The church observes non-Buddhist holidays like Christmas, Easter, Valentines and Halloween with decorations and special lessons about the Buddhist teachings that are applicable to the holidays. We don't want them to feel different from other kids in their school. During the postwar years, many of Oakland's Japanese-American community settled further inland. In the 1950s and 1960s, Yoneyama said, many of the original church members made an effort to re-congregate in Oakland each Sunday, but now that generation is aging and fewer make the long drive into Oakland. They don't all get here.
Many families only travel to the church on special occasions.
That means a lot of traveling for me. A lot of sermonizing. He drives long distances every week to tend to them. But the teachings may.