Tohoku bishop says Sendai-based diocese is suffering with the rest of Japan
Episcopal News Service. March 18, 2011 [031811-05]
ENS staff
Diocese of Tohoku Bishop John Hiromichi Kato has said in a pastoral letter that Japan was "simply not prepared for problems on this scale" in the aftermath of the March 11 magnitude-9 earthquake. In a pastoral letter, the bishop of the Sendai-based diocese said his people lacked food, gasoline, electricity, water and heat.
The text of his letter is here. Tohoku is part of the Nippon Sei Ko Kai (NSKK), the Anglican Church in Japan.
"What we are experiencing in our city does not compare to what we have seen in the media, particularly those areas directly impacted by the tsunami," he said.
The bishop included in his letter a summary of reported damage to diocesan churches and other institutions, as well as a list of church members who are dead or missing. He noted that diocesan staff have still not been able to visit all areas. There are 29 churches, chapels and missionary stations in the diocese, he said.
Christ Church Cathedral in Sendai is safe, but Eucharist was held in the parish hall on March 13 out of safety concerns, the bishop said.
"I mention all the suffering we are experiencing but there are many heart-warming stories too," Kato wrote. "For example, right after the quake traffic lights were not working but I did not observe any traffic chaos because people were driving very cautiously, taking particular care of the elderly."
The diocese has established a relief center, he said.
"The first priority is to confirm safety of parishioners and church building, but the eventual challenge is to rebuild our diocese," Kato said. "With God's blessing I pray that we will accomplish this task."
The bishop said inquiries and offers of help have from across the Anglican Communion, including the Archbishop of Canterbury and churches in the dioceses of Louisiana, Western Louisiana, and Daejeon (South Korea) with which Tohoku has companion relationships.
"Challenges to overcome the damage [are] not limited to [the] Diocese of Tohoku, and other dioceses have been affected in some way," the bishop said. "So I want to offer churches and people in other dioceses our solidarity and prayers."
Episcopal Relief & Development said on March 15 that it is sending financial support to the Nippon Sei Ko Ke to help with its initial emergency relief efforts as the Anglican Communion province continues to gather vital information about its impacted dioceses in the north and begins to assess the immediate needs of the church and the wider Japanese community.
More than 6,500 people died when the magnitude-9 earthquake (upgraded from an earlier estimate of magnitude 8.9) struck on March 11, resulting in a destructive tsunami that pounded the country's northeast coast. Japanese officials say that 10,500 people are registered as missing and other estimates put the number of missing at approximately 30,000 people.
The earthquake -- estimated to be at least 700 times more powerful than the magnitude-7 temblor that hit Haiti in January 2010 -- caused Japan's main island to move about eight feet to the east, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.