May 23 at the Community Church
This 20-minute documentary tells a little-known story of young white Christian teenagers who put their bodies on the line to protect Sebastopol’s Japanese Buddhist temple, Enmanji, from hate-related arson and vandalism during WWII.
On Sunday, May 23, join us after worship for a special presentation of the documentary that tells an important local story about our town and our own church members. The film will be presented on KRCB (local channel 22) on May 3 at 9:30 PM and again on May 18 at 11:30 PM. But you can see it live here at the Community Church on May 23.
Here is an excerpt from www.enmanjitemple.com: The Enmanji temple was first established in Sebastopol in Sonoma County in 1926 and served as a center of activity for the local Japanese farm communities… During WWII, the temple was locked up while the Japanese families were forcibly incarcerated. Anti-Japanese sentiment ran high. Some unidentified individuals tried to vandalize and burn down the temple while the Japanese families were away. When the youth at the First Congregational Church of Sebastopol heard about the incident, Barbara Bertoli, Jack Gerboth, Sara Gerboth, Peggy and Bob Martz, Ann and David Williams and other teenagers who had grown up alongside Japanese Americans organized to guard the temple for three months. The film, narrated by the director, weaves interviews with long-time Sonoma County residents Paula Berndt, (Sara and Jack Gerboth's daugher), Barbara Bertoli, Marie Sugiyama, Ray Yamasaki, and George Hamamoto.
Please join us after worship on May 23 for this important presentation.
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