Update to Oct 13 Meeting

The storm that is expected to blow through Tokyo on Saturday Oct. 12 is causing many events on that day.  However, we are anticipating that the trains will be running by the afternoon of October 13, and are still planning the meeting.   If the transportation system is greatly disrupted there is a chance we will cancel the meeting.  In such case, we will post a notification here, send out an e-mail to our regular members and the International House of Japan (03) 3470-4611 will be able to confirm if we have canceled or not.

Please stay safe during the big storm.

Interesting that the environment is the topic of our meeting.

Oct 13 Climate Change Response - Buddhist Perspective

Unitarian Fellowship of Tokyo regular Meeting October 2019



Reminder :Sunday, October 13

3:00 to 5:00

International House of Japan 国際文化会館

With dinner afterwards in cafe if you care to stay.



Tom Eskildsen :

“What is our response to climate change?”

—Buddhist perspectives on “awakening”in the face of extinction from ecological meltdown.

The climate crisis and the move to global solidarity.



Tom adds to the short details that I sent earlier that he also is on the steering committee for the Sarawak Campaign that works for the protection of tropical forests and local rights.

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In November (traditionally our fellowship meeting of thanksgiving)we plan —

Chuck Olson “UK and Ireland”

Thoughts and slides from his recent trip.



Peggy Kanada, moderator

UFT Summer Dinner

Dear UFT friends,

☕UFT Summer Dinner

Date:Sunday July 14

Time:4:30

Venue:Le Bar a Vin 52

Above Seijo Ishii market Azabu Juban

PLEASE contact a member in advance.

☆Next regular meeting will be September 8th,at room 402 of International House 3:00-5:00

Danna Bergantine, our September speaker, adds to what we recently sent out to UFT about her talk

—“What does it mean to be well educated in a globalized world?”

When people move so often (frequently to different nations or language areas), when so many of us lead multicultural  lives (not only at our jobs but in our families), and when the world is changing so quickly.

Danna is IB Program coordinator at Canadian International School,Tokyo.

♪News—

Long time member Bonnie McClure visited Tokyo for a Japanese Literature conference.

She is well on her way to a ph.d at UCBerkeley.

Visit UFT facebook for the details.

Peggy,

UFT Moderator

May 12 topic - Death Penalty in Japan

Dear friends and members of the Fellowship,

Next Meeting:

Date Sunday May 12

Time 3:00-5:00pm

Usual place: International House of Japan (国際文化会館)

Call for directions. Near Azabu-Juban and Roppongi stations.

☆Our speaker will be Kasia (Katarzyna) Mamczarz, a graduate student at Waseda and volunteer at Amnesty International, Japan.

She will talk about the Death Penalty in Japan, both the history and present  situation, and in the larger global context of abolishing the penalty as well.

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💐At our April  14 meeting we celebrated the "Flower Ceremony," based on the idea and writings of Norbert Capeck, the first Unitarian minister in Prague, who was killed by the Nazis in 1942.

The main themes were (1) appreciating all our individual differences (background, culture, language, race ) by celebrating diversity and our inclusive community.

We quoted from his wife Maja's letter to the American Unitarian Ass. in 1961 where she wrote:

Capek's only motivation for the "flower ceremony" was to stress and bring about BROTHERHOOD [in his Prague church in the 1920' and 30's where people came from different backgrounds and religions--Catholicism, Judaism, atheists.etc.]. As a symbol he used flowers because in the name of a flower no wars were waged as had been the case of the Cross or the Chalice. The flowers are used as symbols of the fgifts which each person can make to the church and thru the church to other persons. Because of the large variety [of flowers people are]able to express their individuality with flowers. the exhcange of flowers means that i shall walk,without reservation, with anyone--regrdless of their social status, or former religious affiliation,[or background, of ancestry or nationality,] as log as they are ready and willing to go along in search of truth and service for all of humankind.

We tried to examine some of the prejudice or racism we encounter (and foster ourselves) in our past or in daily lives now.

Another theme (2) was not to give up hope and compassion/love for others despite our own mortality or the dire  circumstances we find ourselves in.

We quoted Capek's poem from Dresden prison in 19401 and words of forgiveness left stuck in a wall by a murdered woman at the concentration camp of Ravensbruch.

Then we moved on to considering the (3) ideas of the Rev. Nancy Ladd in her new book, about religious liberals and progressives letting go of perfectionism. No matter the problems and our limited power and imperfections we must  NOT give up hope in our community and our  work that we do for social change.

Ladd, "After the Good News:Progressive Faith Beyond Optimism,"2019.

And we ended with the empowering essay of our fellowship's founder, Kenneth Woodrooffe:

"Life at Seventy: Reflections of a Septuagenarian." Available on request.

Essentially  (and put much more interestingly) he said that theme (4)  we must love someone  and be loved and have a purpose or work to give hope and meaning to our lives. "In moments of  discouragement, defeat or despair it is what one has deeply felt or dearly loved that sustains us, for no one can take it away from us."

Peggy Kanada, moderator

eminder: Unitarian Fellowship of Tokyo Sunday, April 14、2019

Dear UFT friends,

"A Flower Ceremony"

Based on the service started by the Czech , Norbert Capeck, founder with his wife Maja, of the first liberal Unitarian Church  in Prague in the 1920's. (Capeck died at the hands of the  Nazis in 1942).

This will be a time to celebrate the coming of Spring flowers and to treasure our community as we each bring our unique and different selves to the group.

We also look forward to  a chance to to discuss the racism. sexism, ageism that we encounter every day--and consider the ways we all act (perhaps unconsciously)  with prejudice and disrespect  towards others.

Our usual time (3:00 to 5:00) with the invitation to stay for dinner if you can.

Our usual place: International House (国際文化会館).

If you can, please being a single flower/branch (extras will be available).

Peggy

Your moderator.

March 2019 News from Unitarian Fellowship (April 14 Meeting)

Dear friends and members of the Fellowship,

Next meeting: April 10 (3:00 to 5:00)

Usual Place: International House (国際文化会館)

Dinner afterwards if you can stay.

In the tradition of the Czech Unitarian Norbert Capeck:

"A Flower Celebration."

Please bring ONE flower (or green branch from your garden).

(Don't worry we will have extras if needed.)

We will have a series of readings (volunteers??)on the themes of equality and inclusive community as

 we  celebrate our common humanity, along with individual differences.

Everyone takes a different flower home.

For our discussion:

 Please bring an article, a news item, a song, or a story of a personal experience of discrimination (for example as a foreigner, a woman, an older person, or having an illness/disability) etc. from your life recently.  

And please bring one item where bias or preconceived notions (prejudice)  have blinded  you to reality in dealing with someone else (you now realize).  

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Brief Summary of March 10 meeting

Liliana Morais, she told us, was born and educated thru college in Portugal, has recently married and now lives  in Chofu. Having just submitted her Ph.d dissertation at Toritsu University she plans to continue with post-grad research.

She first talked and showed slides of her  nearly 8 years research  on 20th century potters in Brazil. (she received anMA from Sao Paulo University).

 Originally many  artisans were part of the  Japanese immigrant community.  Now there are craftspeople (some with tenuous or  no Japanese ancestry)who  work influenced by  the Japanese styles of high fired  ceramics.

Especially two fine women potters-- who left Japan for Brazil in part because as women they faced discrimination--Shoko Suzuki ad Mieko Ukeseki.   

More recently Morais' research focussed on foreigners (non-Japanese) studying and working in Japan--with the most numbers in Gumma (Mashiko/Kusama area).  

She  gave details of some of the 40 individuals of her study including showing us slides of their lives, techniques and studios, and  ceramic work.

Her discussion also included her ongoing interest in how outsiders can revive depopulated towns and villages where traditional agricultural lifestyles and industries have collapsed (such as the porcelain craft /industry in Arita since the 1970's but especially since 1990).

She showed us several projects that offer tourist accommodations, short term study (up to three months)for young and old,  or hands on  experiences in beautiful rural/mountain  locations. Non-natives (often multilingual) and outsider young urbanites since 2000 have helped start and continue several craft/art cooperatives, associations and periodic art fairs in Japan and other countries. Recently they have developed big facilities  such as  Kourakugama, Saga  (Kyushu), and Cerdeira  (a once abandoned  village in the mountains of central Portugal).

Your moderator,

Peggy Kanada

Feb 10 Hydrogen Powered Trains / Summary of Jan 13 meeting

Dear friends and members of the U Fellowship of Tokyo,

☆Next meeting is February 10

Heather Steele (Ph.d in Engineering Birmingham University, Daiwa Anglo scholar in 2018)

 Now at Railway Technical Research Institute, Tokyo 

"Transport: The World's Needs vs. Global Warming--Future Fuel: Hydrogen Powered Trains" " 

Place:  As usual--International House of Japan

Time:  :3:00 to 5:00 with light dinner afterwards if you care to stay.

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＊Our January 13 meeting had a good turnout.

Stan Yukevich mentioned the death of another personally inspiring writer and liberal statesman, the Israeli, Amos Ox. His writings include "A Tale of Love and Darkness." 

Matt and Susan Smith led the lighting of the chalice.

Susan  gave a reading about the importance of artistic creativity and its process. 

Peggy added a passage about having beauty in our daily lives-- for everyone (no matter our circumstances). And another (from the Church of the Larger Fellowship newsletter) that when looking at our acts of making or creating (for example weaving) let us think about the difference between happiness and joy. Happiness comes as  a gift, or something beautiful and "sparkling,"  from the outside. Joy is created from within us  and is thus more lasting (like the woof threads in our life fabric that hold together all our many experiences no matter the tears and holes).

Then Zuse Meyer, artist originally from Germany, talked and showed slides about her years teaching art thru"liberating"  art projects (primarily until recently to young people who identified as scientists or engineers NOT artists at Tokyo Institute of Technology). 

After her talk we all did three drawing projects:

1)A soft pencil still life of some of the diverse objects on the table

2)Same objects but drawing with one continuous line (more spontaneous)

3)Using two chosen colors to draw the objects using both left and right hands at the same time (no way to be self-conscious or pre-determined)

 From her summary--  the effects of making art (under the direction of a teacher of "free art" like herself, in small and diverse groups (she mentioned classes with Japanese and non-Japanese, with toddlers to 90 year olds), and above all doing art in supportive groups with clever encouragement and no competition  allows us to

>>Step out of our every-day patterns

>>Connect with our hearts and feelings

>>Find our individual modes of expression

>>Open up to the NOT YET known

>>Find Joy

And she rephrased the quote:

In Life learn from [making]  art, and in our art,  learn from our Life [lived experiences].

Zuse Meyer will hold an art exhibition at Kagurazaka, Gallery "Session House",  from March 27 to April 4.

Peggy Kanada, moderator