Monthly Service Prayer
Date of Sermon: July 2009Before God the Parent, Tenri-O-no-Mikoto, I, Owen Osamu Nakao, Pastor of Tenrikyo Pearl Church, pray with reverence:
God the Parent, as we receive Your overflowing grace and blessings, which grants us the free use of our bodies, we advance toward the realization of the joyous life world as you guide us in our spiritual development. We are forever grateful for these blessings and we express our gratitude day and night as we apply our effort in sprinkling the fragrance of the teachings and salvation work.
Today is the day we are granted to conduct the July monthly service at Pearl Church. The service performers will now unite their hearts to perform the seated service and Teodori joyously and in high spirits. As you observe the brothers and sisters of the path who have looked forward to this day singing the songs of the service in unison with hearts filled with gratitude for Your parental love, we hope that You can be spirited as well.
Through your blessing, seventeen persons from Pearl Church, attended the Annual Tenrikyo Picnic on July 3rd. A minister from this church served as the women’s instruments instructor for the first half of the one-month Hawaii Spiritual Development Course held at Mission Headquarters. This month, 60 persons from the Hawaii congregation will be returning to Jiba this month for the Children’s Pilgrimage. The pastor of this church will be serving as group leader. Seven persons will be from Pearl Church. One child will be joining the Overseas Boys and Girls Hinokishin Corps, one person will serve as Hinokishin Corps counselor and one person will attend the Besseki Lectures for the first time. Also one person will be participating in the Young Men’s Association International Hinokishin Corps. We also give thanks that in this time of financial crisis, most of us are employed and receive income for shelter, food and clothing. We thank you deeply for these blessings as we strive to convey the teachings to as many people as possible.
In this 7th month of the 172nd Year of Tenrikyo we vow to continue to work together engaging in hinokishin and salvation work with a unity of mind and encourage as much people as possible to return to Jiba. We pray for the victims and survivors of conflicts and disasters in the world; that they may have faith and resolve to overcome their grief and suffering.
With the Shinbashira as the core we vow to make sincere efforts in our daily lives to truly follow the Divine Model of Oyasama.
We pray that Your guidance will strengthen us into worthy Yoboku, striving with a single heart for the salvation of others. We hope that our efforts will bring joy to You and peace in this world where we all help one another as brothers and sisters. With our minds in unity towards the Truth of the Jiba, we would like to spiritedly perform the July Monthly Service.
In union with the congregation, I pray for these blessings.
