Attended by large numbers of followers, the May Monthly Service of Church Headquarters was performed on the 26th at the Main Sanctuary with the Shinbashira presiding as chief officiant.<\/p>\n
The Service commenced shortly after nine o’clock, when the Shinbashira and other Service performers filed into the Main Sanctuary, after having paid respects to the everliving Oyasama in the Foundress’ Sanctuary. The Shinbashira went on to ascend the dais to lead the congregation in worship.<\/p>\n
He then delivered the Service prayer, which he began by expressing gratitude, on behalf of all followers, for the daily and constant providence of God the Parent. “I pray,” he continued, “that, under God’s boundless providence which created the world and which gives life to all things, people’s minds be restored to the way they originally were\u2014simple and open, soft and radiant\u2014thereby enabling them to heighten their sincerity and to join their efforts in advancing along the path to joyousness.” The Shinbashira then thanked God the Parent for the fact that nearly half the sessions of the Head Ministers Seminar in Oyasato, which had commenced in April, had been successfully completed. He expressed his hope that receiving the truth of the Jiba through the seminar would further strengthen the high-spiritedness of all church head ministers, thus leading them to redouble their efforts to fulfill their mission, so that their churches might be able to make powerful strides in their role as training centers for salvation.<\/p>\n
The Kagura Service was then performed, followed by the Dance with Hand Movements, while the followers joined together in singing the Mikagura-uta, The Songs for the Service<\/em>.<\/p>\n Following this, the sermon was delivered by Honbu-in Seishi Kajimoto. He began by quoting the Ofudesaki verse III: 50, which reads, “Though I have gathered many and varied trees, those bent or crooked are of no use,” and emphasized the importance of making repeated efforts in daily life to make the mind simple and open. He also told his listeners that in order to respond to the truth of the Jiba, it is essential to sow seeds of sincerity through sprinkling the fragrance of the teachings and helping others be saved. To advance these endeavors, he said, it is extremely important that the truth of a “thing lent, a thing borrowed”\u2014referring to the fundamental teaching that the body is borrowed from God\u2014settle in one’s mind. After referring to the ongoing Head Ministers Seminar in Oyasato, Honbu-in Kajimoto called on his listeners to leave behind all other concerns besides devoting their full measure of sincerity to the Jiba and serving ever more spiritedly in the cause of single-hearted salvation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Attended by large numbers of followers, the May Monthly Service of Church Headquarters was performed on the 26th at the Main Sanctuary with the Shinbashira presiding as chief officiant. The Service commenced shortly after nine o’clock, when the Shinbashira and other Service performers filed into the Main Sanctuary, after having\u2026<\/p>\n