Based Upon Gratitude ― 1

 By the Rev. To’oru Yoshioka
Konko Church of Iya

(From the September 2017 issue)

Not Comfortable at Home at All

         I have been serving at the Outreach Department of the Konko Faith Headquarters’ Administration Office since February 2017. In that capacity, I’ve ministered to many people. I’d like to share with you one encounter.  It took place when I was serving at the Hiromae (Worship Hall) two years ago.   I happened to be sitting at the reception desk in the Hiromae. This was not my usual assignment as a staff member of the Hiromae Department, but due to an unexpected schedule change, I was there that day.  続きを読む →

Kami/God-Like Heart

By the Rev. Mitsuo O’oki
Konko Church of Yu’uki

(From the August 2017 issue)

Manners of Today and Kami/God-Like Heart

             On September 1, 2014, I was ordered to assume the position of the Director of Konko Tokyo Center.  Since then, I have been serving our Divine Parent as the Director of the Center, praying to our Parent Deity and seeking our Divine Parent’s true wishes and/or intentions.

In the latter years of his life, the Founder of the Konko Faith imparted, “I also have desires.  I have the desire to save people throughout the world.” (GII: Kondo Fujimori, 54)  Whenever I work as the Center’s Director, I consider it important to re-appreciate this teaching of our Founder.  However, I am forced to face my own limitations as a human being almost every single day.  Too often, I am so weak that I cannot act with a kami/god-like heart.  When I see my weakness, I see the laboriousness inside myself.  続きを読む →

Sowing Seeds of Joy

教　話

By the Rev. Shinko Takebe
Konko Church of Ko’oroen

(From the July 2017 issue)

In Order to Reap Joy

Have you ever grown vegetables?  Some of you are growing vegetables professionally, and some of you are growing them in your home gardens, I suppose.  Take tomatoes, for example.  If you sow a tomato seed, you will soon see tomato buds.  After the buds grow, you will see tomato flowers, and finally you will see the fruit, a tomato.  If you sow a cucumber seed, you will soon see cucumber plant buds.  After the buds grow, you will see cucumber flowers, and finally you will get its fruit, a cucumber.  These things may sound a bit too natural to you, but this is the Principle/Law of the Universe.  続きを読む →

The Konko Faith is our Treasure

教　話

By the Rev. Yumiko Tanaka
Konko Church of Iyoshi

(From the May 2017 issue)

Our Encounter with the Konko Faith

I was introduced to the Konko Faith about 55 years ago.  My father passed away when I was still little.  My mother and four of us, all daughters, lost our only male family member.  Our family ties with relatives grew weaker as years went by, and before we knew it, we grew distant from one another.  My mother fell ill due to anxiety over this, and one day we rushed her to a hospital, where she was admitted.  The doctor who examined her told us, “Your mother is suffering from heart failure, and there’s nothing we can do for her.”  I still remember those words very well.  We were stunned. 続きを読む →

Great Kami/God-Like Heart

教　話

By the Rev. Mikiko Okuhara
Konko Church of Kesen’numa

(From the June 2017 issue)

Through Great East Japan Earthquake

On behalf of the people of the Tohoku (northeast) Region of Japan, I would like to express my utmost gratitude for the earnest prayers and great support we received from the Spiritual Leader/Principal Mediator of the Konko Faith (Konkokyo) and every one of you in the Konkokyo community since Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011.  Thank you very much once again, ladies and gentlemen, for your earnest prayers and generous support for us.  Six years have passed since that enormous quake, and our recovery efforts have gradually progressed.  At first, we were totally at a loss, not knowing what to do to start our reconstruction efforts.  Nevertheless, we began to work hard in order to rebuild our towns, and our efforts can be visibly confirmed today.  How far we have really come!

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Directing My Heart to Kami

By Rev. Shunsuke Ishi’i
Konko Church of O’okuma

Reprinted from Konkokyo-ho: Ametsuchi, March 2017

  I am a child of a Konko minister, born in O’okuma, a once prosperous coal mining area and now a peaceful town, surrounded by mountains, and located in the central Fukuoka Prefecture area.  At the age of twenty-eight, I entered the Konko Seminary and was ordained a year later and am currently working at the Konko Seminary.  続きを読む →

We Can Continue to Serve Kami Even After Death

教　話

By the Rev. Michio Ono
Konko Church of Nomura

Receiving a Blessing of Self-Reform

Konko Church of Nomura is located in a small town in the Nanyo or south Iyo area of the Ehime Prefecture, Japan.  I grew up in a family that resided in Matsuyama, the biggest city of the prefecture.  I learned the Konko Faith at Konko Church of Matsuyama-Minami, and I was ordained as a Konko minister.  24 years ago, in 1993, I was posted to the Konko Church of Nomura, and I have been serving at the Nomura Church ever since.
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