Friends in Need are Friends Indeed
Historic peace churches such as the Mennonites, Church of the Brethren, and the Society of Friends (Quakers) frequently engaged in personal ministry to the evacuees during World War II. As…
A Man for Others
Before the war, the Rev. Emery E. Andrews (1894-1976), affectionately known as “Andy,” had been the active and well-liked English-language minister of the Seattle Japanese Baptist Church (JBC).[1] He had…
Dear Miss Breed
Clara E. Breed (1906-1994) grew up in a Christian home[1] and was a children’s librarian in San Diego at the time of the evacuation. Her library was the branch closest…
A Family Picnic
According to the 1940 census, nearly two-thirds of Japanese Americans had jobs related to agriculture. Such work brought them into contact with members of the farming community. E. C. Loomis…
Plain Talk About Exclusion
Walter C. Woodward (1910-2001) and his wife, Mildred (1909-1989), lived on Bainbridge Island across Puget Sound from Seattle and were among the only courageous souls who spoke up for the…
The First Church to Close
Virginia Swanson’s ministry had begun in 1932 when the blonde-haired, blue-eyed Minnesotan had been sent by the Women’s Baptist Home Mission Board in New York to serve as a missionary…
Flashlights in the Dark
On February 27, 1942, the residents of Terminal Island (twenty-five miles south of Los Angeles off the coast of San Pedro) were the first Japanese Americans to be evicted from…
What is Man?: Help When You Feel Worthless (Ps 8)
Read Psalm 8: A Psalm of David. 1 O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. 2 Out…
The Truck-Driving Missionary
In 1915, Rev. Herbert V. Nicholson (1892-1983) arrived in Japan after committing his life to serve the Japanese people. Born in Rochester, New York, he had received a call to…
Let Not Man Prevail: Help for the Oppressed (Pss 9-10)
Read Psalms 9-10: To the choirmaster: according to Muth-labben. A Psalm of David.[1] Psalm 9 1 I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart; I will recount all…