Konko Churches of North America

A church of the Konko Faith (Konkokyo), founded in Okayama in 1859 when Kawate Bunjiro, the Founder, Ikigami Konko Daijin, received the Divine Call to give up farming and help people through mediation; it worships Tenchi Kane no Kami, the Divine Parent of the Universe. It sits under Shinto here because Japan classed it as Sect Shinto and it has stayed in that federation, but it describes itself as a universal faith of its own, neither simply Shinto nor Buddhist. Konko Churches of North America has thirteen churches in the United States and two in Canada, and Konko Missions in Hawaii six more; each is a few dozen households, mostly Japanese American families of three or four generations, with some converts. The heart of a church is mediation (toritsugi): a minister sits at the mediation seat beside the altar through the day, and anyone may come, pray, and speak freely of a worry or thanks, which the minister conveys to the Kami and records in a book. Sunday brings a service with the minister's talk, often a story of a difficulty met with faith, and members sharing their blessings; the first Sunday's monthly service remembers the dead of that month and celebrates birthdays; the Grand Ceremonies in spring and in November draw the year's biggest congregation, and thirty dawns of Winter Special Prayer open the year. The hall has three stations: the Kami's altar, the mediation seat, and the ancestors' altar; no images, no incense, no amulets. Giving is free will only: no dues, fees, or tithes, offerings in envelopes, and bazaars and mochitsuki. Ministers train at the seminary in Japan; many are women, and churches often pass to a minister's child, with the family living at the church. Konko churches are liberal and welcoming, marrying same-sex couples. What's sent to the regional body and its authority aren't published, and are estimates here.

All 80 traditions · its profile in Faiths and traditions, with how to play it and what sets its faith apart; How people feel, what every factor is.

At a glance

Faith	Shinto
Its words	church, church, worship hall; the minister leads the service; the talk; Sunday; the Kyoten
Worship	image focus, reserved, moderate formality (0.67 of 1); seated on pews
Music	organ discouraged; gospel organ discouraged; piano discouraged; choir discouraged; band discouraged; brass discouraged; handbells discouraged; song leader discouraged
The room's sound	no strong preference
Its year	konko; full observance; fasts none
Leans	liberal on moral questions, neutral on economic ones
Polity	congregational; leaders come by appointment; property local
Leaders	one leader, bivocational, trained by seminary; marriage any
Belonging	moderate commitment, none discipline, admitted by clergy
Giving	tithing not emphasised; collected by boxes, online, mailed
Way of life	alcohol permitted, dress casual, sabbath relaxed

The week's services

Day	Time	Service	Led by	People look for it
Every day	6:30 am	Winter Special Prayer (short, and plays quickly: people come 12% as often as to a main service)	the minister	seasonal
Sunday	10:00 am	Konko service	the minister	expected
Sunday	12:00 pm to 1:00 pm	Mediation (mediation (toritsugi), open hours: people come when they like, one by one, 4% as often in a day as to a main service, and stay 30 minutes; visitors who don't belong come too, 0.15 times a week's newcomers each day; it plays quickly)	the minister	expected
Every day but Sunday	9:30 am to 5:00 pm	Mediation (mediation (toritsugi), open hours: people come when they like, one by one, 4% as often in a day as to a main service, and stay 30 minutes; visitors who don't belong come too, 0.15 times a week's newcomers each day; it plays quickly)	the minister	expected

Leader: a minister. With none (a vacancy, or no one hired), the services are still held, but each costs everyone at it 0.10; on sabbatical a supply minister stands in ($800 a month) for a little less. The short daily services go on whether or not anyone leads them, and move no one's satisfaction. Open hours go on whether or not anyone leads them.

Rites

Monthly service: memorials and birthdays (monthly, +0.015 to those there): On the first Sunday the service gives thanks to the Divine Parent and the Founder, remembers by name the members' family who died in that month in any year, before the ancestral altar, and celebrates the members whose birthdays fall in it.
Konko wedding (on request, +0.02 to those there): A couple marries before the altar to Tenchi Kane no Kami: the minister prays for them and conveys their vows to the Kami, and they offer tamagushi together. Konko churches in America marry same-sex couples too, and bless civil unions. The couple's offering is what they choose to give.
Celebration of life (on request, +0.02 to those there): A Konko funeral and memorial: the minister prays at the bedside and at the passing, and the family gathers before the ancestral altar to remember the one who has died, whose spirit joins the church's ancestors there and is remembered at the monthly service in the month of their death, and at the spring and fall memorials.

Joining

No formal membership: a content regular of three months belongs, without a vote.
Joining age: 16.
Kinds of belonging: believers (votes, may hold office); received by the minister.
What it means: being received is worth +0.1 to the person, +0.05 to family there, and +0.03 to everyone else at the service. It roots them: a rooted household drifts away only 0.6 times as often, and if it does fall away, it has a 25% chance of coming home at each of its great days (at most once a month) for ten years.

Giving, and what goes up

How its people give and what else comes in, as Money explains it for every faith.

How it's given: the offering, by boxes, giving online, and gifts by post. With no plate passed, members give a tenth less at the boxes than they would into one, and visitors give nothing at the service. Gifts by post or in envelopes come in at the month's start. Those who give online give whether or not they come (8% more a month).
Tithing isn't emphasised: people give 10% less.
The box at open hours: each visit puts about $2 in it.
Fundraisers: any it allows (below).
Owed above: Support for KCNA, 5% of what it takes in, to the Konko Churches of North America (voluntary).

The minister, the staff, and who decides

How the minister comes: sent by the Konko Churches of North America, which moves them on; you can't advertise for or dismiss one, but can ask for a move.
Paid: part time, alongside other work (a bivocational leader); housed by the congregation.
Who they are: trained at seminary; women among them (about a third); most married; about one married candidate in seven comes as a couple, caring for 75 more; the spouse has a recognized part (+0.01 to everyone after each service).
Tenure: settled, then may be called elsewhere; a son or daughter succeeds at once.
Staff it can hire or name (see Staff and volunteers):
- Bivocational minister ($22,000–$38,000; cares for 75)
- Associate minister ($42,000–$62,000 + $15,000 benefits, full time; cares for 100 more)
- Caretaker ($18,000–$30,000; slows the building's wear)
- Church secretary ($20,000–$35,000; runs the office (+50 to the leader's reach, once))
- Youth director ($20,000–$40,000; up to +0.08 for households with young people)
Its boards: the board of directors (deciding, over everything).
Renovations: The members vote, consulting the minister.
New construction: The members vote, consulting the minister.
Who votes: believers, 16 and over.

Life together

What its Community screen offers it, with the dilemmas only its own faith or family meets; see The congregation in its community.

Ministries of its own: Cemetery care, Faith study.
Ministries every tradition can run that it's offered: Blood drive, Food pantry, Health clinic, Preschool, Youth group.
Fundraisers of its own: Mochitsuki, Summer bazaar.
Shared fundraisers it may hold: Auction, Bake sale, Bingo night, Car wash, Casino night, Church festival, Raffle, Rummage sale.
Tenants it can take: A Masonic lodge, A scout troop, A twelve-step group, Dance classes, Japanese cultural classes, Parties and receptions, Wedding receptions.
Outreach: invitation Sunday (Community → Evangelism).
Dilemmas of its own faith (besides those every congregation meets): Always at the mediation seat, Thirty dawns, Who comes after.
Dilemmas its code of life brings: A recruiter asks for the hall, Champagne at the reception.

What the building needs

required Kami altarThe hall's altar is to Tenchi Kane no Kami, the Parent God of heaven and earth.
required Mediation seatThe minister sits at the mediation seat beside the altar through the day, hearing each visitor's prayer and conveying it to the Kami.
expected Mitama altarThe spirits of members' ancestors are honoured at their own altar beside the Kami's.
discouraged Drum kitA band and drum kit do not belong in this tradition's worship.
discouraged Hammond organA gospel organ doesn't suit this tradition's worship.
discouraged Upright pianoA piano doesn't suit this tradition's worship.
discouraged Pipe organAn organ doesn't suit this tradition's worship.

What people here feel

Architectural style: Colonial brick +0.028; Modern synagogue +0.046; Gurdwara +0.052; Japanese temple +0.056; Islamic +0.05; Shinto shrine +0.05; Chinese temple +0.044; Dravidian temple +0.038; Nagara temple +0.038; Thai temple +0.038; Jain marble +0.032; Gothic +0.026.
Building fit: up to ±0.15 for everyone, the average fit of the characterful items in its worship rooms (the table below).
Acoustics: it wants a room between ringing and dry, about 2.2 seconds of reverberation: neither bare stone nor a carpeted low room. Up to ±0.05.
Seasonal decor: in its season, the kadomatsu is worth up to ±0.027 (missing it, the minus); out of season, nothing is called for.
Solar panels: leaning liberal, it's glad of them (+0.02 at every service).
The talk lands by its topic and the tradition's leaning (below); the minister's preaching adds or costs up to 0.08 more.
The daily services move no one's satisfaction: no offering, sermon, or welcome; people come one by one, the retired twice as often, those of working age half as often on a weekday from nine to five.
Open hours: a visit counts a quarter as much as a main service: the building and its worship room, and, for visitors, whether anyone welcomed them. People come at the hour that suits them, the retired twice as often, those of working age half as often on a weekday from nine to five; a visiting household that comes only to open hours takes six visits, not three, to settle in.

How each talk lands

The topics its leader can choose from (some are only for one faith or family), and what each is worth.

Racial Justice & Reconciliation+0.06
Radical Inclusion+0.06
Interfaith Understanding+0.04
Reading Scripture in Context+0.04
Swords into Ploughshares+0.04
All Children of Kami+0.015
Gratitude+0.015
Hope & Comfort+0.015
Okage: Living in Blessings+0.015
Stewardship & Generosity+0.015
The Divine Reminder+0.015
The Founder's Call+0.015
Toritsugi: Mediation+0.015
Care for Creation-0.02
Healing for All-0.02
Welcome the Stranger-0.02
Social Justice Call-0.03
Faith & Family-0.05
Faith of Our Fathers-0.05
Resisting Temptation-0.05
Sanctity of Life-0.075

Every item, for this tradition

Fit runs from −1 (jars) to +1 (just right); the building fit is the average over the characterful items in the worship rooms. An item with no character (a table, a toilet) has no fit. A rule applies wherever the item is.

Item	Fit	Rule
Seating
Box pew	+0.333
Meeting bench	no fit
Oak pew	no fit
Row of chairs	0
Liturgical furniture
Columbarium niches	+0.333
Honden	0
Kami altar	+0.5	required The hall's altar is to Tenchi Kane no Kami, the Parent God of heaven and earth.
Lectern	no fit
Mediation seat	+0.5	required The minister sits at the mediation seat beside the altar through the day, hearing each visitor's prayer and conveying it to the Kami.
Mitama altar	+0.5	expected The spirits of members' ancestors are honoured at their own altar beside the Kami's.
Offertory box	0
Pulpit	no fit
Music
Drum kit	-1	discouraged A band and drum kit do not belong in this tradition's worship.
Electronic organ	-1
Grand piano	-1
Hammond organ	-1	discouraged A gospel organ doesn't suit this tradition's worship.
Handbell table	-1
Kagura instruments	0
Pipe organ	-0.333	discouraged An organ doesn't suit this tradition's worship.
Sound system	-1
Taiko	0
Upright piano	-1	discouraged A piano doesn't suit this tradition's worship.
Decor
Banner	0
Ema rack	0
Eternal flame	no fit
Great dome	+0.333
Memorial plaque	no fit
National flag	0
Shimenawa	0
Small dome	no fit
Stained glass window	+0.333
Furnishings
Alms box	no fit
Amulet counter	0
Coffee pot	no fit
Commercial coffee pot	no fit
Computer	no fit
Crib	no fit
Desk	no fit
Desk chair	no fit
Folding table	no fit
Full-length mirror	no fit
Pillar	+0.333
Projection screen	0
Shoe rack	0
Vestment cabinet	+0.333
Wooden table	no fit
Utility
A/V rack	no fit
Camera	no fit
Cast-iron boiler	no fit
Central air conditioner	no fit
Commercial HVAC plant	no fit
Commercial stove	no fit
Congregation van	no fit
Ductless heat pump	no fit
Electric wall heater	no fit
Gas furnace	no fit
Hearing loop	no fit
Lift	no fit
Packaged heat pump	no fit
Plumbing stack	no fit
Ramp	no fit
Shuttle bus	no fit
Sink	no fit
Solar panels	no fit
Stairs	no fit
Toilet	no fit
Used school bus	no fit
Wall camera	no fit
Window air conditioner	no fit
Grounds
Evergreen tree	no fit
Flower bed	no fit
Fountain	no fit
Garden bench	no fit
Hedge	no fit
Kadomatsu	0
Kagura stage	0
Komainu	0
Playground	no fit
Purification basin	0
Shade tree	no fit
Torii	0

Sources

Konko Daijin, Wikipedia (link)
Konkokyo, Wikipedia (link)
What is Konko?, Konko Churches of North America (link)
FAQs, Konko Churches of North America (link)
Konko Churches of North America (link)
Organization, Konko Missions in Hawaii (link)
Practices and Culture, Konko Church of San Francisco (link)
Ceremonies and Blessings, Konko Church of San Francisco (link)
Regular Services, Konko Church of San Francisco (link)
Annual Events Calendar, Konko Church of San Francisco (link)
Rev. Rodney Yano, Konko Church of San Francisco (link)
Rev. Joanne Tolosa, Konko Church of San Francisco (link)