Let’s Train Ourselves Spiritually

So That We Can Give Something Good to People

By Rev. Michiharu Tsukamoto
Konko Church of Kurumi

(From the January 2018 issue)

What Is the Meaning of “Work?”

One day, I heard a door bell ring. It was the door bell of the residential building for my family and myself that stood right next to our Konko Church.  I answered the door for the visitor who had just rung the bell.  There I saw a lady in her early fifties.  She was dressed in a uniform of a well-known life insurance company.  Without even asking why she had come, I automatically judged that she wanted me or my family to join her company’s insurance.  I flatly said to her, “We are already under another company’s insurance, so your invitation is not necessary for us at this time, thank you.”  Then she briefly introduced herself and asked me, “May I come into the church and worship?”  Her words were far beyond my expectations, and I found them a bit strange.  Yet I replied, “Oh, yes, please come in,” and invited the lady to enter the church through the church’s entrance.  続きを読む →

I Will Never Give Up Praying,

I Will Pray till the Very End

By the Rev. Yoshihiro Adachi
KonkoChurch of Toyohashi

(From the December 2017 issue)

A Dark Side of me Appears, and…

There is a Japanese proverb, “If the water of a stream is too clean, fish will not dwell in it.”  Just as fish will not dwell in an overly clean stream, I am afraid that people will not be saved if they only say positive words to our Divine Parent.  In our daily lives, we inevitably deal with people, things, money, sickness and various events.  Good things happen in our lives, and so do bad ones.  Sometimes, we even encounter an event that makes us feel like we’ve hit rock bottom.  But we cannot help living in a world where raw natural events exist alongside diving blessings. I believe that, as long we pray about the things we find ugly or dirty, as well as the things we find positive and beautiful, we will be led to true blessings of Kami. 続きを読む →

Polishing the Gem of Our Hearts

By the Rev. Yoshinori Horie
Konko Church of Hananomiya

(From the October 2017 issue)

The “Play” that I Cherished

  I was a kindergarten teacher before entering the Konko Seminary. There are various goals in early childhood education. Among those goals, an important goal is that we, as teachers, help our children develop their respective abilities. We let our little pupils “play,” and while they are “playing,” we try to help them develop their physical ability, creativity and capability to express themselves. Playing gives little kids much fun, and while they are having fun, they learn how to build up human relationships with the people around them. Kindergarten pupils are given many kinds of “play”: They fold colored paper. They draw pictures. They sing songs. They enjoy picture books with their teacher orally telling them the stories of the books. Among these sorts of plays, I put a special value on the “play in the kindergarten playground.” 続きを読む →

Konkokyo International Gathering, November 14, 2017
KCNA Activity Speech

                                                                                    By the Rev. Amy Uzunoe-Chin

Hello! I am Rev. Amy Uzunoe-Chin associate minister of the Konko Church of Portland and currently serving my first year as the Chief Administrative Minister of the Konko Churches of North America (KCNA) Office. It is an honor to be here once again with all of you.

Last year, was my first time back to Honbu in 13 years, and honestly I felt like nothing much had changed.  Everything seemed to stand still in time while the world around this sacred ground had changed and grew. However, I realized that this is not a bad thing; I don’t want it to change. The pure foundation of this Konko Faith should not change, and this was comforting to me. 続きを読む →

Kami/Deity Is Already There for us

By the Rev. Michiyo Iwasaki
Konko Church of Shizuoka

(From the April 2018 issue)

Treading on a Path the Founder Once Walked Too

The most important thing I would like to learn from the faith of our dear Founder is that “People Who are suffering are allowed to transform themselves into children of Kami/Deity.” I will explain:  “People who are suffering will be transformed into people with Kami‘s blessings.  They will be allowed to become Kami‘s true children.”  At our Konko church, I regularly pursue this objective with our dear members. 続きを読む →