It is with sadness, but also with a great deal of gratitude for work that has been accomplished, that I share with you that Pastor Hitoshi Adachi, Assistant to the Bishop for Finance and Asian Ministry Coordinator, will leave the staff of the Pacifica Synod. He and his wife Satoko are returning to their native Japan to serve as missionaries in Kumamoto. Pastor Hitoshi has been invaluable in support of our Asian ministries, as well as guiding the financial work of the Synod. He has given me permission to share the letter he wrote to the Synod Council announcing his resignation:
Dear Beloved Pacifica Synod Council Members,
May the seasons of Christmas and Epiphany be filled with God's mercy and grace in each one of your lives!
Together with Satoko, my wife, there is one thing I must humbly write about today. Because of my aging parents (92 and 89) and Satoko's aging mother (85), who has not been able to walk since last Christmas, Satoko (and I) have been struggling with frequent travel from California to Japan. This past summer, I found that the ELCA is looking to fill three ordained missionary positions in Japan. It was recommended that I apply to the ELCA's Global Mission Unit and make my Rostered Ministered Profile open to be called. I followed the recommendation and prayed that the Holy Spirit would guide us according to God's will and, in the middle of November, Satoko and I were interviewed (if married, missionaries are sent with their spouse in most cases). Last week, I received a phone call that asked us if we wanted to be sent to Kumamoto. Although Kumamoto is a one-hour flight away from our parents in metropolitan Tokyo, we prayerfully discerned this possibility and decided to accept this call. Yesterday morning, we let the ELCA know of our acceptance to the call in Kumamoto, which means our employment status will be transferred to the Global Mission Unit on February 1. Therefore, I tender my resignation from the staff as of January 31.
I have shared this information with Bishop Andy and Synod Staff, and my last day at the synod office will be Thursday, January 18. I thank each one of you for your fellowship and friendship for the last 8 years and for being wonderful Synod Council members. Satoko and I will carry our Pacifica Spirit in our hearts, even as we're called to do God's work in Japan.
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Hitoshi
I invite you to pray for Pastor Hitoshi as he takes on this new role. I encourage you to join with me in sponsoring his work as a missionary with a donation in thankfulness for his service to the Pacifica Synod. I request that your congregation also consider sponsoring Pastor Hitoshi with ongoing support through the ELCA. If you are interested, please email Terri Robertson at
terrirobertson@pacificasynod.org and you will be provided with information about an ELCA Global Church Missionary Sponsorship.
Finally, I invite you to join with me in wishing God's richest blessings on Pastor Hitoshi and Satoko, and all their family, both their parents in Japan and their adult children who will remain in the United States, as they assume this new call. May God bless them and keep them, may God's face shine on them with grace and mercy, and may God look upon them with favor and grant them peace. Amen.
Yours in Christ,
Bishop Andy Taylor