Nominating
by April Morito
Nominating Ministry Members:
Maya Tatsuno, Yuka Shigeno, Curtis Jordan & Pastor Héctor Herrera
Elders: Russell Gesling and April Morito
Nominating Team Members at Large:
The Nominating Team saw changes with Mary Aso and Russell Gesling both completing their terms as Members-at-Large. We thank them for their invaluable contribution and dedicated participation. We welcomed Yuka Shigeno and Curtis Jordan as new Nominating team members at large from 2024.
Jesus called them together and said,
“You know that the ruler of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave – Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Matthew 20: 25 – 28
The Nominating Team relies heavily on the Lord, His guidance and direction in showing us the leaders that He has called to lead the church. Throughout this year, as always while serving in Nominating, we can see God’s hand and strongly feel His presence. For this we give Him praise.
Associate Pastor Search Committee:
One of the first tasks of Nominating this year 2024, was to put together an Associate Pastor Search Committee. The APSC are in the final stages of discerning, interviewing and making the final recommendation to call an Associate Pastor who will complement and support Pastor Héctor in leading TUC. The Associate Pastor Search Committee, which is comprised of Rance del Rosario (the committee chair), Mary Aso, Becky Agatsuma, Monique Bae, John Inagaki, Grace Liu, Amy Mathies, and the Vice President, Brad Schmidt, serving as an ex-officio member. This team of dedicated people was approved in the special congregational meeting in October to begin the search for our new associate Pastor.
An Elder must be blameless, faithful to his wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. Since an overseer manages God’s household, he must be blameless – not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. Rather he must be hospitable. One who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. He must hold firmly to the trustworthy messages as it has been taught so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.
Titus 1:6-8
Slate of Elders:
Putting together two pastor search teams back to back made it quite a challenge to complete the slate of elders. Couple that with the fact that several elders are stepping down after having completed their 6-year term or those who are moving away from Tokyo, the Nominating team faced quite a challenge. We give thanks to the Lord and we are so grateful for the following elders who have stepped up and agreed to serve as leaders of the church:
Catherine Sasanuma (President),
Brad Schimdt (Treasurer),
Ji Mu (Clerk),
Naomi Kakinuma (Youth, Children, and Family),
Ulrike Hougaard (Community Life),
Alison Harada (Personnel Management),
Jackie Militello (Personnel Management).
During the year, we welcomed the mid-term appointments of Kanehira Mitani, for Evangelism Elder and Russell Gesling for Nominating Elder.
Elders continuing their terms:
Ikuko Omori, (Property and Technology Ministry Team),
Martha Gomez (moving from Community Life to Nominating), Peter Mathies (Spiritual Formation) are continuing their 2 year term.
Elders stepping down:
We also thank the following elders who are stepping down: Francois Keet (Finance),
Vanessa Sihite (Youth, Children, and Family),
April Morito (Nominating),
Andy Chen (Worship and Music),
Membership Classes:
Starting this year, Membership and new member’s classes, under the leadership of Amy Mathies as coordinator with Kiyoko Miyahara and Ulrike Hougaard, also comes under the Nominating Ministry Team.
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Membership Team
Amy Mathies, Kiyoko Miyahara, Ulrike Hoggards
The membership team organized three classes in 2024, and 38 people attended to learn about TUC—its history, core values, Ministries, and finances—from a Pastor and church leaders.
After deepening their understanding of TUC through vibrant discussion, 25 people became new members. We are excited to welcome so many new members this year and see them actively serving in the various ministries.
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FYI
Classes Infromation
April 2024: Attendance (16 people), Became new members (9)
November 2024: Attendance (14), Became new members (8)
February 2025: Attendance (8), Become new members on March 16, 2025 (8, to be expected)