

With the gradual reduction in financial aid to the Japan Presbytery planned by the RPCNA’s Global Missions Board, a group of Japanese and North American Reformed Presbyterians have banded together to form the Japan Reformed Presbyterian Exchange (JRPE) to maintain and strengthen the ties that have bound them together since 1950. JRPE has a simple website, www.jrpe.org, run by Justin Andrusk of Covenant RPC in Aurora, Ohio; and its treasurer is Mrs. Karen Klingensmith of the Manchester RPC near Pittsburgh, Pa.

—Tom Reid, correspondent

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White Lake, N.Y., RPC

David C. Coon, pastor

Nestled in the foothills of the Catskill Mountains is an ancient white building bearing a newly installed wooden cross; it is a beacon in the night at NYC’s former summer vacation capital. Though a small congregation ranging in age from 94 to one-month-old Henry David and one-day-old Eleanor, the congregants are truly a family. They have their “moments,” as families do, but they encourage one another and look to their Lord and Savior to direct them. Pray for Pastor and leader Dave Coon and his wife, Cathy, who have such love and patience.

Adjacent to the spartan little church is Faith Hall. Built on faith, fervent prayers, and Reformed Presbyterian family and friends, Faith Ministries, the service arm of the church, is now entering its 13th year of community outreach. The doors are open all week to Sullivan County residents, whether for community affairs or for outreach. Congregants start each week with adult and children Sabbath school classes, serve through Adventure Club and Youth Night gym activities, and serve up monthly senior luncheons and fellowship dinners. The facility keeps all ages warm in the winter during frigid temperatures.

“Straining toward what is ahead, we press on,” and this year is no exception for a vital community outreach of Faith Ministries, The Shepherd’s Pantry, now in its 12th year. Coralie and Russell Bloom prayerfully manage this arm of the church and serve over 200 families in Sullivan County. This December faithful servants and others in the community launched a Christmas Closet to show Christ’s love with food provision, gifts, and festivities.

—MaryJean DeSocio, correspondent