From rural New Holland to Sapporo, Japan Teaching English can open doors [APRIL 4, 2000]  Six years ago she was the April Student of the Month at Lincoln Community High School. This April, her plans are to return to teaching English in Japan after a spring break at home. Barbara Worthington, a daughter of Bruce and Beverly Worthington of rural New Holland, is more than halfway through a 30-month Volunteer Youth Ministry commitment. At a presentation Thursday evening, March 30, at Zion Lutheran Church in New Holland, she talked about her work in Japan and the culture there.
About 30 people attended¾from kindergarten to retirees¾and had an opportunity to ask questions after she spoke to the group. Sharon Tibbs presented her with a bouquet from the Concordia Society, which has kept in touch with her and sent gifts. The women’s group also served snacks after the presentation, as people lingered for an hour or so to visit with Barbara and her parents and to look at her photographs from Japan. Barbara also spoke with an interviewer by phone a few days before her presentation and again in a follow-up conversation, providing background information. In opening remarks, Zion Pastor Mike Kettner reminded the group that people serve God in their everyday roles and vocations, not just in missionary work. He noted that people may talk of what a missionary gives up, but the focus is on Christ, who came to earth to give his life for people everywhere. After graduating from high school in Lincoln, Barbara began studying nursing at Illinois State University but decided to change her career plans. She wanted to be able to spend more time loving and caring for people and speaking of her Christian faith. She moved on to Concordia University in River Forest, where she earned a degree in theology. It was at Concordia that she decided she wanted to work as a missionary in Japan. "I met a sweet Japanese girl who told me about Japanese culture, and I became very interested in other cultures, particularly Japan," she explains. About a year later, with graduation approaching, she met a recruiter for the Volunteer Youth Ministry program and decided to join. She interviewed for the program in April of 1998, and had two weeks of training in the summer. She then completed two additional weeks of training in Portland, Ore., in the fall before leaving for Japan with six other volunteers in October. [Yamanote Lutheran Church in Sapporo]   She studied Japanese for six months in Tokyo. Then she began her work in Sapporo on the northern island of Hokkaido. She is associated with Yamanote Church there and is the only person from VYM on that island, though there are about 14 other teaching sites in Japan. VYM is a Board of Missions program of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. A typical VYM candidate is a recent graduate of a college bachelor’s degree program, no older than 30, and a Christian. The admission process for the program includes an evaluation of the candidate’s personality and their Biblical beliefs. The volunteers serve 2½-year commitments in Japan or Taiwan. According to Barbara, eight people are leaving Japan this year as they finish their commitment, and four people came in as new volunteers. "My main purpose is teaching English," Barbara says. "I teach one day at a Christian Center downtown, another day at a junior college and three other days at the church." She teaches all ages¾7- to 77-years-old¾and also leads English worship once a month and Bible study once a month. She explains that with some of her adult classes, "We have five minutes of Bible study at the end of class…and, of course, I like to talk to my students anytime about God, and about Jesus." Her students’ payments for the English classes are channeled through her church and VYM to provide her with a stipend	[Barbara with students]   Her adult classes are usually a little more than an hour, and the children have one-hour classes. With her adult students, she may ask, "How are you? How was your weekend?" Then she listens and corrects their grammar. They also use a textbook. With the children, "We go ‘A-B-C-D-E-F-G,’" she says, laughing. The children also practice words for time, days of the week, months and easy conversation. "I have everything from very slow, ‘Hello. How are you?’ to a class where the students have a bigger English vocabulary than I do because they’re professional business people." She continues to study Japanese, attending a Japanese conversation class every Tuesday. "As a missionary, I hope to use it to help people and my students who don’t use English. I heard it takes seven years to become fluent in Japanese," she explains. Barbara finds that Japanese culture is religious, though a Japanese person might not think so. "They’re very into church, but it’s more culture and ritual than feeling and faith. Everyone says they are Buddhists, but it’s more superstition and obligation. They don’t understand Buddhism. They go to the temple and buy charms in order to protect themselves. They don’t believe in these charms, but ‘it is better to do these things than to maybe have an accident,’" she says. The charms are decorative wooden pieces¾ "rather pretty"; sometimes with streamers and bells¾to match the year, such as the current year of the dragon. She says there are challenges faced by Japanese people who are interested in becoming Christians. They may become outcasts from their family because, according to Buddhist beliefs, a person would have to remain Buddhist in order to join the relatives at death. A Christian would be separated from the Buddhist world, disrupting the harmony with ancestors. "The cultural norm of harmony and unity is broken by being Christian in the family and society, because Christianity is not the norm," she explains.   [Barbara poses with students participating in an English/Japanese Christmas play]     Barbara feels that her work in Japan has had many pluses. "I met so many wonderful, loving, supportive people. I'm learning a different culture and a different language. I’m serving God. I’m learning independence also. I guess the negative would be that in my independence I feel lonely sometimes. The language is a challenge also. The culture makes witnessing difficult with the Japanese people. The culture affects their view of God and understanding of the Gospel." When Barbara left Japan this time, there was still snow on the ground¾"about two feet," she said. The warm spring weather in Illinois was a big change, but certainly not the first for someone who grew up on a New Holland farm, attended high school in Lincoln, studied nursing at ISU, moved on to earn a degree in theology in River Forest, and now works as an English teacher and missionary in Sapporo, Japan.   [Mary Krallmann] [Acknowledgements to Illinois Relay Center agents 9778 and 6315 for their real-time typed transcriptions of Barbara’s responses in telephone interviews, which formed the basis for much of this article.]
Holy Resurrection Church Believing in hard work, holiness and helping others—the Orthodox way [MARCH 31, 2000]  Physically, it takes only a few seconds and a few steps to move from the sidewalk at 207 Pekin St. in Lincoln into the sanctuary of Holy Resurrection Church. But on another level, those few steps take you out of this world into an encounter with spiritual images and values that span the centuries. According to the worshippers at Holy Resurrection, to enter this place is to enter into the presence of the Divine.
There is a conscious effort to involve all the senses in worship—there is the pungent aroma of air fragrant with incense; shimmering crosses and icons (pictures of the saints and of Christ); and sounds of music, of the chanted liturgy, and of the tiny bells on the incensor. There is the physical movement of worshippers crossing themselves and reverently bowing before the Scriptures and altar and a procession of the Gospels around the sanctuary with venerating the cross by gently kissing it to complete the worship service. All of these experiences transport the worshipper away from the profane to the profound. The worship and community of Holy Resurrection Church are rooted in historic Orthodox traditions. According to Bishop Bill Blythe, one of the founding leaders of the congregation, Holy Resurrection seeks to live out what has been believed and practiced "everywhere, always and by all" Christians. The spiritual purpose of Holy Resurrection is very clear. When asked about the role of the church Lisa Woods stated firmly and succinctly, "The church is for worship." She noted that entire families worship together on Sunday mornings and at vesper services weekday afternoons at 5:30 p.m. There are no Sunday school classes or junior worship services for young people. Several members noted that in some churches these classes and activities often move far afield from the true worship of God.   [Holy Resurrection Church located at 207 Pekin Street in Lincoln]   Indeed, it was striking to observe during services I attended on March 26 that the entire worship time was directed toward God and Christ. The Divine Liturgy, which provides the framework for the service, is a classic synthesis of prayer and praise interwoven with credal statements reaffirming orthodox doctrines. Special praise and honor are offered to the Virgin Mary and to the saints. Father Keith Wilkerson, assisted by Father Dave Klug, chanted the liturgy with responses by the congregation. It was clear that the heart of the worship service was the celebration the Eucharist. According to longtime member Bob Woods, unlike many churches, the sermon or homily is not the main focus of worship, it is the Eucharist. Everything that is done and said points to the Eucharist, which according to the liturgy, is an active reminder of what God has done through the sacrifice of Christ and His resurrection. Holy Resurrection Church observes member's Eucharist for those who are in both spiritual and doctrinal agreement with the congregation. In both worship and lifestyle, members of Holy Resurrection seek to emulate and learn from such early church Fathers as John Chrysostom and Saint Athanasius. Bob Wood explained the heroic saints of the faith are worthy of honor and reflection because "they have run the good race," and "I know they have fought the good fight, " for the Gospel. Members take very literally the idea of Hebrews 12:1f. which states that Christians are surrounded and supported by a "great cloud of witnesses," by the heroic men and women who in ages past have lived their faith, and in many cases, died for it. Member Darla Franklin said she believes the saints are "alive but not visible" and that they "care for the believers and will pray for them." One of the most distinctive practices of Holy Resurrection Church is the veneration of the Scriptures, of icons and of the cross. Bishop Blythe and others carefully noted that these physical objects are not worshipped—they are venerated or honored within one’s earthly experience. Only the Holy Trinity of God, His Son Jesus, and His Holy Spirit are given adoration and worship.	Regarding the veneration of icons, Franklin explained that the pictures of the saints or the Virgin Mary or Christ are not worshipped any more than a parent would worship the picture of her child. "Is that picture a real person? No!" she said. "Does that picture remind you of one you love? Yes!" she stated. "Might you gently kiss the picture that reminds you of one you love? Yes!" This, she affirmed, is the response of Orthodox Christians to these physical reminders of faith. The Holy Resurrection congregation originated as a prayer group begun in 1975, according to Bishop Blythe and Father Wilkerson, one of the original members and one of the four priests in the church. Other priests include Father Gil Gandenberger, Father Klug, and Father Todd Brown. The present church is the outgrowth of that original prayer group, which became a Bible study, then a fellowship and then organized as a congregation. Most of the original members and present leadership were students at Lincoln Christian College and had personal and spiritual roots in the Restoration Movement. According to Bishop Blythe, the church is a very "organic," growing body. Holy Resurrection has evolved and grown as the church has undertaken its "spiritual trek." The signpost marking the way for their spiritual pilgrimage is taken from I Thessalonians 4:11-12a, which says, "This should be your ambition: to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we commanded you before. As a result people who are not Christians will respect the way you live."   [Holy Resurrection Church leaders, Father Wilkerson, Bishop Blythe, Father Brown and Father Klug]   Holy Resurrection does not use loud, flashy programs or materials to share the Gospel or to tell about their faith said Bishop Blythe. Instead, they seek to win others to Christ through "quiet lives" of holiness, hard work and helping others. Several members noted the extraordinary care and concern shown by their church family when someone was in need. As Franklin put it, these are people committed "to the Lord, to the church, and to each other." Many Christians, not familiar with the Orthodox faith tradition, may find it foreign or somewhat dated but there has been substantial, growing interest in Orthodoxy by mainstream Evangelicals. Some notable evangelicals, including Francis Schaeffer's son Franky, have come to embrace Orthodoxy. According to Harold O.J. Brown, professor of theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, "The Orthodox have a tremendous sense of the continuity of the people of God," and "they have a deep respect for Scripture." Several other notable evangelical scholars note the attraction of the restorative reverence and mystery of Orthodoxy to Protestants tired of the rootless fad and fashion of much modern teaching and worship. To read more about this rediscovery of classic Christianity, check several Web articles at http://www.christianityonline.com/ christianhistory/54H/54H044.html.   [John Welter]
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