Family Day in Tomobe, Ibaraki, Japan
Every year, on a designated Sunday, priests and members of the various churches under the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary (CSHJM) gather for Family Day in Tomobe, Ibaraki, Japan. Family Day in Tomobe this year took place last September 25.
More than two hundred participants came from various parts of this prefecture: from Hitachi, Naka, Mito, Tomobe, Tsukuba, Tsuchiura, Toride, Joso, Shimodate, and Oyama- to join the day-long activity.Some parishes prepared bazaar items to sell. Others enticed the guests with their delicious baked pastries and pickles. Food stalls provided a wide variety of items to choose from- barbecue, adobo, pansit palabok, dinuguan for the Filipino food lovers in the group. Japanese food choices were also available.
Yakisoba, the Japanese noodle/pansit, ever-present in any public event throughout Japan, was prepared especially by an all-male group, the members of a drug rehabilitation support organization that for many years now have been allowed to meet weekly in one Catholic Church in the area. The Church in Japan, as in the Philippines, has opened its doors to rehabilitate, to give drug addicts the hope and opportunity to change their lives. Seeing the former drug users happily bonding with one another and sharing and selling the yakisoba for a worthy cause was touching. Here, drug users are allowed to live- not summarily killed like thousands of the poor drug users back here in our country.
Many participating parish groups prepared their own lunch as well. It was like a fiesta where anyone could just pass through any of the assigned places for the various parish groups and get invited to eat, drink, partake of whatever the parish group had prepared for that happy day. After lunch, parish groups shared their prepared dance and songs numbers, with a bingo game gleefully participated in by everyone.
The morning mass was the main highlight of the activity. Bishop Okada came all the way from Tokyo to share his time and sermon with all the participants. With him, there were more than 15 priests who concelebrated the mass held in the wide green lawn of the Tomobe Provincial House.
The priests consider Tomobe their home away from their own homes (in Ireland, America, Philippines, Indonesia, and Latin America). Every Sunday, after celebrating mass and other church services in their own parish, the CSHJM priests go back to relax and bond in Tomobe. They stay there till Monday, when they would have their meetings and then by Tuesday, they return to their respective parishes.
The Parish Church is also home to many Japanese and for the foreigners. Every Sunday, they gather together for mass, sing, worship and celebrate the precious time with the Lord and friends. After mass, others extend their bonding time by taking breakfast in a favorite dining area. Many look forward to Sundays and being in church, to unwind from stress and work. Feeling refreshed, the rest of the days after mass and Sundays become bearable for many.
Like elsewhere in Japan, the declining population characterizing this society has affected the church as well. Unlike in the past where the Japanese churches had more Japanese members, now, foreigners, especially those from the Philippines and Latin America, predominate. Japanese churches have become multinational, cultural diversity observed in the songs and prayers shared during church services.
The parishioners, however, are becoming more elderly. Of concern, the younger generation, the children and youth, are no longer active in church services and activities. If this trend proceeds, the churches in Japan may end up as empty structures. This early, they have the initiatives to attract and encourage the young to consider the church as their home now and in the future. Youth summer camps and other interactive activities have been lined up to ensure that the church lives on in this country.
As the language and the culture of the Japanese are different from the foreigners, there are still so many unaware about where the churches are located. Many want to hear mass or even just pay a visit and pray to God in a church but are unable to because they are unfamiliar with their new environment, so far away from their own home and family. English websites are helpful to trace where the nearest church is. We hope many of those who are still searching for their church soon find their home away from home. We hope that when they do, they will feel the warm welcome of an embracing family united in their love and service for the Lord.
The Tomobe Family Day takes place once a year. Family Day with the Lord takes place at least once a week for many foreigners and residents here in Japan. Whether it be a day or once a week or more, there is really no substitute for family. Home is where love rests. Home is where the family is. Here is looking forward to more family days for all, especially for those who are abroad and away from their homes and families for now.
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