This is the lecture held in Japan as well as in some foreign countries with the goal of conveying the teachings of the Joyous Life, that is, the intention of God the Parent who hastens world salvation, to as many people as possible who have not known it.

In the Oceania region, the Joyous Life Lecture started in the late 1980s and has been held almost every year since the establishment of the Oceania Centre. Recently the Lecture is held from February to March in the major cities such as Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Auckland, etc. inviting a church or mission station’s head minister from the USA/Canada or the UK as the lecturer.

The latest Lecture was held from 30th January until 10th February 2008 at six venues including Tasmania, and 171 people in total attended the Lecture.

Hinokishin at the Sunnybank State Special School started in April 2002 as part of the Oceania Centre’s social activities in which the Centre could not only contribute directly to the local community, but also delight people who asked the Centre to do this hinokishin. Since then, one or two staff members of the Oceania Centre have visited the school to engage in hinokishin of taking care of children as an assistant to the teachers in charge almost everyday from Monday through Friday except the long school holidays.

More than six years have passed since the Centre started this hinokishin that is still continuing up to today. With this continuing hinokishin, the Centre receives deep gratitude and gains great trust from the principal and other teachers of the school, which has become a springboard for the Centre to take root in Australian society.

The Oceania Centre regularly conducts “Clean-up Hinokishin around the Centre” from 9:15 a.m. every Sunday except the 3rd Sunday. This has continued for more than 10 years since the very beginning of the Centre, as one of the Oceania Centre’s social activities in which we do hinokishin by picking up rubbish and empty cans along the streets, parks and the shopping complex near the Centre.

This activity has been accepted and highly appreciated by the local community, such as being sometimes reported by a local newsletter.

The Oceania Centre has conducted various activities to introduce Japanese culture at local primary and high schools as a contribution to the local communities.

In recent years, especially, the Centre participates in school events at the Runcorn Heights State School and the Sunnybank State Special School such as their “Multicultural Day” and “Harmony Day” which aims at “eliminating racial discrimination, bias and intolerance in the local community and deepening the understanding of multicultural society”. In response to the school’s request, the Centre set up a food stand to sell Japanese dishes such as curry with rice, rolled-sushi, croquettes, rice-balls, etc. and showed the Bon dance and TOC Fife & Drum Band performance. All of these activities contribute to the local community and make the local people happy and pleased.

The Oceania Centre held a Charity Bazaar twice, in October 1999 and November 2003. The goal of the bazaar was to let the local community know about the Oceania Centre and the teachings of the Joyous Life, and to contribute to Australian society even to a slight degree by donating its proceeds to a local non-governmental organization.

When the “Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami” occurred in December 2004, the Oceania Centre immediately appealed for relief funds to support the sufferers, not only to the followers in the region, but also to the participants in the Summer Festival and the Joyous Life Lecture in the following year. The funds collected were fully donated to the Australian Red Cross to utilise the Red Cross’s various activities to support the sufferers in afflicted areas.