The May Monthly Service of Tenrikyo Church Headquarters was performed in the Main Sanctuary on the 26th with the Shinbashira presiding.<\/p>\n
At nine o’clock in the morning, the Shinbashira, accompanied by other Service performers, worshiped at the Foundress’ Sanctuary and the Memorial Hall before proceeding to the Main Sanctuary, where he read the prayer to God the Parent.<\/p>\n
In the prayer, the Shinbashira first expressed gratitude to God the Parent for the constant blessings that we receive daily. He then said, “All of us Yoboku, including the church head ministers, have been making strenuous efforts so that we may advance the work of single-hearted salvation to a great extent, bearing in mind the weighty mission entrusted to us during this seasonable time.” He concluded his prayer by saying, “Please use us for the work of building a new world and enable us to convey Your intention for world salvation, so that our present world, which tends to get caught up in human thinking, may be reconstructed as a world of joyousness in which all of us can be united as brothers and sisters and relate to one another through the mind of sincerity.”<\/p>\n
The Kagura Service and the Dance with Hand Movements were then joyfully performed in harmony with the music of the nine musical instruments, while the followers joined together in singing the Mikagura-uta, The Songs for the Service.<\/p>\n
Following this, Honbu-in Itaro Nishida took the podium to deliver the sermon. He began by saying that the path of Tenrikyo had expanded by seeing the anniversaries of Oyasama as seasonable times for making spiritual growth. He then referred to sprinkling the fragrance of the teachings, implementing salvation work, and sowing seeds of sincerity at the Jiba. With reference to the westward expansion of the Sanctuary precincts as well as the construction of South Right Wing 2, he explained the history and the fundamental idea of hinokishin <\/em>while introducing his own experience of hinokishin <\/em>at the time of the Great Hanshin Earthquake eight years ago. He then said that hinokishin <\/em>should be implemented with the mind of joy and gratitude for the blessings of God the Parent and that the earth-carrying hinokishin <\/em>to be implemented for the westward expansion of the Sanctuary precincts should be seen as an opportunity to sow seeds of sincerity in anticipation of the 120th Anniversary of Oyasama. He concluded his sermon by saying: “The aforementioned expansion and construction signify that each of us should aim at the construction of the mind, that is, spiritual growth, toward the anniversary. Sowing seeds of sincerity at Jiba signifies building the foundation to receive the blessings for salvation. Let us, therefore, devote ourselves to sowing seeds of sincerity in this field of God so that we may receive the blessings that will advance our salvation work.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The May Monthly Service of Tenrikyo Church Headquarters was performed in the Main Sanctuary on the 26th with the Shinbashira presiding. At nine o’clock in the morning, the Shinbashira, accompanied by other Service performers, worshiped at the Foundress’ Sanctuary and the Memorial Hall before proceeding to the Main Sanctuary, where\u2026<\/p>\n