top bar

Home > News Release > SNI-Online 20071203

Seicho-No-Ie News

LEADERS’ WORKSHOP AND PUBLIC LECTURE MEETING IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA


At Public Lecture Meeting, 163 people
attended increased over 30% from last year

Study of the Teaching that All Religions Emanate from One Universal God,and Islam

In northern California, a Leaders’ Workshop and a public lecture meeting were held from October 27 to 28 at the Northern California Seicho-No-Ie Center. The number of attendees was 31 for the Workshop, an increase of 7 people from last year; and 163 for the lecture meeting, an increase of 30 percent.

Rev. Mario Kawakami, Chief of Northern California Missionary Area, attributed the reason for the increased attendance to the fact that the monthly English-language Sunday Service, which was started from January of this year, is drawing attendance from non-Japanese people.

The theme of the Workshop was “Let’s Promote the International Peace by Faith Movement; the Teaching That All Religions Emanate from One Universal God, and Islam,” was based on the Seicho-No-Ie Special Conference for World Peace, which was held in New York in August. The lecturers included Rev. Yoshiko Teshigawara (Ordained Minister, Bishop of Seicho-No-Ie United States Missionary Headquarters), Rev. Mario Kawakami (Ordained Minister), and Rev. Tomio Otsuka (Ordained Minister, United States Missionary Headquarters).

Rev. Teshigawara gave a lecture entitled “World Peace and Our Mission.” She said that true faith is to grasp the awareness that man is a child of God and transform faith into action. She urged the leaders who follow the Seicho-No-Ie teaching to have more pride. Rev. Kawakami lectured under the title, “The Teaching That All Religions Emanate from One Universal God, and Islam.” He gave an overall explanation about Islam and explained the similarities between Islam and Seicho-No-Ie. In his lecture entitled “Islam in the U.S.A.,” Rev. Otsuka talked about the history of Islam in the U.S.A. and explained about the prejudice Muslims face in the U.S.A., using slides.

Comments from the attendees included: “I was able to understand the importance of studying Islam. I would like to study more about it from now on.”

The lecture meeting, which was tailored for newcomers, was held under the theme, “For Your Happiness—The Secret of Seicho-No-Ie.” The lecturers were Reverends Teshigawara and Kawakami. There were comments from the attendees, such as “I was able to understand that I have to praise and be grateful for the fact that I am a child of God.”


Rev. Kawakami remarked,

Chief of the Northern California Missionary Area

“I would like to introduce new ideas into the Sunday Service so that many more people will come. Also I would like to improve the Readers’ Meetings.”