Letters from overseas : The parish that cleans together

Notes: The author, a Volunteer in Mission from the diocese of Quebec, describes his work serving as a priest in Nagoya (Diocese of Chubu), Japan. He describes his experience of Japanese society and particularly of the concepts of personal space and belonging especially as they apply to religion. "Give the strong sense of space and belonging, and the way the two concepts overlap, it is not surprising that there is a very strong sense of ownership in a Japanese congregation. Stated in a positive way, the members of a parish feel a sense of pride in their church, support it generously, both financially and with their time, show up regularly, join its groups, mop its floors and scrub its toilets. I have never heard of church with a janitor. Cleaning is one of the things parishioners do together. Here at the cathedral, the third Sunday of every month is a clean-up day. People worship and work together (space) for the common good (belonging). But there is a negative side to this too. People will readily admit the duty of Christians to witness and do evangelism, but when push comes to shove, people are just not made welcome. Thus the `we' and `they' at work".

Subjects: Volunteers in Mission - Anglican Church of Canada; Volunteers in Mission - Holy Catholic Church in Japan; Christianity and culture - Japan; Interpersonal relations - Religious aspects - Holy Catholic Church in Japan; Christian sociology - Holy Catholic Church in Japan; Holy Catholic Church in Japan. Diocese of Chubu; Holy Catholic Church in Japan (Nippon Sei Ko Kai). Diocese of Chubu; Evangelism - Holy Catholic Church in Japan