I think that perhaps the single most important thing to try to do for you today, as an expression of my profound thanks to all of you for being here with me on this very special occasion, is to give you a sense of why, back in June of this year (2023), I asked my friend, meditation teacher, and ministerial colleague, Miki Nakura-sensei, whether I could receive a dharma name in a Kikyoshiki ceremony in which I would publicly commit to the Jōdo Shinshū path, living within Amida Buddha’s Primal Vow. To tell the whole story properly would take way too long, but I think I can tell you something helpful in a reasonably brief fashion. Looking back through my life — which is, remember, deeply rooted in the liberal, Free Christian tradition...