Pastor's Page

Rev. Ishii was born in Tokyo. He converted to Christianity at the age of 16 and was ordained as a Christian minister after graduating from Meiji Gakuin University in Tokyo. He received a Master of Divinity degree from McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago.

Rev. Ishii was appointed by Bishop Park to be Golden Hill's pastor beginning July 1, 2007. Former pastorates have included Japanese-American, African American, and several mainly white congregations in rural and suburban areas. Immediately prior to being appointed to Golden Hill, Rev. Ishii served First & Summerfield UMC in New Haven,CT. Prior to his New Haven appointment, Rev Ishii was at Metropolitan-Duane UMC, a predecessor congregation to The Church of the Village, a multicultural/multiracial congregation in New York City for 19 years.

Pastor Ishii's family includes Jeannette Bassinger-Ishii, current District Superintendent of the New York/Connecticut District of the New York Annual Conference and their son, Scott Ishii. Pastor Ishii is the author of the book "One Thousand Paper Cranes: the Story of Sadako and the Children's Peace Statue".

Summer 2010

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

Grace and Peace to you in the name of Jesus Christ!

On Saturdays, I used to enjoy, and sometimes benefit greatly from reading the sermon titles of the Manhattan churches that are advertised in the New York Times.

I once ran across sermon titles that seemed to bespeak much that may be wrong with churches today. The minister of one church, for instance, was preaching a sermon entitled, “Live Your Dream.” I feel compelled to be fair, and admit that one cannot always tell the quality of a sermon from the title. This sermon might have been a very good one.

The title, however, leaves me cold. It seems to me that it is the responsibility of churches to call people to God’s dream. It is the responsibility of churches to point out to members how often human dreams are too small.

Too often, human dreams are self-centered, or perhaps, parochial. Human dreams tend toward wanting better lives for “me and mine.” It is the church’s task to call people, NOT to live their own dreams, but to use God’s dream. If Jesus had felt called to live his OWN dream, it might have included all the healings and teachings and good things that he did. I doubt that it would have included the Cross. His ardent prayer in Gethsemane that God remove the cup from him is testimony to that!

When Jesus tells us that we must give up our lives in order to gain life, he probably means that we must give up our parochial dreams in order to live the ultimate dreams, which is God’s. So, let’s be done with sermons that tell us that Christians can find some special power to live their own dreams. Instead, let’s preach sermons that call us to live God’s dream.

The second sermon title that did not sit well with me was “Prayer Made Practical.” I’ve learned many things in my years in the church. One of those things I’ve learned is that prayer is essentially about a relationship with God – about a conversation with God. I suspect we’d be offended if we heard of a sermon that was entitled “Relationships Made Practical.” Relationships that are practical are usually marketplace deals, or worse, exploitive connections. When most of us think of relationships, we think of give-and-take associations built on trust and fidelity and mutual joy in the relationship. Good relationships are sheer joy and a celebration of community that may exist between only two, Relationships can never be built on the goal of practicality. We miss so much if relationships are merely utilitarian.

The same can be said of prayer. Prayer is, at its best, about the joy of a relationship with God. I enjoy prayer most when I have nothing in particular to ask for. I enjoy prayer most when I just find quiet time to listen to and talk to and build my relationship with God.

Let me propose an agenda for this summer. It is a modest agenda. First, in the relative leisure of this season, let us take some time to learn more about God’s dream. It is exquisitely detailed in the Bible. Set a goal for yourself. May I suggest that it be to read the “Gospel of Luke!” As part of the agenda too, take time to pray, not for anything in particular, but just for a good conversation with God!

Happy Summer!!!

Grace and Peace!

Taka

January 2010 February 2010 March 2010 April 2010 May 2010 June 2010 July 2010

One Thousand Paper Cranes: the Story of Sadako and the Children's Peace Statue by Takayuki Ishii. Ten years after the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Sadako Sasaki died as a result of the Atomic Bomb Disease. Sadako's determinattion to fold one thousand paper cranes, symbolizing her hope for peace, and her courageous struggle with her illness inspired her classmates. After her death, they started a national campaign to build the Children's Peace Statue in memory of Sadako and the many other children who were victims of the bombing of Hiroshima. On top of the statue is a girl holding a large crane in her outstretched arms. She is Sadako Sasaki. To this day, in HiroshimaPeace Memorial Park, the statue of Sadako is beautifully decorated with thousands of paper cranes brought and sent by people around the world. (publisher's summary from book jacket)

The book can be ordered from Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble and Borders