The September Monthly Service of Tenrikyo Church Headquarters was performed on the 26th in the Main Sanctuary.
Serving as chief officiant on behalf of the Shinbashira, Successor-Designate Daisuke Nakayama said in the Service prayer: “All of us Service performers as well as church head ministers and other Yoboku are determined to always connect our minds with God the Parent and Oyasama, follow the Divine Model with an open heart, and thereby make progress in our efforts to grow spiritually.” In referring to Tenrikyo Nioigake Day, which was going to be observed over the last three days of the month, he said, “All of us Yoboku will sprinkle the fragrance of the teachings to convey the parental intention to as many people as we can.”
The prayer was followed by the joyous performance of the Kagura Service and the Dance with Hand Movements. After the Service performance, Honbu-in Tadakazu Nishiura took the podium to deliver the sermon.
Rev. Nishiura shared his thoughts about what we ought to do when we guide and nurture someone into a full-fledged Yoboku based on the teachings. He first pointed out the importance of taking every opportunity to convey to our children the day of origin of our faith. After noting how people take action when they are truly convinced of the meaning behind the action, Rev. Nishiura stressed the importance for people who are in the position of nurturing children to have a strong conviction of faith and exert their utmost in conveying the origin so as to ensure that the children will be truly convinced of why they are following the faith in the first place.”
Rev. Nishiura then went on to discuss various points that we must take into consideration as we nurture younger generations. He noted how important it is to get them involved in God’s work as we guide and nurture them, how we ought to exert our utmost sincerity so as to help them connect with Jiba as a place to find peace of mind, how in our own local communities our churches and those of us who are in a position to provide nurturing care should be able to offer peace of mind, and how we ourselves should also grow spiritually and become a model to follow by proactively engaging in God’s work as well as missionary and salvation work.
In concluding his sermon, Rev. Nishiura spoke about Tenrikyo Nioigake Day and said: “If there are people we would like to help grow spiritually by encouraging them to engage in God’s work or people we would like to help savor the joy of faith, let us talk to them and encourage them to join us in sprinkling the fragrance of the teachings.”