Contributed by The Rev. Timothy M. Nakayama

18 April 1998: In the space of less than three months in an Ecclesiastical Province of eleven Dioceses, three Bishops were consecrated, the last two consecrations only four days apart:

• The Rt. Rev. Francis Toshiaki Mori was consecrated in March, 1998 as Bishop of Chubu. Bishop Mori was the Dean of Bishop Channing Moore Williams' Seminary, Diocese of Kyoto, and succeeds the late Bishop Hoyo, who died while still active as the diocesan.
• The Rt. Rev. David Shoji Tani was consecrated on St Mark's Day, Saturday, April 25, 1998 as Bishop of Okinawa. Bishop Tani was theRector of the Church of the Resurrection, Kyoto, Diocese of Kyoto. He succeeds Bishop Paul Saneaki Nakamura, the first native Bishop of Okinawa, who served for the past 26 years as Bishop and retired on March 31, 1998. Bishop Nakamura had become Bishop of Okinawa when the Diocese of Okinawa was transferred from the Episcopal Church USA to the Nippon Sei Ko Kai in 1972, when Okinawa was returned from US military jurisdiction to Japanese civilian control. When Okinawa was part of the ECUSA, the recently-retired Presiding Bishop Edmond Lee Browning was Bishop of Okinawa.
• The Rt. Rev. James Toru Uno was consecrated on Wednesday, April 29, 1998 as Bishop of Kita Kanto. Bishop Uno was the Rector of St Andrew's Church, Osaka, and Chaplain of St Andrew's (Momoyama) University, Diocese of Osaka. He succeeds the late Bishop James Takashi Yashiro, who died while still active as the diocesan bishop of Kita Kanto and Primate of the Nippon Sei Ko Kai. Bishop Michael Creighton of Central Pennsylvania was one of the Consecrators, along with the Bishop of Bangladesh, who were representing Dioceses with whom Kita Kanto has a companionship relationship.

Bishop Joseph Noriaki Iida, Bishop of Kyushu and Acting Primate of the Nippon Sei Ko Kai was Chief Consecrator for these three Consecrations.

In filing this report, Rev Nakayama also tells us this:

Because of my recent service as Rector of All Souls' Church, Okinawa, my wife, Keiko, and I visited Okinawa on 29 March for the Retirement Party for Bishop Nakamura, and the Consecration of the new Bishop of Okinawa. We also were privileged to attend the Consecration of Bishop Uno for Kita Kanto, who as a priest of the Diocese of Osaka came to stay in 1973 for three months at St Peter's Church, Seattle, (where I was serving as Rector) and visited within the Diocese of Olympia with whom Osaka had a companionship relationship at that time.

Although I retired from All Souls', Okinawa, Bishop John Tadao Sato of the Diocese of Tohoku invited us to fill two parish vacancies: St Andrew's Church, Aomori (a parish with three kindergartens), and St Michael's Church, (a ministry among those who had been afflicted in the past with Hansen's disease and are living in a sanatarium. They no longer have the disease but suffer from handicaps caused by the disease). We hope to go to Aomori in time to begin our part-time ministry (because of our retired status) from August 1, for one year. Okinawa is semi-tropical; Aomori has cool summers and snowy winters.

It has been said that Japan is the Mount Everest of Christian Mission and Evangelism. I can attest to the difficulties, but also the excitement of the challenge. Please pray for the people of Japan andfor the Nippon Sei Ko Kai.