The June Monthly Service of Tenrikyo Church Headquarters was performed on the 26th in the Main Sanctuary, with Successor-Designate Daisuke Nakayama serving as chief officiant on behalf of the Shinbashira.
In the Service prayer, Rev. Nakayama first expressed gratitude to God the Parent for guiding us along our journey of spiritual growth by providing us with profound parental love and boundless blessings. Continuing, he said: “All of us Service performers as well as church head ministers and other Yoboku aim to make further progress in our activities during the second half of the “three years, one thousand days” period leading up to the upcoming anniversary of Oyasama. We are determined to earnestly work for single-hearted salvation in unity of mind exactly as shown in the Divine Model with an awareness of our respective roles and positions and thereby to make further progress in spiritual growth as we seek to respond to the parental love of Oyasama.”
The prayer was followed by the joyous performance of the Kagura Service and the Dance with Hand Movements. After the Service performance, Honbu-in Hisataro Takai took the podium to deliver the sermon, which focused on the importance of communicating with others.
In his sermon, Rev. Takai spoke about how the importance of the same thing could be understood differently by those who do not know its origin. “Whether it be the Ofudesaki, which many of us read every day, or the Proof Amulet, which we can receive by making a request, it is important that the intention of the Parent behind them is communicated correctly to ensure its understanding,” he said. Noting how this is the path in which we can be saved by following it over many generations, Rev. Takai emphasized that the baton of the faith can be passed down to the next generations through our efforts to convey the teachings from parents to children, from children to grandchildren, and so on. The level of awareness of having to pass down the faith that one has inherited will determine the way in which the teachings will be conveyed to the next generation, said Rev. Takai.
Noting that we would soon be halfway through the activity period leading up to the 140th Anniversary of Oyasama, Rev. Takai stressed that the pre-anniversary period is a season in which we are encouraged to put into action what Oyasama would like us to do. Speaking about how Instruction Four was announced to unite the minds of all followers, Rev. Takai called on the listeners to move forward along the path at full strength while paying careful attention to each word they use as well as reflecting upon their minds so as to reconsolidate the core of their faith.
