I received the following 2 articles from District yesterday and want to share them with you. It was requested that a call to prayer be made corporately for Japan. As the Spirit reminds you please pray together every morning @ 12:00 pm. Our prayers timed together will be a concert of prayer, an offering to the Lord, and encouragement for our Japan brothers & sisters! Thank you for your participation.
Church asks for prayer in aftermath of Japan earthquake
Friday, March 11, 2011
Honshu, Japan
By NCN News Staff
An 8.9 magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami off the northern coast of Japan killed hundreds and caused numerous injuries, fires,
and buildings to collapse on Friday afternoon local time. The earthquake sent shockwaves across the Pacific region with an aftershock tsunami
hitting the Hawaiian Islands at 10:45 a.m. EST and along the western coastal region of the U.S. at 11:20 a.m. EST.
A 33-foot tsunami swept through Japan's coastal region north of Tokyo and destroyed much of the area's infrastructure, limiting communication.
Mark Sakamoto, president of Japan Nazarene Theological Seminary, tried most of the day Friday to reach the pastor or members of the church in
Sendai, where the tsunami struck.
Members of the Sendai Church of the Nazarene dedicated their new building only 12 months ago. The district made contact with pastor Shouei Abe
on Saturday morning local time. He is safe and the building is intact, Sakamoto said.
"Praise the Holy Name," Sakamoto said in a written comment on NCN News."Thank you for your prayer."
Sakamoto, pastor of the Koiwa church in Tokyo, said the quake frightened many people. In his family's apartment above the church, furniture toppled
over and items fell onto the floor.
The church building withstood the quake, and there are no reports of any injuries or fatalities in that area of Tokyo, Sakamoto said.
"I have assured Mark and Japan Nazarenes of the fervent prayer for the Japanese people," said Verne Ward, director of the Church of the Nazarene's
Asia-Pacific Region.
Ward paused the district assembly in Taiwan for an outpouring of prayer, and assured newly elected Japan District Superintendent Manabu Ishida of the
assembly's prayers for the hours and days ahead.
Junichi Nakade, an Asia-Pacific and Japan Nazarene Theological Seminary student, his wife, Mari, and their infant son, Tsukushi, were with Junichi's
parents in southern Japan when the quake and subsequent tsunami hit. The Nakades live on the campus of JNTS and said that the buildings remain intact,
though they are concerned about the state of their campus apartment.
The entire east coast of Japan remains under tsunami alerts and the country faces more dilemmas as aftershocks continue and the earthquake damaged
major utility plants, including two nuclear power plants.
Crews cooled down the plants' nuclear reactors after fires broke out in both facilities on Friday, however, 4.4 million homes remain without power.
As Marty Egashira visited his mother in the hospital, the earthquake struck. Egashira, a member of Japan NCM, joined hundreds of people stranded due
to damaged roads and a halt in public transportation. He will spend the night in the hospital and hopes to return home tomorrow, he said.
This is the strongest earthquake in Japan's recorded history. Government officials expect the number of deaths to increase amid widespread reports of
landslides, floods, collapsed buildings, and fires.
The 8.9 quake was the first in a series of quakes, the U.S. Geological Survey reported, which began at 2:45 p.m. local time about six miles below sea level
and 231 miles off the east coast. Five powerful aftershocks of up to 7.1 in magnitude followed within the hour and thirty occurred since the initial quake.
People in Tokyo, who were 235 miles away from epicenter, felt the shocks as did residents in Beijing, China, CNN reported.
The Church of the Nazarene's Board of General Superintendents, while scattered in global assignments and ministry, is issuing a call to prayer. As the
church journeys through the season of Lent, anticipating the memorial of the Lord's crucifixion and the glorious message of His resurrection, believers
know God is present in times of suffering. Prayers invoke the mercy, grace, and compassion of the Savior on behalf of all those affected by this disaster.
The Church asks Nazarenes everywhere to pause and pray on behalf of the Japanese people, and provide assistance if possible.
Persons and churches wishing to make a donation for Tsunami/Earthquake Relief 2011 can do so online
through Nazarene Compassionate Ministries at ncm.org. Checks can be marked "ACM1762" and mailed to
Global Treasury Services, PO Box 843116 Kansas City, MO 64184. In Canada, checks should be made payable
and sent to the Church of the Nazarene Canada, 20 Regan Road, Unit 9, Brampton, Ontario L7A 1C3.
Nazarene Compassionate Ministries, Inc. receives four-star rating
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Lenexa, Kansas
By NCN News Staff
A U.S. charity evaluator awarded Nazarene Compassionate Ministries, Inc. a four-star rating for its management practices.
Charity Navigator, based in Glen Rock, New Jersey, rated NCMI after a review of the organization's fiscal and administrative records.
"As the nonprofit sector continues to grow at unprecedented pace, savvy donors are demanding more accountability, transparency,
and quantifiable results from the charities they choose to support with their hard-earned dollars," wrote Ken Berger, president and
chief executive officer of Charity Navigator, in a letter to NCMI.
NCMI, based on 2009 data, goes above and beyond the demand for accountability, Berger said.
"NCMI is very pleased to have received this recognition for the second consecutive year," said Tom Nees, chief executive officer of NCMI.
"It is a tribute to the integrity with which donations are used and efficient administration."
Charity Navigator, ranked one of the top nonprofit evaluators in the U.S. by Forbes, Business Week, and Kiplinger's Financial Magazine,
highlights the work of efficient charities and provides donors with information they need to make a charitable contribution.
"Only 19 percent of the charities we rate have received at least two consecutive 4-star evaluations, indicating that Nazarene Compassionate
Ministries, Inc. consistently executes its mission in a fiscally responsible way and outperforms most other charities in America," Berger wrote.
"This 'exceptional' designation from Charity Navigator differentiates Nazarene Compassionate Ministries, Inc. from its peers and demonstrates
to the public it is worthy of their trust."
NCMI provides funds from donors outside the denomination to support Nazarene Compassionate Ministries' projects around the world. For the
past three years, approximately $4 million annually has been directed to Nazarene programs responding to human suffering in the U.S. and
around the world, Nees said.
As a U.S. nonprofit corporation, with a board elected by the Church of the Nazarene General Board, NCMI is one of several international resource
partners for Nazarene Compassionate Ministries and the Church of the Nazarene. For more information, visit the NCMI website, www.ncmi.org.
