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Dr. William and Ann Moore

Letters from Bill and Ann Moore

March 2012
November 2011
November 2010
August 3, 2009
December 6, 2007
September 7, 2007
November 23, 2005
November 29, 2004

For older letters, contact Mission Connections

Bill and Ann Moore

Kobe, Japan
Mail: Ann Moore
Mail: Bill Moore
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Bill and Ann Moore have served as people in mission with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in partnership with the Reformed Church of Japan (RCJ) in Hiroshima and currently in Kobe, Japan. In 1985, the Moores arrived in Japan and spent two years in Kobe for full-time language study. They then moved to Hiroshima where Bill worked in new church development and evangelism, preaching and teaching in five churches in the Hiroshima Prefecture. Since 1995, they have been in Kobe where Bill is the organizing pastor of a new church development for the RCJ in the northern suburbs of Kobe-Osaka called the Nishitani Chapel. The RCJ was founded in 1946, and though it's a small church, it has a strong missionary vision. Ann is a partner in ministry with Bill assisting with the work in evangelism and new church development.

Bill and Ann write of the difficulty of being Christian in Japan, “Over our years of service in Japan we have been constantly impressed, inspired, and humbled by the devotion of believers here to Christ and his Church. It is more difficult to remain faithful to Jesus Christ in Japan than in many other places. Christians, making up less than one percent of the population of Japan, are a small minority in a nation where it is psychologically difficult to be different from those around you. Religiosity is generally a matter of observing the traditional rituals of Buddhism and Shinto and religious commitments generally never take precedence over the demands of human relationships. Therefore, to be a follower of Jesus Christ and to owe supreme allegiance to him means to go against the ‘grain’ of Japanese culture and society. In the eyes of most Japanese, for a person to become a Christian means that he or she has given up some of their ‘Japaneseness’ and gone after a ‘Western’ religion, one that rightly does not belong in Japan.”

Download a prayer card that lifts up the work of Bill and Ann Moore in Japan.

Bill is the son of Presbyterian missionaries to Korea. While a student at Davidson College, in Davidson, North Carolina, where he earned his B.A. in sociology, Bill spent his junior year at the International Christian University in Tokyo. Later, during his doctoral studies at Union Theological Seminary in Richmond, Virgina, where he earned his D.Min., Bill spent a term as a volunteer in mission as a student pastor and English teacher at Soongsil University in Seoul, Korea. After graduation, Bill became pastor of Little Falls Presbyterian Church in Falling Waters, West Virginia. Bill and Ann spent four years in West Virginia before beginning their service in Japan.

Ann was born in Korea. She studied Japanese as a student in Japan and received her B.S. in business administration from Meiji University in Tokyo. She has worked for a Japanese trading company and later as an English tutor in Hagerstown, Maryland.

The Moores have two children, Paul and Sarah, living with them in Japan. Another child, John, is in college in the United States. Bill is a clergy member of Shenandoah Presbytery and Ann is a member of Little Falls Presbyterian Church in West Virginia.

Birthdays:
Bill - April 24
Ann - March 12
John - February 17
Paul - November 10
Sarah - February 2

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  • We were with you in Montreat in 1985. In 1986 we spent 8 months as volunteers teaching in Taiwan at the Bible College in Hsinchu. Dot arranged for two of her students to come to Queens U. in Charlotte; both spent four years and graduated. We found your August 2009 newsletter with your family picture. We are distressed by the suffering in Japan, and we admire the bravery and responsibility of the Japanese people. We assume that you and your congregation are safe. May God bless your ongoing Christian work. IN HIS NAME, J & D by James & Dorothy Pence on 03/25/2011 at 11:23 a.m.

  • Peace to you Bill & Ann. Our congregation has been praying for the people of Japan and especially for our mission co-workers. At tonight's session meeting we lifted you and your family and your ministries to God in prayer. May God surround you with strength, stamina, and hope for the days to come. Rev. Marie Buffaloe and session of Derry Presbyterian Church, Hershey, PA by Marie Buffaloe on 03/16/2011 at 6:38 p.m.

  • Dear Bill and Ann, I choose to project that you are safe and well, but can only imagine the anxiety in your hearts concerning so much loss and tragedy around you. I so appreciate the article about provided by the PC(USA), and feel thankful to "see" you. Our little church included you in our prayers yesterday. May you feel strength in caring for others and yourselves, and wisdom in making decisions that extend ministry and compassion to those around you. Peace, Lynn by Lynn Thompson Bryant on 03/14/2011 at 6:38 p.m.

  • Dear Ann, I have been spending time today praying for Presbyterian mission personnel and mission partners in Japan. I see here that today has been your birthday. I can only hope that God granted you a glimmer of joy and hope in the midst of the tragedy and destruction in Japan. Please know that there are people praying for you in Argentina. In Christian solidarity, Katie Griffin Rev. Kathleen M. Griffin Professor of Church History University Institute - ISEDET (www.isedet.edu.ar) Mission Co-worker with the Presbyterian Church (USA) Buenos Aires, Argentina by Katie Griffin on 03/12/2011 at 9:01 p.m.