The November Monthly Service of Tenrikyo Church Headquarters was performed on the 26th in the Main Sanctuary with the Shinbashira presiding as chief officiant.
In the Service prayer, the Shinbashira expressed appreciation for God the Parent’s love that guides people along the path of Joyous Life. He then said: “All of us Service performers as well as church head ministers and other Yoboku will guard against being swept along by the increasing chaos of the world, keep in mind the Divine Model at all times, and take the initiative to sweep away the dust of the mind, thus following the path of purifying the mind. We are also determined to sprinkle the fragrance of the teachings, engage in salvation work, and raise and nurture Yoboku as well as followers in high spirits, so that we can sow seeds of the Joyous Life and spread it in wider and wider circles.”
The prayer was followed by the joyous performance of the Kagura Service and the Dance with Hand Movements.
After the Service performance, Honbu-in Haruo Maegawa took the podium to deliver the sermon. After touching upon the guidelines announced by the Director-in-Chief of Administrative Affairs last year—the guidelines for us to follow in the post-anniversary period—Rev. Maegawa shared his thoughts on making repayment for the blessings we receive. He asked all of us to feel the blessings we receive day after day from God the Parent, as well as our indebtedness to our predecessors, and to implement our life of faith that allows us to make repayment to them with a sense of gratitude.
Furthermore, Rev. Maegawa talked about nurturing human resources. He mentioned that families play an indispensable role in nurturing the young. He used the Anecdotes of Oyasama to explain how our families ought to be, while placing special emphasis on the husband-wife relationship.
Since the Monthly Service fell on Sunday, Jiba was quite lively. Many directly supervised churches organized their group pilgrimages to Jiba on this day, taking advantage of the weekend. The Besseki Lecture Hall was also filled with a great number of people.