Granville Church’s former Head Minister Minoru Kokuryo, 75, was installed as the 5th head of the Mission Center in Mexico on July 21 in a service attended by Director-in-Chief of Administrative Affairs Masahiko Iburi.
Besides serving as the 3rd head minister of Granville Church–located in Vancouver, Canada–for nearly 30 years starting in 1966, the new leader was on the board of directors of the Mission Headquarters in America. Rev. Kokuryo was also responsible for providing guidance and care for young missionaries residing at the American Missionary House.
The installation service, which began at noon, comprised the seated service, followed by the Dance with Hand Movements. Director-in-Chief Iburi, who had been the first head of the Mission Center in Mexico from 1985 to 1992, then addressed the congregation by explaining the meaning of making spiritual growth. “Those of you gathered here today must have had your specific reasons for embracing the faith,” he said. “Yet I believe that your first real step on your journey of faith was actually taken the moment you felt a sense of wonder and gratitude for the blessings of God the Parent.” Concerning the 20th anniversary of the mission center’s inception to be celebrated in three years’ time, he suggested that those affiliated with this center take full advantage of this opportunity to accelerate their spiritual growth since now is the time for every follower to grow spiritually in anticipation of the 120th Anniversary of Oyasama, which will be observed in 2006. “You can set your sights first on working toward your 20th anniversary and then build on that work to achieve further spiritual growth in preparing for the 120th Anniversary,” he said.
Following a speech by the mission center’s former head Akihiro Nakaune, Rev. Kokuryo then took the podium to express his commitment to his new role. “Today marks a new beginning in my life,” he said. “I look forward to working with and learning from you friends of the path in Mexico as I rededicate myself to following the Divine Model of Oyasama.”