Lighthouse

Lighthouse's Pie Buffet and the Lord's Work

2011-03-04T14:42:00.000-08:00

24 hours of baking, 33 pies, 50 some attendees, and countless amounts of eating pie makes out for a successful day of ministry. The lighthouse hosted an all you can eat pie luncheon on Saturday Feb 27th. We spent all day Friday and part of Saturday morning making pies for the lunch. The lunch was held in the sanctuary and was one of the most well attended events of the year. Only a select few were actually church members or those familiar with Tsugaru church. The majority were people who were invited from friends or outside the church setting. For many it was the first time stepping into a church. Just the idea for someone to step into a church is a big step for some. It seemed that all who did attend enjoyed the nice atmosphere that was made. Everyone was able to be with someone they knew. Also, everyone filled up on pie which was great as well. It was our prayer that the Lord would bring in many and He did. The hope is that from this experience, those who attended would one day make it back to church for a worship service or another event where the gospel will be shared. Though it was a tiring event it was well worth it knowing that the seeds that were planted will not go in vain.

Galatians 6:9 “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

Cafe: A Sower of Seeds

2010-06-14T06:20:00.000-07:00

By Jaclyn van Laar

When I had seen the video of Martin and Ruth before coming to Japan, I remember seeing the café. My first thoughts were that the café must be used as such an extraordinary outreach to the people in the Ghent’s church and for the community. When I arrived and began to watch the interaction between community and the café, I realized that I was right.

Not only was the café a place where non believers could come and get a Christian atmosphere, but I found out that the café was initially built to accommodate a new believer who did not have a job. This is just one of many ways Martin and Ruth were and are still able to use the café as an outreach.

In the second week of my group’s stay here with the Ghents, we were able to host a café Open Mic Night where group members and young people here in Aomori were able to come and play their songs. This night especially gave me an insight to the potential of this café. Most of the people who ended up coming to watch the performances were not Christians. There were women from the English class at the Church and parents of youth in the Church who were not Christians, but because it was a fun night, God was able to move through our songs and allow the Holy Spirit to move in this safe place that has been dedicated to Him for years. This haven also allowed a good friend of ours here in Aomori to open up and play music again since giving it all up for quite some time after hard times in his life. Since our group has come, he was able to open up again to music in his life and playing at the café was such an opportunity for Him to feel not only the team’s love, but also the love of God that night. Since music is becoming such a large part of the Church, for him to be able get involved in music again may plant the seed that will lead him to becoming involved in the Church in the future.

During the café’s Open Mic Night, I was watching the musicians who were playing in front of a window which looked out to the underpass. As I watched, I saw an older lady looking through the window into the café curiously. I then realized that God had chosen the perfect place for this café to be built. With the amount of people who pass by it each day, there must be a few who end up being curious about what is going on there and that is something that could plant a seed as well.

I find that because it takes so long for individuals to become followers of Christ here Japan, it becomes the seeds that are planted which drive a person to eventually finding Christ as their personal Savoir. Hence, the Ghent’s café is an excellent example of the seeds which can be sown here. And by seeing the Open Mic Night, I am able to see what kind of seeds can be planted. My prayer is that this café will begin to be a meeting place in the community and a blessing to everyone who walks in.

プリザーブドフラワーアレンジBOXのワークショップ

2010-05-08T01:29:00.000-07:00

今日は、神さんを講師にむかえ、プリフラのワークショップをしていただきました。
参加者は8名で、イリスのケーキセットがついていました。
お花の色は、自由に選べて、参加した皆さんの、色んなアレンジがあり、素敵でした。
ケーキは、今日だけの「チョコバナナプディング」も選べ、お得な感じでしたよ～

Cake Buffet

2010-01-18T10:09:00.000-08:00

Last year Cafe Iris held 3 cake buffets. The work of preparing the cakes was split among 3 or 4 ladies. For 1200 yen one could all you would want in 3 hours. Each time was well attended. It was held in Itayanagi Chapel providing yet another opportunity to meet new people.

Café: ENGLISH

2009-09-16T22:41:00.000-07:00

Every Thursday between 19:00 and 20:00 at the café there is a fun coffee drinking session were people can come to enjoy some friendly banter. Or should I say, some friendly ENGLISH banter!

That's right, people can come to this session at the café and practise their English skills while speaking to a native English speaker. This is usually a short-termer staying at the church who has came from far-off Eigo speaking lands.

I have enjoyed going along to these meetings and getting to know some really cool Japanese people! As well as adding the odd Japanese word to my extensive Nihongo vocab. (I think I have around 20 words now - yay! ...) We discuss various topics related to recent news events as other countries and.. anything really! We also play a few games which include using the English language to build sentences - fun AND educational.

Anyway, I think this is a great opportunity to bring in more people to the café which also acts as a bridge to the church. May God use the relationships with these people so that they may know who Jesus is! This has been a great opportunity and I feel blessed to be able to be a part of it!

Gary (short-termer from Beatles-land, Igirisu)

Getting Ready for Cross Village

2009-07-20T06:20:00.000-07:00

Cross Village is the name of the upscale one nite bazaar that Lighthouse holds 3 time s ayear.
This Saturday 26 artisans will welcome hundreds of people to taste, try and make. Martin will do a stained glass workshop, Naomi will help a Young Life booth with floeats and do a craft corner, while Ruth Mae will be cooking up a storm and selling out as usual. Hoping will lead to people interested in teh Bread of Life as well.

Serving the Church

2009-05-15T04:35:00.000-07:00

Serving the churches in general and the Christians in particular is a passion of Lighthouse Books. Because of not having male staff, he store has not been able to visit churches with a bookstall for 2 years now.
After much prayer and consideration, we are planning a 2 month trial period of opening the store for 2 afternoons a month for people to access the books. Closing a 6pm and not open Sunday and Monday has meant that very few Christians and pastors come.
Very few churches have evening services so we are hoping that we can serve in some way.

My trip next door to Itayanagi

2009-02-23T07:29:00.001-08:00

I came to the Lighthouse today and bought a caramel latte which included a squirt of thick caramel sauce on the foam, hmmm it was delicious. There is also some really unique and eye catching pottery on sale made by Miyo and Shuhei. As you venture further into the coffee shop there is some nice jewelry on sale and then even more excitingly a whole range of Christian books. I think this branch is invaluable to the church as it means there is always somewhere open when the main church isn’t. I also think it’s a great place for people who may feel intimidated by entering a church as a coffee shop is something more familiar they may be more comfortable coming to talk about Christian things. Also fusing of a coffee shop and Christian bookstore means non Christians who enter to have a coffee may end up having a browse in the Christian bookstore.

-Anna Parkinson

Caffeine Refuge (aka Cafe Iris)

2008-12-08T21:55:00.000-08:00

Adjoining the Lighthouse Bookstore is cosy Cafe Iris. The delicious aromas of fresh coffee and home-baked treats creates a welcoming atmosphere for inquisitive customers to browse the books and a selection of local crafts. This western-style haven has also recently lured in several Aussie short-termers in search of a cup of much needed caffeine! We have definitely enjoyed a few free moments relaxing in Cafe Iris out of the snow and cold; sipping caramel lattes, vanilla maple tea and legendary hot chocolates. The cafe's unique and delightful crockery, handmade by local potters Miyo and Shuhei, has certainly added to the experience. I know we'll be back for more cosy, chocolatey goodness before we leave!!

What can a bookstore teach you?

2008-12-08T20:13:00.000-08:00

For someone who knows probably less than ten Japanese words and maybe five Hiragana what can Japanese bookstores offer? Most can't offer me much of anything, though Lighthouse Books, the Christian bookstore at Itayanagi Chapel, has given me a challenging and encouraging insight to Japanese Christianity. Like everything in Japan the store is small, though packed with many well-produced resources. The kids books were especially impressive, they all looked bright and colourful (also, they were the only books I could understand! Pictures, hurrah!) These books would definitely be well received as gifts.

But when I remembered that this store has to serve two prefectures, the small size makes a big difference. We're very blessed in Australia to have so many Christian books and resources, at so many stages of Christian life, from pre-Christian to new believers to the hundreds of books for mature Christians and even Bible college students. We have so many that we can even spend a great deal of time debating the finer theological points of each. It doesn't look like the Japanese people have such a luxury. There were just not that many books in total, and though I couldn't tell what they were about I would guess that most were on the basic end of theological depth. That's not a bad thing, it fits where the Japanese church is at the moment. But as the Japanese church continues to grow many more books will need to be written, expanding on both the range of topics and depth in each.

The situation is similar for Bible translations. There is one translation in archaic Japanese (like our KJV), another like our NASB which does use modern Japanese but has many uncommon words and is generally hard to understand and finally there's a paraphase which may not always be theologically accurate. Hopefully another translation in normal simple Japanese will be written soon.

So if Lighthouse Books has given me two things to pray for, it's that we praise God for the many great resources that are already available, and ask him to bring talented authors, editors and publishers into the church to serve the future. Join me in prayer!

Cake Buffet

2008-05-23T03:44:00.000-07:00

What is your idea of a decadent afternoon. At Cafe Iris, we wanted to celebrate the renewal of the shop and we had a cake buffet. Ruth Mae and Miyo made 15 varieties fo cakes. It was all you could eat with free coffee and tea for 700 yen- which is like 7 bucks. In case you don't know- THAT IS A STEAL. The upper limit was supposed to be 20 people- first 20 to sign up. Well by the time we could get emails and phone calls stopped there were 34 people. It was really cool to celebrate the renewal.

Renewal

2008-05-23T03:37:00.000-07:00

The shop has been going for 6 years!! Wow Jesus you have been so good. During the first few days/years, we kind of limped from month to month wondering how God was going to provide both wisdom and trhe financial resources. And what do you know- Jesus has been faithful.
The bookstore ministers regularly to 20 churches and a whole bunch of others on a needs basis. The cafe has 200-300 people monthly most of whom are not Christians.
The staff has wanted to increase the nic nac corner- those things that ladies spend a lot of time googling over. Since they make up most of the cliental we wanted to increase that space. So we enclosed the verandal/deck and took out the wall. All the tables and chairs were changed to make it more like a specialty coffee shop with different types of seating.
It looks awesome- may it all be used for Jesus glory. Why don't you come for a visit?

who are we?

2008-03-23T23:13:00.000-07:00

[Café Iris/Light House Books](http://www.geocities.jp/cafeiristsugaru/index.html) is a quiet, friendly place to enjoy time with friends over some home-cooked cuisine and/or a good book. Owned and operated by the church, Light House Books was founded in the fall of 2000 in a room above the church entryway. A year later, God provided the finances to build the bookstore next to the church, and to add a café. It's a great place to find refreshment and encouragement. Some people view it as a place to get perspective; others as a way to get closer to the church.
Tsugaru Gospel Church is convinced of the need for books on Christian topics, so that our minds will be transformed. Light House Books exists to provide books to help people learn about the Christian faith and to help believers mature in their faith. If we don't have a book in stock, we can order it and get it to you within the week.
We sell:
* Bibles * Study books * Music * Children`s books * Biographies * Gift books * Books on family living * Books on Christian living * Cards & Stationary
The café/bookstore is also home to Tane, a gallery of local art run by church members, the [Yasutas](http://www14.plala.or.jp/polepole/index.html). There are a variety of different media on display, from pottery to painting, with the majority for sale. The displays rotate each month with some of the most popular items remaining throughout the year. Occasionally there are classes or demonstrations in different craft techniques, such as basket-weaving.