Around 75 Christian leaders and peacebuilders from Northeast Asia and beyond gathered in Okinawa, Japan, from July 28 to August 2 for the 12th Christian Forum for Reconciliation in Northeast Asia (NARI), centered on the theme "Reconciliation Through Resilience: Learning from the Okinawa Context and Beyond."
At the first morning worship service on July 29, Rev. Watari Tomari, senior pastor of Goya Baptist Church in Okinawa, preached from Genesis 35:1, urging Christians to seek peace and return to the foundations of faith.
He began by greeting participants with three expressions in the Okinawan dialect: "welcome," "our life is precious and a treasure," and "when we eat, we are brothers and sisters." The pastor noted that Okinawa, once a major battleground during World War II, carries a deep longing for peace that still shapes the island today. "Our prayer for peace will not go out of date after 80 years," he said. "We are reminded that the desire for peace should not fade. The people of Okinawa continue to look for and seek the peace of our world."
Reflecting on God's words to Jacob in Genesis 35:1, Rev. Tomari emphasized the importance of returning to Bethel, the place where Jacob first heard God's voice, describing it as a starting point of faith for all believers. He recalled his own spiritual journey, growing up in a pastor's family in Okinawa and being baptized at the age of 12, when he came to realize his life was no longer his own but was being followed by God's plan. He can appear to people in many ways, he added.
Drawing from the story of Zacchaeus, the tax collector who climbed a tree to see Jesus, Tomari said he sees himself in that figure. "I think Zacchaeus is myself, not others," he said. "God has appeared to us, each one of us here today."
He concluded by underscoring the call to build an altar—coming before Jesus in repentance, remembering his cross and atonement, and entering into fellowship with him. "So at this forum," he said, "we are trying to climb up to Bethel, and God has appeared to us, and we've been on an altar in our life."
Except for the morning worship, the forum held plenary and workshop sessions and ended with evening worship during the week.
Launched in 2012, the NARI Forum was initiated by Duke Divinity School's Center for Reconciliation, the Mennonite Central Committee, and colleges and institutions in Northeast Asia. The annual forum serves as a platform to pursue the pastoral, theological, and peacebuilding work of healing in a region shaped by historical wounds and divided memory.
