Written by: MD MERAJ SHARIF
Edited by: AHMED LABIB DAIYAN
At the peak of December comes the time for celebrating Christmas and filling the joys of young and old hearts alike, whether it's through the tunes and choirs of Christmas carols or the jingling of bells from Christmas trees. For many new students at APU, the season of Christmas is the perfect catalyst to reminisce about home and think of how things used to be this time of the year.
In this Fall semester, many Christian students are feeling homesick and missing the way Christmas was. On top, there are students from different faiths who have never even experienced Christmas but are looking forward to exploring its festivity. One thing that is common is that they feel lost wondering what their Christmas plans could be for this year. Would this be the very first time celebrating Christmas alone far away from their family and binging Christmas movies like Home Alone films, in their dorms, alone? Or, would it be to relish the spirit and joy of Christmas with their new friends in a snow-filled Beppu filled with a range of activities to choose from? From struggling to reserve a table at KFC to walking around the likes of a festive Beppu Station, Tokiwa, and Youmetown, there are no bounds to the joy of Christmas surrounding the city of snow-filled Beppu around this time of the year. Even in APU, decorations can be seen lying around everywhere and many building events and gatherings can be seen organized by RAs and residents alike. However, many students want to celebrate Christmas by attending church services or events organized by their respective communities.
There are a plethora of churches around Beppu that welcomes all newly enrolled International APU students to celebrate their faith and rejoice in this holy month of Christmas. Many APU students may have seen churches around Beppu, but not all of them provide English services. To help newly enrolled APU students feel the joy of Christmas, Beppu-style, we have listed down a few churches here that not only provide both English and Japanese services. We interviewed senpais and new students to list some English-speaking churches for readers wanting to join an English-speaking Christian community and celebrate Christmas.
Here are our three top picks!
Full Gospel Oita Church (FGOC)
Full Gospel Oita Church becomes a topic of discussion and a favorite among many believers of Christ in this season of Christmas. FGOC hosts fully-gospel oriented service every Sunday and people from all over the world join together and unite their hearts in prayers. Many APU students have claimed that FGOC feels close to their hearts and feel a sense of belonging. FGOC is conjoined with King’s café in 13-5 Noguchi Nakamachi, a coffee shop fully operated by the Church staff and APU senpais alike where many APU students can find solace in praying, studying for finals, or maybe just both! FGOC prides itself on its diverse community of worshippers who are always in the service of their lord every Sunday and host several events and trips all around Japan for their members. Many APU students over the years have been dedicated to the service of FGOC even beyond graduation and give all that they can in support of its cause.
If you want to get a taste of how full-on gospel Sunday service feels, then there is FGOC in Beppu from where you can get to relish the joy of Christmas in. Besides that, they also have an upcoming event dedicated to fully celebrating Christmas on 25th December starting at 11 am and their arms are open to everyone from APU. Hence anyone looking forward to having a hearty Christmas celebration filled with service, worship, performances, free lunch with cuisines from all over the world, games, and a bunch of other activities to rejoice in! Better yet for new students, everything will also be conducted entirely in English.
Although the event is open to everyone, their registration form is only open till the 24th! You have to register for the event through the link they have opened to attend this event. Here is a registration link provided for their upcoming Christmas Event. For more details, feel free to contact them on their Instagram Page.
Beppu International Baptist Church (BIBC)
Another Church we would like to mention in Beppu as recommended by many APU students is Beppu International Baptist Church. Both Foreign and domestic students alike from APU and Beppu University, as well as English-speaking professors from APU, have their community in BIBC. We believe this is good news for many new APU students who want to be a part of an international-based church community! As of now, BIBC is located near the Trans-Kyushu expressway, very close to the crossroads of Road 10 in Nakasuga Higashimachi 10 Kumino 1.
Another exciting news that might fill the hearts of interested participants of BIBC is that they also have events coming up this Christmas which will include a Candle Light Service prayer on Saturday, 24th December. It will be conducted in two stages, the first service being a Silent service from 18:00-18:30 and a second service that will include singing which will be conducted from 19:00-20:00. Hence, any interested students can simply join BIBC for their service on Christmas eve and be part of a hearty and joy-filled Christmas worship.
For those looking forward to events on Christmas day itself, there are also two batches of Silent and Singing Worship Services available to attend. With the first silent service taking place from 9 AM onwards and the singing service starting from 10:50, both are inclusive with a message that the community running BIBC wants you to hear!
As mentioned by some of our interviewees, BIBC every year has tentative plans in the season of Christmas to further diversify their community, and this year it has been said to revolve around drama performances. Hence, feel free to join in on the Christmas events provided by BIBC and become part of a celebratory community. There is no prior registration required to be part of the services hosted on Christmas and Christmas Eve! For more information on BIBC, please check to feel free to check their website.
Beppu Catholic Church (BCC)
Catholics in APU who are looking forward to being a part of a catholic community can surely welcome themselves to Beppu Catholic Church located at 1-14 Suehirocho. There are Sunday masses provided both in Japanese and English. APU students who go to Beppu Catholic Church claim it to be the perfect place for healing for many with its beautiful interiors and serene surroundings giving it the aura that every Catholic APU students seek to get a break from their hectic days.
There is also an existing church community of international APU students and you can enroll yourself as a member of the church community at any time that follows a universal membership structure. For details relevant to celebrating Christmas, there are both Christmas eve and Sunday services being held in Beppu Catholic Church. There will be a Christmas eve mass on Saturday, 24th December starting from 19:00. On Christmas day, 25th December there will be a Christmas Daytime mass starting at 9:00. On Sundays, the Japanese mass takes place from 9:00 and the English mass takes place from 13:00. For more details, feel free to check their website.
That just about wraps up our take on celebrating Christmas this year and some of the ways you can be part of the local humble church communities in Beppu this time of the year. We encourage you to check out the listed churches yourself that are recommended by senpais and new students alike so that you can have a heartful Christmas celebration. As hard as it may be for new students to celebrate Christmas miles away from home, it is important to remember that the spirit of Christmas is universal! We want you to check out these churches as listed to further understand the joy and spirit of Christmas in the best way possible! We wish our readers Merry Christmas on behalf of APU Times!
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