Ming Nagasawa
Saturday Keynote Speaker

Ming Nagasawa lives in Boston, MA with her husband and two children, ages 7 and 9.  She originally moved to the Boston area to attend college at Harvard University, and has stayed ever since.  She is a social worker/family therapist, and she works especially with families in crisis.  She is part of a Christian community that is trying to make a difference to their low-income neighborhood through the ministry of presence and relationships. 

In 2000, Ming and her husband Mako bought a large house in the lower-income community in Dorchester “to contribute to the Christian witness in the city, and explore and promote expressions of ministry that have broad relevance.” Their desire was “to be a community that reflects the character of Jesus and the values and relationships of his Kingdom, where residents, neighbors and guests experience the reality of Jesus Christ.” Through the years they have had up to 4 generations living on the 3 floors of the house. A community house church, the Gathering Christian Fellowship, meets there to worship on Sundays. You can read more about their community at: http://nagasawafamily.org/index.htm

In 2005 Ming started work on a community garden next door. She got permission to create the gardens from the lot owner, a Community Development Corporation named Nuestra Communidad. Then she organized volunteers and neighborhood teenagers to help clean up the weeds, garbage, broken glass, and construction debris in the lot. Once the debris was cleared, Ming helped find grant money from the Urban Ecology Institute and the City of Boston Beautification Fund to purchase compost, plants and other materials. "We built raised beds because the soil was so poor," says Ming. "We now have 14, 5x10-foot raised beds that residents use to grow organic vegetables, herbs and flowers," she says. The new community garden also boasts perennial gardens, blueberry bushes, a raspberry patch, a grassy area for kids to play, a picnic and barbecue grill area for gatherings, a water supply, lighting and even a garden shed for storing tools. You can read more about the garden at:  http://www.gardeners.com/2007-Garden-Crusader-Ming-Nagasawa/8122,default,pg.html

We look forward to hearing her speak from Matthew 5-7, focusing on our hearts in relationship with the Father.

Susan Frederick
Friday Evening Guest Speaker

Special Guest Speaker Friday night will be Susan Frederick. God’s primary call for Susan has been to encourage and teach women to live out their divine calling. This has been accomplished through involvement in church leadership, teaching women’s Bible studies and lay counseling.

After 57 years of singleness, Susan married in 2006. Ernie and Susan are now called to an “Abraham and Sarah ministry” for Pittsburgh and the surrounding communities. They are presently in partnership with Revealer of the Enemy conferences which outlines God’s divine plan and kingdom purposes for wives, living out their role as helpmates. Susan is currently involved in developing follow-up studies to supplement these conferences. Also, Ernie and Susan are working with Family Guidance, Inc. in the TWOgether Pittsburgh marital growth program.   Susan’s professional career spans 38 years of teaching life skills in Family and Consumer Science. She earned a B.S. in Home Economics at Kent State University, and received a M.Ed. from Penn State University. Her career took her to diverse communities which included a Baltimore city school, Chartiers Valley, Upper St.Clair and Baldwin -Whitehall schools. In June 2009 Susan retired from teaching, to be refired for personal ministry.   Ernie and Susan live in a Pittsburgh suburb, and are members of the Allegheny Center Alliance Church.