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Our ongoing story
We represent voices from Peninsula Hope Church, a Japanese-speaking church in Redwood City, California. The Grant Deed (recorded 2000, San Mateo County) names Peninsula Free Methodist Church as the church property’s owner. In late 2024, the Pacific Coast Japanese Conference superintendent signed a lease and a memorandum of agreement with WestGate Church, handing over rights to our property without our pastor, board, or congregation’s approval. This new Commercial Lease names our conference as “sole owner”—excluding us—and leases the property to WestGate. As a result, we have been subjugated to WestGate’s decisions regarding how and when we can access our property, and in many ways, our own church.
- 2000 | Grant Deed records Peninsula Hope Church (PHC) as the church property owner
- 2017 | Pastor Toshi begins leading Japanese congregation
- Nov 2024 | Pacific Coast Japanese Conference (PCJC) signs Commercial Lease in secret, excluding PHC as a party
- Jan 2025 | Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) takes effect, despite superintendent signing on behalf of Pastor Toshi
- Nov 2025 | Congregation learns about Commercial Lease and MOA
- Jan 2026 | First public meeting, Pastor Toshi and PHC Board request change in agreements
- 13 Feb 2026 | PCJC superintendent fires Pastor Toshi
- 15 Feb 2026 | Second public meeting
- 16-18 Feb 2026 | PHC sends appeal letters to Free Methodist Church USA (FMC-USA) National Board of Administration
- 18 Feb 2026 | FMC-USA backs up superintendent's actions after "formal investigation"
Where's Toshi's signature?
Superintendent responds the day after firing Paster Toshi (brief audio recording with captions)
Superintendent signs on behalf of Paster Toshi (see last page for signatures)
Superintendent claims sole ownership of PHC church property in Commercial Lease Agreement
Grant Deed names PHC as property owner
PHC congregants send individual appeal letters to Free Methodist Church of the USA
Free Methodist Church of the US replies with a form letter response
A letter to our sister FMC-USA churches
That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
Ephesians 5:27 (KJV)
What you can do
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posted regularly on this website