METHODIST CHURCH
CELEBRATES ITS
100TH ANNIVERSARY
THIS YEAR
Street in Palo Alto, and Aldersgate United Methodist Church was born, although back then,
they called it the Japanese Methodist Episcopal Church.
This November 8 (Sunday 5pm), Aldersgate will celebrate their 100th anniversary at
Dynasty Seafood Restaurant in Cupertino’s Vallco Shopping Center.
Award winning author and organic farmer David “Mas” Masumoto will be the keynote
speaker. Hailed by The New York Times as “A poet of farming,” he finds the natural bridges
between families and farming, fathers and children, booms and declines, and relating them to
larger, more sweeping themes of life, death, and renewal. David will illuminate our church
history and its broader implications in new, insightful ways.
Emmy award winner and television producer Wendy Hanamura will be our emcee.
There will be displays of historic photographs and documents, and the release of our hard
bound history book to commemorate the event. The book will include stories such as:
• Rev. Masaji Goto, who loved to fish, hunt, and eat many of the strange foods he
caught…and sometimes put them into the church potluck lines without anyone’s knowledge.
• The amazing story of the Japanese immigrants living on Ramona Street that spawned the
original church, and its ties to then Stanford University President David Starr Jordan.
• Nellie Nakamura, whose harrowing experiences as she and her family prepared for Heart
Mountain Internment Camp are chronicled.
• Molly Chow, coxswain for the St. Mary’s College crew, and how she became a leader in the
boat, and in her life.
• Loads of historic and new photographs by professionals George Tanaka and Brad
Shirakawa, and much, much more!
Reservations have closed. Contact us at 650-948-6806 / or email Brad
Shirakawa at bshirakawa@sbcglobal.net