Sunday, December 02, 2007

2007 December Message

With Gratitude to the Outgoing Year
Rev. Tetsuya Abe
Acting Chief Hawaii Missionary Area

   On Sunday, November 11, Seicho-No-Ie Hawaii held a Public Lecture at Ala Moana Hotel with Rev. Yoshiko Teshigawara, Bishop of U.S. Missionary Headquarters, and Rev. Hiei Ando, National Ordained Minister. It was truly a successful event with 130 attendees in the morning and about 90 in the afternoon. I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to all concerned including attendees and staff.

   Before the Public Lecture, the 15th Seicho-No-Ie Hawaii Leaders’ Seminar was held at Jisso Center under the guidance of Rev. Teshigawara, Rev. Ando, Rev. Leslie Iwatani, and myself. About 30 leaders attended the seminar and deepened their awareness of one of the three pillars of the Seicho-No-Ie teachings, "All religions emanate from one universal God." The seminar basically consisted of what we had learned at the Special Conference for World Peace with Rev. Masanobu Taniguchi in New York, namely about Islam.

   You can refer to other articles of those events in the Newsletter; however, I would like to mention my personal impression.

   At the Leaders’ Seminar, I was in charge of the lecture titled, "Seicho-No-Ie and the Oneness of All Religions." Since Rev. Teshigawara advised me to include an introduction to Islam in my lecture, I studied very hard about Islam even though it was for a short time. By studying about Islam and listening to three other lectures at the seminar, I was reminded of the profoundness, beautifulness and mercifulness of Islam which I learned in New York from Rev. Masanobu Taniguchi, vice president of SNI, and Dr. Khaled Abou El Fadl, and I strongly resolved to try to be familiar with Islam as much as possible.

   Regarding the Public Lecture, to our surprise and joy, we had an unexpected number of participants, including almost 40 first-timers. Publicizing in The Honolulu Advertiser was a great success; however, I believe creating an attractive flyer, including writing and improving the contents, distributing them with love, and promoting the event to our families, friends, and others also contributed to our success. In addition, a week before the Public Lecture, 10 SNI leaders visited about 200 neighbors on Matlock Ave. and distributed a packet containing a Truth of Life magazine, public lecture flyer, and good-word card. This was also very effective especially from the spiritual point of view. Of course, it goes without saying that the attendees are the greatest contributors to our events.

   By the way, we only have one month left to this year. How was this year for you? By recalling what happened to you this year, you will find many happy, encouraging, and grateful things. On the other hand, you may find unhappy, sorrowful, and painful matters. Please reflect upon yourself calmly and be grateful for the positive happenings from the bottom of your heart. And also be grateful to the negative incidents by believing that they polish and train your soul, and elevate you to be a very considerate person.

   For myself, it was a year filled with exciting changes. In the first half of the year, I was assigned to Hong Kong and Germany to conduct activities there, and came to Hawaii on June 1st to assume the position of Acting Chief of Hawaii Missionary Area. It seemed to be an unanticipated huge role for me; however, thanks to the love and contribution of our leaders and members, I managed to do my job without any problems so far. I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to the Lord of Seicho-No-Ie, to Dr. Masaharu Taniguchi, Rev. Seicho Taniguchi, Rev. Masanobu Taniguchi, and all of you who have provided me with countless and priceless support in various ways.

   Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!