Property & Technology
by Ikuko Omori
How have you seen God at work in your ministry over the year?
We give thanks and praise to God as God has oversaw and protected us to keep the house of God safe, secure and sacred.
Could you list the activities and the engagement of your ministry this past year?
Property and Tech ministry team experienced the transition of the building with live-in sexton to without. It required some modifications as below. ・ Security camera system was installed to monitor front and back entrance doors in the office. May 2025 ・Front Automatic door system was updated with less number of staff to manage.
Property and Tech ministry team worked to accommodate transition of pastoral staff members at Manse, Mini-manse, Nishiyama room and Sexton's apt at church over the summer. Physical moving required many volunteers and were provided. In order to update to furnish Manse, Mini-manse and Nishiyama room, good pieces of furniture were donated all by God's help. The kitchen at the Manse was fully renovated after 30 years of use since it's built. There was a leakage from A/C drain condensation caused by fundamental structure of the building. Many major or minor problems can come up along with aging of the building.
At the Manse we received a complaint from a neighbor about odor when the wood deck was repainted. We learned to be careful to choose materials especially in the crowded neighborhood like the Manse.
Quite noticeable leakage on the ceiling in the kitchen and hallway on 1st fl was found in September. It was caused by the old drain pipes. It was fixed but we have to be aware that whole building drain pipes are over 45-year-old steel pipes and can cause major problem.
Major building facility improvement: Replacement of the Electricity Cubicle, a vital life line to supply electricity to the entire TUC building. It was 45 years old while the life time was said 20. The cost was high with ¥10M but good that we don't have to worry about sudden power down of entire building.
The new baptismal font will be donated by one of the congregation in May 2025.
The church building has been cleaned by professional cleaner since 2023 and seems working out well.
Annual evacuation drill was performed in October. We plan to have it every Sept or Oct as annual drill.
Technology Part in the Ministry at Tokyo Union Church:
We saw more development in the use of technology over the past year. Some of it was much more visible, such as the improvements to our Sanctuary A/V system, while others are much less visible.
Here are just a few areas where we saw some changes...
The fellowship hall has needed an audio upgrade for some time. At the beginning of 2024, we installed some powerful speakers that now allow speakers to cover the entire fellowship hall area. In addition, a high-quality mixer that had not been used was installed for future events. This mixer was later repurposed in the sound upgrade for the sanctuary, and a new but smaller mixer was installed in the fellowship hall that was much more appropriate for use in that space. The fellowship hall and the sanctuary are now connected through the IP network for better integration and use (such as overflow).
A couple of new PTZ video cameras have been purchased for expanded capabilities to our AV system. One is mounted in the fellowship hall, and another one is moveable, currently installed in the 2F classroom. This facilitates special live streaming events as well as unique video production opportunities when needed. (One example is the Adult Education Class for Church History, which was being held in the fellowship hall first followed by the second floor classroom.)
The WiFi system capabilities have been upgraded to improve the quality of the service for our staff and visitors. We have benefited from the new network installation that took place the year before, and we are working to better harness this setup through the building. We've already started taking advantage of this throughout our classrooms.
We have installed some equipment to improve the security and access to the church building, allowing more control for those who need to have access to those systems.
As mentioned, there have been improvements to the Sanctuary A/V system. This includes upgrading our video signal to 1080 lines (full HD) and changing our audio setup to allow more inputs, such as instruments and microphones. The A/V setup has been streamlined to improve video and audio quality made available through our VMix system.
In addition to the tech developments, there has also been a process to review the contracts currently in place for various technical services in order to better set up these agreements for future management by the church. We are thankful for the incredible amount of technology that is available to the staff and members of Tokyo Union Church, and we pray that we can continue to use these tools to honor and glorify God and serve our neighbors near and far.