Blaine’s 120th Anniversary Aprons & Sling Bags

**Dale Kaneko and Carol Okano sold custom aprons made from cloth rice bags. Proceeds helped support Mission Guatemala.**

By Dale Kaneko & Carol Okano

It is wonderful to see so many visual reminders of Blaine Memorial’s rich legacy over 120+ years. Some of those reminders are the 120th Anniversary Aprons and Sling Bags. With the foresight of our former Tuesday Ladies keeping their all-cotton rice bags, we were able to create and share these unique Anniversary aprons and sling bags with you.

The Tuesday Ladies would be pleased, we believe, to know that their rice bags generated a wonderful churchwide fundraising project that lasted throughout last year. We are grateful for Nina Chinn and Carol Okano who envisioned and created the pattern for the aprons which included Glenn Mitsui’s 120th Anniversary logo. Also, with the remnants from these aprons, we were able to sew customized cell phone sling bags.

**Hand-made commemorative aprons were made with materials donated by our gracious congregation.**

Additional well-preserved rice bags were donated by the Kometani, Martin, Okazaki, Okubo and Gilbert families.

Thank you to our wonderful volunteer sewers (please see the list of names) and to many of you purchased these aprons and bags.

Our faithful and capable volunteer sewers:

Nina Chinn
Carol Kastrup
Pam Ikegami
Miriam Tong
Leann Onishi
Chris Onishi
Nadine Miyahara
Shirley Miyake
Diane Sugimura
Barbara Kanaya
Jana Wakasugi
Yuki Sofronas
Pam Yorozu
Kathy Onishi
Rachel Ono Lim
Julie Shioshita
Marina Kozu
Donna Sekijima
Eunice Gong
Elaine Chin
Julie Nomi
Carol Okano
Dale Kaneko

Anniversary Aprons were a popular item at Anniversary Sunday and Sukiyaki events!

Proceeds from the sales of these aprons and bags will go towards having some handicapped doors for the Lee Activity Center.

We are grateful to have our Anniversary aprons and sling bags as reminders to honor our ancestors and to continue their journey of faith, hope and love.

Dale Kaneko is a member of Blaine Memorial UMC.

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Our Story Continues!

***Team Blaine prevailed at the 2024 Walk for Rice event!***

35th Annual ACRS Walk for Rice @ Seward Park • June 28, 9:00 am

This year ACRS will hold the Walk for Rice at 9:00 am on Saturday, June 28, 2025 at Seward Park. Team Blaine raised over $11,000 last year (2nd place) and this year’s fundraising goal is $8,000. We’re off to a great start, but still have a way to go to reach our goal.

Help ACRS feed AAPI community members who are experiencing food insecurity by donating to and/or registering to walk with Team Blaine:

Donate Online through Team Blaine:
Team Blaine at ACRS

Mail your donation to the Blaine office:
Checks to “Walk for Rice”, memo: “Team Blaine”

Thanks for your support!
Justine I., Team Captain

Cancelled: Church Retreat, A Message from Harry Tang

We regret to inform you that the upcoming church retreat, scheduled for the weekend of August 22, has been canceled due to low registration.

We understand this may be disappointing news, and we sincerely appreciate your interest and support. For those who have already registered, we’ll reach out to you directly.

Thank you for your understanding and continued commitment to our church community. Stay tuned for future opportunities to gather, reflect, and grow together.

Prayer and Coffee • Wednesdays at 9am

Join us for prayer and community on Wednesdays at 9:00AM on Zoom. Our time together consists of brief check-ins, devotionals, and prayers. This is a great way to continue with Lent, clear and center your mind, all while connecting with God and your prayer community. Feel free to bring a cup of coffee, tea, and a bite to eat. Hope to see you on Wednesday.

Request for Potato Chips and Savory Treats

Thank you, everyone, for bringing in sweet and savory treats for our fellowship time on Sundays. We all enjoy them and are now running low. Please consider bringing in some of your favorite individually wrapped chips to share. Examples are potato chips, Doritos, Cheetos, etc. We appreciate your generosity.

You may drop the treats off in the social hall kitchen area on Sundays or during church office hours.

We are always in need of more helpers in the kitchen for our fellowship time and it’s a great way to get to know others. Please see Julie Lock at jtlock00@gmail.com if you would like to be added to our rotation list. Thank you!

Blaine’s 120th Anniversary Aprons & Sling Bags