By:
NEWS
From the Archives… Our Church’s Connection with Kyoto, Japan… Part 2
Robert and Kyoko Grant, educational missionaries who were supported by First Parish Church in the 1960’s and 1970’s, are the focus of our sanctuary display for November and December. Last month’s article included photos of them and information about Robert’s education and career before moving to Japan where he taught English at Doshisha University in Kyoto, Japan. A few years after his first wife died, Robert married Kyoko, who had been a former student at the university. Following Robert’s unexpected death in 1974, Kyoko continued with their missionary work and later visited First Parish Church to share their missionary experiences with our congregation.
On the Doshisha University website (https://www.doshisha.ac.jp/en/information/neesima/graveyard/index.html), information on a common burial site for missionaries at Doshisha University lists the following about “Robert Grant (1911-1974): A professor at the Faculty of Letters. Grant visited Japan as a missionary from the American Board after World War II. He played a vital role in the establishment of Doshisha Womens’ College of Liberal Arts.”
Below are five letters written by Robert Grant providing interesting facts and observations about life in Japan in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s as well as the issues surrounding being a Christian in a non-Christian country after World War II. A letter from Kyoko Grant is also included after visiting First Parish Church in 1977.
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Kyoko visited First Parish Church in 1977, three years after her husband’s unexpected death. This is a copy of her schedule for that week’s visit here in Brunswick.
This letter was written by Kyoko Grant after visiting First Parish Church in 1977.
Below is a church bulletin from December 1924.
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Below is a church bulletin from December 1974:
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Merry Christmas to you and yours during this wonderful time of the year.
