Ilashai Mase…..

Welcome is a word which any church should be able to utter in as many languages as there are people entering its doors. But I didn't think, up to two years ago, that one of the phrases for Welcome! with which I would become most familiar would be the Japanese one you see transcribed at the head of this article. How did this come about? The story is one which concerns us all at St. Paul's, because it is a story of Christian hospitality and goodwill which crosses some difficult thresholds and challenges us to see where the boundaries of our faith really lie.

Early in 1999, we were asked if we would be prepared to open our doors to Japanese married couples, mainly but not exclusively young newly-weds, who like to celebrate their marriage with a European honeymoon in which they include a ceremony of thanksgiving and celebration for their marriage. After quite a lot of debate within the Episcopal Church in Europe, we decided that this was a way in which we could extend our hospitality and friendship to well-disposed but mostly non-Christian couples, while at the same time introducing them to the most basic teachings of the Christian faith about marriage and giving them the possibility of a contact, if they choose to make it, with our small but very courageous and steadfast church in Japan - the Nippon Sei Kokkai. This is not so much an effort at evangelization, but rather the opening of a door to dialogue between faiths and between ideals, and as such, it seems to me to have a great deal of meaning for us in a church like St Paul's which has already opted for openness and non-exclusiveness towards the "world outside" - Christianity seen as a creed of universal open arms and ready vulnerability, such as is seen in the crucifixion itself, rather than a priceless possession to be guarded jealously against all threats, like the closed faith whose boundaries were broken by the teaching and the life of Jesus himself.

After the initial decision, Fr. Michael asked me to take the responsibility for organizing and conducting the ceremonies - which we emphasize to all, and above all to the couples concerned, are NOT weddings or even blessings of marriage, but ceremonies of mutual thanksgiving held in an atmosphere of reverence and friendly happiness. The undoubted beauty and solemnity of the Church itself, the quality of the music that is played and sung, and, I very much hope, the atmosphere of warmth and genuine participation which we try to create in these simple occasions, all create, as I have been told over and over, a profound and lasting impression on these young people, who prepare carefully, in a very Japanese way, for their ceremony, and who have proved very appreciative of what is done.

We have a register of all the couples, in which their ceremony is recorded together with a photograph of the couple, kindly supplied by the regular photographer. We send them a reminder on their anniversary, to bring home the fact that it is not just a one-off event but a permanent entry into the commemorative cycle which forms part of the life of every church. Wherever possible we inform them of the address of their local Anglican Church, where we hope that they will also receive a warm welcome if they decide to visit. Everything is done to ensure as far as possible that they understand that the ceremony is a genuine religious occasion, and one which has a meaning for their lives.

I have often been moved and impressed by the degree of response on the part of the couples, and the evident pleasure and even emotion involved is, to me, a sufficient justification for continuing what began as an "experiment". Recently the first fruits of friendships established by the ceremonies have begun to appear; a very warm letter of appreciation, enclosing photographs of a "never to be forgotten event" came from one couple, and at the end of a ceremony in September, a couple emerged from the shadows of the aisle to take part in the toast to the bride and groom and proudly produced the photographs of their own ceremony just a year earlier! In return I was able to show them their record in the register, with our file photograph of them after the signing of their certificate, and they were delighted to know that we still had a vivid reminder of their day in the Church. These small signs, and I expect there to be more and more of them, are a tribute to the value of this act of ecumenical friendship, and do much to make the name and character of St Paul's known to a much wider world. I am even told (though I haven't been able to check), that there is a photograph of one of our ceremonies on display in Tokyo airport!.

In view of all this, I have no hesitation to saying to doubters: come and see for yourselves, and to our Japanese friends: Aligado gozai masta, remember us and we will remember you!

Brian Williams
Liturgical Assistant