On January 26, the Spring Grand Service was conducted at Tenrikyo Church Headquarters with Successor-Designate Daisuke Nakayama serving as chief officiant on behalf of the Shinbashira. The Grand Service commemorates the day when Oyasama withdrew from physical life\u2014namely, the lunar calendar date of January 26, 1887.<\/p>\n
In the Service prayer, Rev. Nakayama first expressed his gratitude to God the Parent for creating the world and human beings to see us lead the Joyous Life and share in that joy, for nurturing us with unchanging parental love, and for constantly guiding us on the path of spiritual growth. Continuing, he said: \u201cAll of us followers will straightforwardly follow Oyasama\u2019s Divine Model as we continue to make efforts to become capable of providing people around us with a convincing insight into the truth of the teachings through the way we live. We are determined to exert our utmost sincerity in conveying the intention of our true Parent to those who are suffering from various problems and thereby helping them take a step forward on the path of true salvation.\u201d<\/p>\n
The prayer was followed by the joyous performance of the Kagura Service and the Dance with Hand Movements. After the Service performance, Director-in-Chief of Administrative Affairs Zensuke Nakata took the podium to deliver the sermon.<\/p>\n
Rev. Nakata first spoke about the parental heart of Oyasama, who is working for us human beings by virtue of Her eternal life. \u201cI believe that the sense of security that Her eternal life gives us is one of the driving forces for us to continue following the path,\u201d said Rev. Nakata, adding, \u201cIf our minds are settled to lean on Her, Oyasama will always stay by our side with a warm heart and continue to work for us far into the future.\u201d He then touched upon the importance of following Oyasama\u2019s model path in anticipation of Her anniversary by saying, \u201cIt is important for each of us to critically reflect upon what it entails for us followers to walk on the path of the Divine Model in the present world and thereby set concrete goals.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rev. Nakata moved on to talk about the \u201cthree years, one thousand days\u201d season leading up to the 140th Anniversary of Oyasama, a season that would begin in exactly one year\u2019s time. In speaking about the significance of observing the anniversary, he said, \u201cIt is important for those of us who are in the leadership positions such as church head ministers to take the initiative to settle the significance of the anniversary in our hearts and cultivate our minds as we prepare to make a resolution for the anniversary.\u201d Toward the end of his sermon, Rev. Nakata shared his hope for the pre-anniversary season by saying, \u201cLet us pledge together to the everliving Oyasama that those of us who are aware of the significance of the anniversary will settle our minds as soon as we are able so that this season will gradually develop into a tremendous opportunity for us to make ever further spiritual growth in unity of mind.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
On January 26, the Spring Grand Service was conducted at Tenrikyo Church Headquarters with Successor-Designate Daisuke Nakayama serving as chief officiant on behalf of the Shinbashira. The Grand Service commemorates the day when Oyasama withdrew from physical life\u2014namely, the lunar calendar date of January 26, 1887. In the Service prayer,\u2026<\/p>\n