Reaffirming Our Original Mission–Nurturing and Standing Up for Each and Every Student

 "Let the wicked leave their way of life and ‘change' their way of thinking. Let them turn to the Lord, our God; he is merciful and quick to forgive."　Isaiah 55:7/TEV

  “Yes, we can [change].” President Barack H. Obama accentuated this powerful statement during his victory speech on November 4, 2008. We, Japanese, have also recently been experiencing drastic political change through the general election held this August. This fast-moving stream extends to the heart of Japanese society and is bound to induce change in the current social situation. As individuals, without changing with the times, we will be left behind ourselves. Yet, our hearts seem to be replete with anxiety even as we accept the need to be changed.

  In Today’s English Version (TEV) of the Holy Bible, a popularly read version in the United States of America, the word “change” in the book of Isaiah is closely associated with and linked to the immutability of God’s will as being the focal point toward which we must return. However much society may change, God’s will and His plan of salvation for mankind remain unchanged. Consequently, the true meaning of the word “change” is to turn back to the expressed will of God, which encourages us to be born anew. In President Obama’s victory speech and inaugural address, the word “change” was reiterated or alluded to a number of times, but not in the sense of the kind of novelty created impulsively by decisions made on the spur of the moment; rather, “change” means for America to return to its better history from the time of the “Pilgrim Fathers,” which led to the establishment of an enriched society based on freedom and individual responsibility.

  Now let us come together and return to our roots. By reflecting upon the twenty-year history of Seigakuin University as well as the storied history of Joshi Seigakuin Junior College (i.e., Margaret K. Long Junior College), and learning from the one hundred-year history of Seigakuin Schools, we must not forget our heritage and the standpoint to which we should always return. Our original mission was “Love God and Serve His People.” In Seigakuin’s context, this means to nurture and stand up for individual students and members of the faculty, staff, and surrounding community, but, above all else, each and every student, in submission to God’s immutable will. At the Assembly of the Seigakuin Conference on Education held this August, this standpoint was reaffirmed by all in attendance.

  In the current society, we find ourselves in the midst of change, under siege from various threats: the expected pandemic of influenza A, natural disasters, drugs, a worsening financial crisis, and the depravity of human nature in general. Upon the first Sunday of September, known as “Rally Day,” let us return to the original stance taken by our campus community: “nurturing and standing up for each and every student,” and working together with students, faculty, staff and our supporters on the challenges of education, research, administrative tasks, and the fulfillment of our Christian ideology and heritage.

Mitsuharu Akudo, President, Seigakuin University

September 7, 2009