On February 25, Tenrikyo Young Men’s Association held its monthly meeting, which was attended by about 200 people including chapter chairmen from directly supervised churches and dioceses.
At the beginning of the meeting, Association President Daisuke Nakayama took the podium to give his address, in which he first expressed his appreciation to the participants while looking back on the Oyasama 130th Anniversary–related activities. Then touching upon the fact that the association will mark the 100th anniversary of its founding in 2018, he said, “The Young Men’s Association should take this opportunity to increase momentum in the entire Tenrikyo community.”
Association Chairman Masanao Nakayama then announced the continuing use of the association’s activity guidelines, “Increase the number of active members and grow spiritually.” Having referred to the importance of nurturing and training human resources, he encouraged members to make a habit of taking action. He emphasized that they should engage in missionary work so that it would become second nature to the Young Men’s Association.
On the following day, the association also held a gathering for chapter chairmen of directly supervised churches and dioceses. The gathering was also attended by executive committee members of those chapters. The participants reflected on their pre-anniversary activities and had discussions based on the Shinbashira’s sermon at the Oyasama 130th Anniversary Service.
The association’s main activities for this year include the 92nd Young Men’s Association Convention to be held in the Inner Courtyard of Church Headquarters from 10:00 a.m. on October 27. As for the activities to be conducted by the chapters based in churches, the Missionary Campaign Week for All Chapters is scheduled for the week of September 4–11. Regarding regional activities, the association encourages members to participate with their families in the Heart-Clean Campaign, which is held on the first Sunday of each month except for September 2016 (third Sunday) and January 2017 (second Sunday). This year’s Action Day for the campaign will be conducted on July 3. The overseas-related activities sponsored by the association include India Study Tour, which has already taken place between March 1 and 15, and the International Hinokishin Corps, which will be held between July 18 and 24.