ABOUT

WHO WE ARE

Founded in 1904 by three Japanese students, we are a Japanese/English bilingual member of the United Church of Christ (UCC). For more information on the history of Japanese American Congregationalists, visit the UCC’s website article Sho-Chiku-Bai.

Sycamore offers a wonderful Japanese language-based Preschool, led by Director Yoshimi Kinoshita. Sycamore’s facilities are used by a number of other organizations, including a group of teachers offering Japanese language throughout the week and on Saturday, abacus classes, piano lessons, and Japanese cultural activities for children during the summer.

While Sycamore is committed to serving the Japanese speaking community and celebrating Japanese culture and traditions, we are blessed with a diverse congregation and welcome all of God’s people, no matter who they are or where they may be on life’s journey.  Active in all local and national settings of the UCC, Sycamore is the birthplace of PAAM (Pacific Islander Asian American Ministries).  Sycamore weaves together English and Japanese speaking worship congregations, a Christian Preschool in which children learn to speak Japanese and about Japanese culture, Japanese language and abacus classes offered by community teachers, and a number of other activities.

WHAT WE BELIEVE

Sycamore is a member of the United Church of Christ, a welcoming, justice-minded Protestant denomination. We believe that God continues to play an active role in all of Creation and in our lives; that God is Still Speaking.  We are a non-creedal church, which means that you do not have to profess a specific set of beliefs in order to worship with us or become a member.  We are a Christian church and as such, attempt to pattern our lives after the life and teachings of Jesus.

We are a church that was originally founded by and continues to serve the Japanese immigrant community, as well as persons from many other countries, including the United States. This means that we have a particular focus on welcoming the stranger, hospitality, inclusion, justice and peace.  Many of our families are blended, in terms of historical ethnicity and beliefs. Therefore, it is particularly important for us to emphasize that “no matter who you are or where you are on life’s journey, you are welcome here, at Sycamore Church”.