The May 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 creating the world and human beings as well as for guiding us by constantly providing us with blessings day and night with warm parental love. Continuing, he said: “All of us Service performers as well as church head ministers and other Yoboku will reflect upon how we have spent the first half of the pre-anniversary activity period and further raise our awareness of the upcoming anniversary by using the insights gained through reflection. We are determined to make further progress in our spiritual growth by straightforwardly following the path of the Divine Model, devoting ourselves with utmost sincerity to spreading the teachings and helping save others, and providing care and guidance to our fellow followers as we seek to seize the opportunity the current season presents.”
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.
In his sermon, Rev. Nishiura emphasized how connecting our mind and body to Jiba is indispensable if we Yoboku are to make progress in spiritual growth. We can receive the precious truth of Jiba by bringing our minds into accord with Jiba, by returning to Jiba, by making sincere efforts of contribution and dedication to Jiba, and by sowing seeds of sincerity at Jiba, he said.
Speaking about the second Action Day for All Yoboku, which was to be held on June 1 and 2, Rev. Nishiura encouraged the listeners to invite as many people as possible to the event, which would give us an opportunity to receive the seasonal message from Jiba and thereby deepen our yearning for Jiba.
Rev. Nishiura moved on to talk about how to provide care and guidance to our fellow followers by quoting from this year’s New Year’s Address by the Shinbashira. Noting that it is crucial to make repeated efforts to visit people we want to nurture in accordance with the truth of sincerity, he said, “The important thing about providing care and guidance is to patiently continue our efforts without giving up.”
