On November 25, Tenrikyo Student Advisory Committee sponsored the Student Nurturers Convention in Church Headquarters’ Dining Hall 2. Honored by the presence of the Shinbashira, the convention drew over a thousand people, including those entrusted with the role of nurturing high school and college students in their respective dioceses and directly supervised churches.
The Shinbashira began his address by talking about the attitude that Yoboku should maintain. As he had done in Instruction Two, he placed special emphasis on the significance of sprinkling the fragrance of the teachings and implementing salvation work, which he referred to as the mission of Yoboku during the “three years, one thousand days” season leading up to the 120th Anniversary of Oyasama, which will be conducted on January 26 next year. He then said: “The Student Advisory Committee has been encouraging young people to attend the Besseki lectures when they become 17 years of age. Those of you who guided students in deciding to attend the Besseki lectures have a responsibility to work with them even after they have become Yoboku. You should continue nurturing them in such a way that they will grow into useful instruments of Oyasama.” He closed his address by saying: “Your relationship with students is a senior-junior relationship. I want all of you to exert your utmost efforts to take even one or two steps forward in your spiritual growth, so that you, as seniors, can set an example of how Yoboku are to conduct themselves and deal with situations.” Following the Shinbashira’s address, Student Advisory Committee Chairman Kiyoharu Kontani also gave a talk. “It is important for us,” he said, “to first implement salvation work thoroughly in our daily lives, so that we can guide young people to the point where our mind that desires the salvation of others will be reflected in their own mind. This is what we should be doing in our role as senior Yoboku.” He closed his talk by urging the listeners to make every effort to bring as many young people as possible back to the Home of the Parent next year, the year of the 120th Anniversary of Oyasama, so that the Jiba will be lively with people’s joy and enthusiasm throughout the year. The convention ended with a video presentation illustrating how the committee and the members of the Students Association have been making preparations and arrangements for the Oyasama 120th Anniversary Students Rally in Jiba, which will be held on March 28 next year. It was announced at the monthly meeting for student nurturers, which was held after the convention, that the committee had launched an official website to promote the activities for the March 28 rally. The action policy and activity items for next year are usually presented at the convention every year. This time, however, they are to be drawn up after referring to the Shinbashira’s address at the convention and announced some time by the end of the year.