Tenrikyo Church Headquarters hosted the annual Children\u2019s Pilgrimage to Jiba in the Home of the Parent between July 26 and August 4 under the theme \u201cWe are all brothers and sisters. Let\u2019s return to the Home of the Parent.\u201d Looking forward to this exciting summer festival, approximately 233,000 children and staff members, including some 870 from 17 overseas countries and regions such as Thailand, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, the U.S. (mainland & Hawaii), Canada, Australia, Brazil, France, and the U.K, returned to the Home of the Parent during this 10-day period. Notably, quake-affected dioceses such as Iwate, Miyagi, Fukushima, and Ibaraki sent pilgrimage groups consisting of about 3,000 people altogether, twice as many as those who had returned from the same regions last year. Overall, as a result of recruiting efforts made by the Boys and Girls Association chapters, the event saw an increase in the number of participating children. The Home of the Parent was filled with children\u2019s beaming smiles throughout the event.<\/p>\n
The Children\u2019s Pilgrimage officially kicked off after the conclusion of the July Monthly Service on the 26th. A variety of activities, events, and attractions took place in a large area in and around the Sanctuary precincts.<\/p>\n
Each day (except July 26) started off with the \u201cMorning Service\u201d event at 8:00 a.m., which great numbers of children attended to express their gratitude to God the Parent and Oyasama for their safe return to Jiba.<\/p>\n
The service was followed by a talk given by the Shinbashira, who is also the president of the Boys and Girls Association. After welcoming the children back to Jiba, he said, \u201cGod the Parent must be delighted at the way you cheerfully performed the service with gratitude in your heart.\u201d<\/p>\n
He went on to talk about how to spend the summer break. \u201cSince you have a lot of time,\u201d he said, \u201cI assume many of you have something special you want to do or a certain goal you want to work toward during the break.\u201d When he asked the children about their goals, they said in a cheerful tone such things as \u201cI want to be able to swim 25 meters (27.34 yards) doing the breaststroke,\u201d and \u201cI want to study hard during the break so that I can ace a test.\u201d<\/p>\n
After sharing his own experience of writing out a daily schedule as part of his elementary school homework, the Shinbashira continued, \u201cI believe it is important for you to accustom yourself to living each day in an orderly fashion by setting a daily schedule.\u201d<\/p>\n
He then shifted to explaining the teaching of \u201cearly rising, honesty, and work.\u201d He said, \u201cEarly rising helps us have an orderly lifestyle and live each day to the fullest while making the most of the body we borrow from God the Parent.\u201d<\/p>\n
As for honesty, he said: \u201cYou wouldn\u2019t be considered an honest person if you said you would do what your father had told you to do and left it undone. . . . If you fulfill a promise you made to God the Parent, you are honest.\u201d<\/p>\n
In explaining work, he referred to Oyasama\u2019s words, \u201cWork makes those close to you comfortable; for that, it is called hataraku (hata: for those nearby, raku: to make things easier).\u201d He continued: \u201cWhen you are grown up, you will work in all kinds of professions. What is important is to put your heart into working in your profession\u2014no matter what it may be\u2014with a sense of joy that it benefits the people around you. That is what Oyasama meant by \u2018work.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
The Shinbashira ended his talk by stressing: \u201cWe are taught that God the Parent created human beings in order to see us lead the Joyous Life. I believe \u02bdearly rising, honesty, and work\u02bc are the keys to the Joyous Life. I want all of you to make the best of this summer break while taking these three principles to heart.\u201d<\/p>\n
After his talk, all the children joined together in reciting the Boys and Girls Association Pledge. On the 28th, the pledge was recited not only in Japanese but also in other languages by representative children from America, Brazil, Taiwan, and South Korea. The event was then concluded with the singing of the theme song for the pilgrimage, entitled \u201cLet\u2019s All Go to Oyasato as One Family!\u201d<\/p>\n
The Children\u2019s Pilgrimage was conducted smoothly thanks to the warm hospitality and hard work provided by tens of thousands of hinokishin volunteers. Among them were a total of 85 boys and girls from nine countries and regions who participated in the pilgrimage as members of the Overseas Boys and Girls Hinokishin Corps. As one of the corps\u2019 hinokishin activities, they spiritedly dedicated themselves to serving ice-cold tea at tents scattered around the Home of the Parent, where refreshing tea served with big smiles quenched people\u2019s thirst. The countries and regions represented were the U.S. mainland, Hawaii, Canada, Taiwan, South Korea, Australia, the U.K., Hong Kong, and Brazil.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Tenrikyo Church Headquarters hosted the annual Children\u2019s Pilgrimage to Jiba in the Home of the Parent between July 26 and August 4 under the theme \u201cWe are all brothers and sisters. Let\u2019s return to the Home of the Parent.\u201d Looking forward to this exciting summer festival, approximately 233,000 children and\u2026<\/p>\n