Life that Is Kept Alive

By the Rev. Shigenori Yamasaki
Konko Church of Fukuoka-minami

(Reprinted from the July 2016 issue of Konkokyo-ho Ametsuchi)

Getting to Know Kami through Sickness

I became sick as soon as I entered senior high school, and when I went to a hospital to be examined,  the doctor diagnosed that I had asthmatic bronchitis.  I had been blessed with good health until I got this disease, but I gradually became bedridden.  When you have asthma, you often have an extremely hard time breathing.  In the beginning, I didn’t take my sickness very seriously, but my condition increasingly got worse.  Consequently, we had to ask a doctor to come to see and treat me every day.  The doctor’s daily visits and his treatments didn’t cure my disease at all.  To make the matter worse, the doctor even said to me, “I cannot guarantee that you will get better as you grow older.” 続きを読む →

All We Should Do Is to Practice
By the Rev. Mitsuzo Kimbara
Konko Church of Mizushima

(Reprinted from the June 2016 issue of Konkokyo-ho Ametsuchi)

We Are Expected to Follow Konko Daijin’s Teachings 

              Eighty years ago, from April 21^st to September 10^th, 1936, the Headquarters of the Konko Faith  held an event called  “Workshop for Following the Spiritual Leader’s Exemplary Service for our Parental Deity.”  The workshop was a long series, consisting of 16 occasions.  The Headquarters planned and implemented this event, hoping to remind the participants that our primary selfless service for Kami as Konko ministers is following our Spiritual Leader and the way he serves our Divine Parent as the Principal Mediator of the Konko Faith.  At the time, the Third Konko-Sama bestowed many teachings upon the seminar participants.  One of the teachings during the workshop was “If you want our Divine Parent to bestow divine virtue upon you, you are expected to put the Founder’s teachings into practice.  There is no secret other than this.”  To practice the Founder’s teachings…it is so simple and basic that everybody in the Konko community knows its importance very well already.  Yet, the Third Konko-Sama was kind enough to teach the participants about this.

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If We Are Not Happy and Grateful,

We Are Not Following Konko Daijin’s Faith

Sermon by the Rev. Koji Toshimitsu

Konko Church of Kinoue

 (Reprinted from the August 2016 issue of Konkokyo-ho Ametsuchi)

Being Made to Face My True Self

For the last few years, I had a personal faith motto: “If we are not happy and grateful, we are not following Konko Daijin’s Faith.” Several years ago, I went through a very difficult period in my life. I asked for and received Sacred Mediation, time after time, and I often prayed on my own. Each time, I felt some peace of mind, yet I believed I was left without any divine blessings. I could not even glimpse a clue to salvation. Instead, I was made to see my true self: I was far from being saved. 続きを読む →

Kami’s Blessings Are Unlimited

By the Rev. Ken’o Abe, KonkoChurch of Desaki

(Reprinted from the May 2016 issue of Konkokyo-ho Ametsuchi)

The “framework” for our lives.

One day, Ms. Kiku Okada came to worship and told Konko Daijin, “With my poor health condition, I can’t help thinking that my life won’t be long.”  In response, Konko Daijin said, “Humans are unable to predict their life span.  Since Kami’s blessings are unlimited, practice faith, gain divine virtue, and live a long life.”  If we focus on the phrase, “…Kami’s blessings are unlimited,..” it is possible to imagine a world that easily transcends one’s constrained vision, for this is Kami’s world.  In this divine world, we are embraced without limit and unconditionally, and it extends and expands without end. 続きを読む →

Wasn’t It A Dream?

By the Rev. Ei’ichi Kondo’o
Konko Church of Ueno

What My Mother Wrote in her Diary

Thirteen years have passed since my mother passed away.  My mother was born with a heart condition called atrial septal defect and bronchial asthma.  Because of these congenital conditions, she was very fragile and therefore was not able to take part in school events such as athletic meets and school excursions.  Since I was innately healthy, she often said to me, “How fortunate you are, being given a healthy body!  You can participate in any school event.”   続きを読む →

Fifth Anniversary Ceremony of the Great East Japan Earthquake was held on March 6, 2016. Reverend Toshimasa Okanari, the former Chief Administrative Director, gave an address.

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The Power of Gratitude and Joy―What I Received from My Parents―

By the Rev. Junji Fujii
Konko Church of Kojima Akasaki

Entering a Konko Church with My Parents
My father was born in Konko Town and he was raised at Konko Church of Nuttari in Ni’igata Prefecture, where his parents did goyo (selfless service for Kami/Divine Parent) as the church’s successors. Father finished school in Ni’igata, and he then entered Konkokyo Gakuin Seminary in Konko Town, Okayama Prefcture. After graduating from the Seminary and being ordained as a Konko minister, my father did goyo at the Konkokyo Headquarters for thirty-eight years. His goyo in Konko town lasted until 1995. Shortly after he was done as a staff member of the Headquarters, my father went into Konko Church of Kojima Akasaki on a permanent basis as the church’s successor, since the church had been without Konko ministers for eleven years. Father was excited about his new environment, because it was his long-time dream to do goyo at a local church. He was also pleased with it that the size of the building of the church, its garden and inner room looked like the Replica of the Founder’s Mediation Hall. 続きを読む →