Workshop on A Welcoming Church: The Experience of Ofunato Catholic Church after 3.11 will be held on November 11th.

2017.10.20

On March 11, 2011, the Pacific coastal areas of Tohoku were devastated by a triple disaster of an earthquake, tsunami and nuclear accident. Ofunato and Rikuzentakata were no exception. A number of foreign nationals have lived in this area. After the disaster, the Roman Catholic Church of Ofunato became a center of gathering beyond the usual religious space for foreign Catholics such as Filipinos, Chilean and other nationals who joined the predominantly Japanese church. The church membership increased from 110 to 190 with almost all of them who joined the church after March 11 were Filipino mothers and their children.
In this workshop, after a brief introduction of Filipino participation in the Catholic Church in Japan for the last three decades, Mr. Keiichi Sugawara will discuss how a multicultural church was born. Ms. Erva Sugawara will talk about her experience from the perspective of the Filipino. Fr. Edgar Gacutan, who had served as parish priest of Ofunato Church for more than three years until April 2017, will share his commitment during the post-disaster recovery process.