The March 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 the path of spiritual growth by providing us with the complete providence out of warm parental love. Continuing, he said: “All of us followers will ponder over Your intention to hasten salvation through the various occurrences that are shown to us in many parts of the world. We are determined to follow the path that allows us to respond to Your intention by referring to Oyasama’s Divine Model as our guiding principle as we continue to work toward world salvation.”
The prayer was followed by the joyous performance of the Kagura Service and the Dance with Hand Movements. After the Service performance, Honbu-in Motoyoshi Tomimatsu took the podium to deliver the sermon.
In his sermon, Rev. Tomimatsu spoke about the attitude of faith that our predecessors held as they dedicated their lives to the path out of their gratitude for having been saved from illness or troubles. He then discussed the importance of the teaching of contribution and dedication based on the experiences he had in his capacity as a church head minister.
Rev. Tomimatsu then went on to say that the “three years, one thousand days” period leading up to the 140th Anniversary of Oyasama—a period that will begin next year—is a season when followers are expected to make decisive efforts. He then called on the listeners to cultivate their faith in a way that will allow them to make repayment for God’s blessings with a greater sense of spiritedness.