Sacramento Japanese United Methodist Church
6929 Franklin Blvd.
Sacramento, CA 95823
(916) 421-
www.sacjumc.com
© 2011 Sacramento Japanese United Methodist Church
Designed by B. Lim-
Meet our Staff
Rev. Motoe Yamada -
Senior Pastor
Rev. Motoe Yamada holds a BA in International Relations with a Psychology minor from
the University of Toledo, Ohio, a Masters in Educational Administration/Student Affairs
Administration/Multicultural Education from Michigan State University, and a Masters
of Divinity from the Pacific School of Religion/Graduate Theological Union. She
previously served at Buena Vista United Methodist Church in Alameda, California (2002-
Rev. Motoe is one of four United Methodist members of the World Council of Churches Central Committee and a communication officer of the Japanese American Clergy Caucus. She was a key note speaker at EXPLORATION 2009, a national gathering for young people considering ordained ministry in the United Methodist Church.
Her ecumenical experience has included stints on the Council for Ecumenical Student
Christian Ministry and the North American Regional Committee for the World Student
Christian Federation. She was co-
“what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and
to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8b)
“I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)
She will be one of the keynote speakers at Youth 2011 (the event happens once every four years, with 4000 youth http://www.youth2011.net/) in July of 2011 and United Methodist Student Movement (an event for College Students) in May of 2011.
Rev. Shiro Kazato
Nichigo Ministry
Rev. Shiro Kazato was baptized by an American Baptist Missionary. He went to Aoyama Gakuin Seminary and passed an exam to study in the United States. He graduated from Baptist Seminary in Berkeley. Rev. Joe Sakakibara guided him to serve in Methodist Church. Retired in 2001, he currently provides Japanese (nichigo) bible study at the Parkview Presbyterian Church and the Sacramento Japanese United Methodist Church.
Rev. George Nishikawa
Pastor Emeritus
Rev. George Nishikawa was born and raised in Sacramento and graduated from Sacramento High School and Sacramento City College. He received a BA from the University of the Pacific and a Master of Divinity from Boston University School of Theology. He served in the US Army at Madigan Army Hospital in Tacoma, Washington from 1952 to 1954. He was ordained as Elder in 1958 at the Pacific Japanese Provisional Conference. He is currently a retired member of the California Pacific Annual Conference. He was a member from 1963 to 1990.
His first charge as student pastor was at Florin Japanese Methodist Church from 1954 to 1955. Appointments in the Japanese Provisional Conference include the Sacramento Pioneer Methodist Church from 1958 to 1960 and Berkeley Methodist United Church from 1960 to 1963.
His past positions include: District Superintendent of the Lost Angeles District, UMC; First Executive Director of Asian American Ministries; Staff of Asian American Ministries; Staff of General Board of Global Ministries, Finance and Field Service; and Consultant for Japanese American Religious Federation in San Francisco.
His current positions include: Consultant for California Nevada Annual Conference Foundation; Chairperson of Endowment Committee, National Federation of Asian American united Methodist; and Chairperson of National Japanese American United Methodist Caucus.
Gayle Kurasaki -
Youth Director
Gayle Kurasaki was born and raised in Clovis, CA and attended church from when she
was very young. United Japanese Christian Church (UJCC) was her home church, where
she first started getting into camps and youth work. She attended Junior High Camp
(JHC) as a camper in 1996, a counselor from 2000-
While Gayle is new to the Youth Director position, she is not new to SJUMC. After
JHC in 1996 she participated in the Sac State Fair and Rafting Trip, a reunion of
sorts for the camps in the summers of 1997-
Robyn Jovalis-
Office Manager and Childrens Ministry Director
Robyn Jovalis is our office manager. She has been with SJUMC since October 2004. She lives in East Sacramento with her husband Paul and has three children, ages 11, 15, and 18. Robyn has varied experiences that make her a great match for our congregation. She was brought up as the daughter of a United Methodist pastor, so she is very familiar with the United Methodist Church. She has been a travel agent, administrative assistant with the nonprofit organization, United Cerebral Palsy, as well as the Secretary at North United Methodist Church where she worked while her 2nd child was a baby and toddler. She doesn’t speak Japanese, but she can write it much better now than when she first came! She also now enjoys sushi, manju and owns a rice cooker! When asked what she enjoys most about SJUMC, she answered that she enjoys the sense of community here – and of course the food!
Rev. Motoe attended
THE WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES
in Geneva, Switzerland
