Vol. 23 # 9
Invitation to the Autumn Memorial Service
The Konko Church of Gardena and the Konko Church of Los Angeles will be holding a Joint Autumn Memorial Service from 10:00 am on September 10th at the Konko Church of Gardena Service Hall.
This Autumn Memorial Service is:
To honor the virtuous spirits of The Successive Konko Faith Spiritual Leaders, the Disciples, Ministers and believers who made great contributions to the Konko Faith and devoted themselves to propagate the Konko Faith in North America.
To pay respects to those who dedicated their life to the service of this church - The honorable and virtuous Reverend Isao Goto and his wife, Rev. Tomoyo Goto, the founder of this Gardena Church. To Reverend Shiro Takeda, the second head minister, and Reverend Sadako Takeda, the previous head minister.
To pay respects to those who dedicated their life to the service of the Konko Church of Los Angeles - The honorable and virtuous Reverend Toshitsugu Kandori, and his wife, the founder of the Los Angeles Church. To Reverend Taichi Tsuyuki, the second head minister and his wife Mrs.Yoshie Tsuyuki, and to Rev. Alfred Tsuyuki, the previous head minister.
We are inviting everyone who contributed to the development of the church, the believers, their families and ancestors, as well those mitamas who have nobody to pray for them.
The reason why we have received faith today is because of the faith of the mitama spirit of our predecessors, and we are able to live with peace of mind. While offering gratitude for that, we not only ask for the help of the Mitama spirit, to receive even higher spiritual virtues, but offer our prayers in order that we may provide and add virtue to guide those mitamas back to Kami to rest in peace.
TEACHINGS OF KONKO DAIJIN RELATED TO THE MITAMA SPIRIT
GII Konko Ieyoshi 9
Konko Daijin said, “While you are alive, rely on Kami. Then you will be under Kami’s care.”
You may become the leader of a believers’ group, but if you do not rely on Kami, you are not a leader.
Set your heart to serving Kami after becoming a Mitama spirit upon death.”
GII Kondo Fujimori 47
I heard from someone that three cups of rice are offered -one for “Hi No Okami”, one for “Tsuki No Okami” and one for “Kane No Kami”. I asked Konko Daijin about this and he said, “That is fine, but offer one cup of rice to Heaven, one between Heaven and Earth. Kami then gives the offerings to the ancestral spirits of those practicing faith. Offerings to Kami from those who practice faith wholeheartedly are divided by Kami and given to the ancestors. How blessed this is.”
GIII Gorikai Shui 36
The souls of the dead, having nowhere to go, hover between heaven and earth. They have nowhere else to go. They exist and play at the household altar and at their graves. Even buried in graves, they will go anywhere they are worshiped.
GIII Jinkyugoroku 87
Practice faith. Receive divine blessings by practicing faith. Then, not only you, but also your grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and even further generations can receive divine blessings. Even the spirits of your ancestors will be able to rest in peace because you receive divine blessings through your practice of faith.
The blessings you have received stay with you forever. Therefore, you should build as large a foundation of blessings as possible during your life.
Announcements from Gardena Church and Los Angeles Church
Morning Service, Cleanup, & Shinto-kai meeting and final KCNA Conference meeting.
On September 3, morning prayers will begin at 9:00 a.m. After the morning service, let us polish our hearts by cleaning the inside and outside of the church together. The Shinto-kai meeting will be held after lunch. Everyone is welcome to attend this meeting. KCNA Conference final meeting will be held at 1:00 p.m.
Konko Church of Los Angeles and Konko Church of Gardena Joint Autumn Memorial Service
The Autumn Joint Memorial Service will be held at 10:00 am on September 10. Please invite your family, friends, and related people to visit.
For luncheon afterwards, the church will prepare chow-mein. We encourage you to cook what your ancestors, your parents, family, friends liked to eat for their special day. Let us offer our heartfelt gratitude and then receive the food to enjoy with everyone. Your ancestors will be expecting you and we look forward to seeing you as well.
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