Yukonobu Sahara

This interfaith morning devotion brings together Christian, Buddhist and Shinto practices around the Congress theme of reconciliation. Rev. Lóránd Ilkei opens with the Beatitude “Blessed are the peacemakers,” after which Rev. Yukonobu Sahara of Rissho Kosei-kai leads a recitation from Chapter 16 of the Lotus Sutra. He connects the Buddhist teaching of “three thousand realms in one mind” with the responsibility to cultivate thoughts that build trust, friendship and peace rather than transmit hostility to others.

Rev. Yoshinobu Miyake introduces a Konko/Shinto prayer, explaining the sacred evergreen twig as a sign of humanity’s place within nature and offering an English rendering of a daily prayer to Kami. Rev. Jarek Kubacki, a Mennonite minister in the Netherlands, reflects on John 20 and the Hebrew ruach - breath or spirit - as a divine life-force that people receive and share with one another. The devotion closes with blessings from several traditions, presenting interfaith worship not as a blending of religions but as mutual hospitality among distinct spiritual practices.