COMMISSIONED

Our Tokyo Multicultural Church (TMC) core group of six people (including Dale and Ann) were commissioned during the March 31 Easter Sunday worship service at the English Department of Musashino Chapel Center (MCC).

Pastor Howard Plucar outlined the birth of the idea of TMC about six years ago at MCC, MCC's formal decision to become the primary church partner of TMC three years ago, and now finally the launching of TMC. Several members of the MCC board then blessed the TMC core group by praying for us.

TMC will continue a close relationship with MCC. But we launch our own worship services on April 7.

CORE GROUP

Our TMC core group has met about five times at our apartment in February and March for planning and praying. We are finalizing the last minute details in preparation for launch Sunday. We plan to eventually have several language-specific congregations, but will begin with an English worship service. Ann's children's Bible story during the service will be translated into Japanese. Dale will preach in English through simultaneous interpretation into Japanese, and his sermon notes will be projected in both English and Japanese. Our morning worship will be followed by lunch (bought at nearby stores) and a discussion centered on the morning's Biblical content.

INITIAL FACILITY

The Lord has miraculously supplied a Sunday room rental for TMC, right in the apartment complex where we live. When we rented our apartment in January, we did not dream we could use the meeting room of the apartment complex for launching TMC, and hardly dared to ask for it. But after getting to know the manager of the complex, we did ask him about it. Much to our surprise, he seemed almost eager to rent it to us on Sundays! He has even given us permission to put up posters throughout the complex (250 units)!