Japanese United Church has been worshipping for 75 years
Church was formed three years into Second World War
Remembrance Day stirs mixed emotions among many Canadians. But for a group that’s been part of the Lethbridge community for 75 years, it has added meaning.
It was in 1942, three years into the Second World War, that thousands of Japanese-Canadians living on the West Coast were removed to eastern B.C. and southern Alberta.
While families were ordered to leave their property and most of their possessions on the coast, they were able to bring some things of value with them — including their Christian faith. And soon after arrival, they began to organize their Japanese United Church in rural areas.
“We could not live in Lethbridge,” explains Audrey Nishikawa, one of the congregation’s historians.
Even though Japanese-Canadian families had been living in Raymond and other communities for many decades, the newcomers were restricted to living and working on rural farms.
Church council chair Sharon Tamura, who joined Audrey in sifting through the congregation’s records, points out there was no church building initially. When the growing congregation secured a minister, he held services in members’ homes.
And as sister congregations formed — in Raymond, Picture Butte and as far distant as Taber — a bicycle was sometimes his only means of travel.
Then the congregation bought a manse for the minister, and Sunday services were held there. Members reportedly put in extra hours in the sugar beet fields to raise the cash, Tamura says.
Their first minister, Jun Kabayama, had been part of a United Church mission in Japan. He served Lethbridge-area congregations for 10 years.
“He must have used the existing churches (First United and Southminster) for Christmas and special services,” they suggest.
It wasn’t until 1970 that Japanese United found a permanent home. It bought and renovated the Hungarian Hall, a 9 Avenue North facility that had served those families since 1936.
Over the years, the historians note, the congregation has been served by a dozen ministers, on a full-time or transitional basis. One of the bestremembered is Gordon Imai, who arrived in the late 1970s.
“He worked hard with young people, had a vacation Bible school,” and brought new people into the congregations.
And not all of them had Japanese ancestry, they add.
So English was spoken as well as Japanese, respecting older members who were accustomed to worshipping in their mother tongue.
Pastor George Takashima was the congregation’s last Japanesespeaking minister. So when retired Fort Macleod minister Bill Mayberry agreed to step in temporarily, they had to use a translator during parts of the service.
“Bill and his wife Millie were really loved and respected for the short time they were here,” Tamura says. The Lethbridge church remained linked with one in Taber and another in Calgary for many years, leading to its naming as the Southern Alberta Japanese United Church. In multicultural Canada, however, churches and organizations serving just one cultural tradition don’t always last.
Today, Nishikawa and Tamura say, Lethbridge may be the sole remaining “Japanese United” in Canada . . . although a majority of its members don’t share that heritage.
Instead, they say it’s become more of a neighbourhood church that attracts people who’ve moved into the city — maybe from a smaller community — who appreciate worshipping in a smaller congregation rather than one of the city’s large United Churches.
“It’s more like a family atmosphere. You become more involved.”
Seventy-five years later, Japanese United is remembering its history but looking to the future — with a new minister, Eva Stanley, about to step into the pulpit.
Newly retired minister Aldeen McKay was welcomed back for a special anniversary service this fall, followed by a meal.
“About 100 people turned up,” reports Tamura. “We were surprised to see so many supporting us.”
Many others, she adds, continue to support the church in other ways.
At the same time, Japanese United continues to make its contribution to the family of United Church congregations throughout the province and across the nation. Longtime member Dr. Kathy Yamashita was recently installed as president of the denomination’s Alberta Northwest “conference,” serving congregations stretching from Medicine Hat to Yellowknife and Whitehorse.