For 15 years beginning in 1986, my husband, Fujio (Koji) Nakao, and I served together in Sukyo Mahikari Centers in Cincinnati, Chicago, Detroit, Honolulu, and Orange County, California. In 2002, when Koji was assigned to a large center in Singapore, we decided I should stay in the U.S. to be closer to my senior parents and with the goal of opening a center in Kansas.
My husband and I both love being a part of the Greater Kansas City Interfaith Council. It might be your “perfect fit,” too. – Susan Nakao, Sukyo Mahikari Director, GKCIC
Returning to my hometown of Fredonia, Kansas, my life was drastically different. No longer was I serving 15 to 30 people a day as a center staff member. Instead, I was the only Sukyo Mahikari member in the whole state of Kansas. I felt very alone and after a few months, I grew discouraged, but continued to do my best to be of service to God by giving Light to others as much as possible.
A few months passed when my mother, a faithful subscriber to The Kansas City Star, read about the Table of Faiths sponsored by the Greater Kansas City Interfaith Council. It was to be held only a few days later. The theme was “Sacred Art from the World Faiths.” My Ph.D. was in Art Education and my heart was devoted to living in a sacred way, achieved through God’s Light and Universal Principals embraced at the heart of interfaith relations. Additionally, I had a dream to start a national Caucus on the Spiritual in Art Education as a special interest group of the National Art Education Association. It seemed like a perfect fit!
I didn’t have a job or a car, but my mother said that if I could still register for the Table of Faiths, she would loan me her car and pay my registration. During the 2.5-hour drive to the event, I excitedly anticipated meeting 30 or perhaps even 50 people who were interested in interfaith work and sacred art. Entering the huge meeting room at a downtown hotel, I was astounded to find more than 500 people in attendance. About a year later, having accepted a university art education teaching position, and moving closer to Kansas City, I started participating in the monthly council meetings and a couple of years later was approved as an at-large director.
Almost seven years ago, my husband returned to our home in Kansas and we were approved by our international and regional headquarters to start a Sukyo Mahikari Center at our home near Lawrence and Ottawa, Kansas. We now have since grown to about 30 members. Since his return in 2015, we have been serving God together at our center, located on our small farm between Lawrence and Kansas City. We both love being a part of the Greater Kansas City Interfaith Council. This organization has a vital role to play in the future as the Great Divine Plan of God unfolds, passing through the present “Period of Purification,” and moving toward the establishment of a world where all humankind recognizes the importance of harmony among God, humans, and nature.
Join us at the Table of Faiths Sept. 23, a hybrid event. You might find the perfect fit too. Register or become a sponsor today.
[Susan Nakao, an At-Large Director of the Interfaith Council, has practiced the Sukyo Mahikari spiritual path, which is compatible with many faiths and teaches the importance of interfaith collaboration for achieving the ultimate goal of God’s Plan on earth, for about 35 years .]