The Bishop of the Buddhist Churches of America is the religious leader of our organization (lay and clergy).

The Bishop helps set the religious and spiritual vision for our organization

Oversees the religious propagation of the BCA temples

Manages the personnel issues of the ministers (Kaikyoshi) of the BCA

Works with the BCA President to raise funds for BCA development

Reports to Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji Ha

Currently the office of the Bishop consists of Bishop Kodo Umezu and one secretary, Rev. Michael Endo. There are two executive assistants; Rev. Marvin Harada and Rev. Jerry Hirano. However, there is no full-time executive assistant. Rev. Harada is the head minister of the Orange County Buddhist Church (OCBC) and interim Rinban of Sacramento Betsuin plus supervising minister of Vista Buddhist Temple. His position as executive assistant to the Bishop is primarily as Co-director of the Center for Buddhist Education (CBE). Rev. Jerry Hirano is the supervising minister for Salt Lake, Ogden, Honeyville and Idaho Oregon Buddhist Temple (IOBT). He is also an executive assistant to the Bishop and co-director of Center for Buddhist Education. His primary responsibility is the director of the Ministers’ Assistant Program (MAP).

At the International level: Bishop is the Chairperson for the Jodo Shinshu International Office (JSIO). JSIO is the newly established office responsible for the propagation of Jodo Shinshu in the English and non-Japanese speaking parts of the world. In this position:

*Bishop must report to the Hongwanji headquarters in Kyoto Japan.

*Bishop is asked to help coordinate international activities with the three other Bishops from Hawaii, Canada and South America. BCA is by far the largest organization of the four.

At the National level: Bishop is the face of our organization. Without the Bishop (Socho) the Buddhist Churches of America is just a non-profit community organization, no different from JACL, YMCA, YWCA or Rotary. The Buddhist Churches of America is not a religious organization without the Bishop and the ministers that are under his guidance and leadership. It is only through the Bishop that Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji Ha recognizes religious authority to the Buddhist Churches of America.

This means that the Bishop represents the 15,000 lay members, 50 BCA Kaikyoshi and 63 temples and all the affiliated organizations.

Bishop works with the BCA president and executive board to implement financing to run the organization. i.e. fund raising.
Bishop is the final word when it comes to religious programs and activities within BCA.
Bishop must attend religious activities such as BCA level, district and many local temple conferences and conventions. This includes Kieshiki (sarana affirmation services) throughout BCA and National and many district BWA, YBA and Dharma School activities and services.
Bishop is asked to speak at many local temples and community functions.
Bishop writes a monthly article for the newsletter
Bishop is asked to write letters for a variety of situations
- letters of recommendation
- letters of comment (recent comment regarding Executive Order0
- commemoration letters (found in conference booklets)
Bishop is also the Provost of the Institute of Buddhist Studies (IBS)
Bishop is the endorser for the United States military and is responsible for all Buddhist military chaplains in the United States armed forces. Reviewing and interviewing each candidate, regardless of sect. BCA is the only endorser for all Buddhist Chaplains in the military.

The Bishop of the Buddhist Churches of America is the representative of Hongwanji on the mainland U.S. As the spiritual leader for all Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji Ha ministers in the BCA, he has many responsibilities.

Each Kaikyoshi as part of their oath, must follow the requests and recommendation of the Bishop of their district (BCA). Therefore, the Bishop is responsible for assignment for each Kaikyoshi. There are currently 48 Kaikyoshi in the Buddhist Churches of America. As the leader of the BCA Kaikyoshis the Bishop is also responsible for their financial well-being. For Kaikyoshi from Japan, it is a literal contract with the U.S. government.

The Bishop must negotiate each employment contract or MOU between temples and ministers.
- If a temple or temple member has a complaint about any Kaikyoshi, the grievance is sent to the office of the Bishop
If any minister has a grievance with their temple it is sent to the office of the Bishop.
Each potential BCA minister must have a personal interview with the Bishop.
The Bishop is often asked to personally meet with temples or ministers.

With the addition of the Minister’s Assistant program (MAP), the Bishop is also responsible for the activities, training and development of the 100+ Minister’s assistants. With the development of the new MAP, these responsibilities are to help supplement the shortage of Kaikyoshi within BCA. The office of the Bishop must keep a record for the training, qualifications and level of each person in the program.

These are the basic responsibilities of the Bishop of the Buddhist Churches of America. There are many others, but they are often on a case by case or one time basis.

Platform for Rev. Jerry Kyosei Hirano for BCA Bishop

Experience:

Kaikyoshi: 1987 to present: 32 years

Minister for:

1987-93: San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuin (large temple, urban setting)

1993-Current: Salt Lake (medium temple, urban)

1999-Current: Ogden (medium temple, urban)

2017-Current: IOBT (medium temple, country setting)

1999- Current: Honeyville (small temple, country setting)

Current: Minister’s Assistant Program Director

Current: Bishop’s co-executive assistant

Current: CBE co-director

Current: IBS board 20+ years

Current: Hongwanji Correspondence course instructor

Ministers’ Association Chairperson: 8 years (four terms)

Sanyo for Bishop Koshin Ogui and Bishop Kodo Umezu

Mission Statement:

I am honored to have been nominated for the election to the position of Bishop for our Buddhist Churches of America (BCA). Although I have been nominated in the past, I have declined to run because I didn’t feel I had enough experience for this very difficult and complex position. However, over the past few years, I realize that my experience in most areas of BCA -- from work as a local temple minister, national leadership positions, such as CBE co-director and MAP director along with International Hongwanji propagational efforts, I think I am ready. I have been an advisor to Bishop Ogui and Bishop Umezu; however, being an advisor is quite different from actually serving as the Bishop, which I believe I am ready for, and certainly do not take lightly.

The position of Bishop is extremely complicated and cannot be achieved by any one person.

With my many years of BCA experience, I have come to the conclusion that BCA’s religious program must be developed by a team of experienced and exceptional leaders with a variety of perspectives and expertise. Not only have I been fortunate enough to have studied with many of them and grown with them as fellow Jodo Shinshu ministers, I have also enjoyed their friendship and support over the years as well. If I were elected, I will count on these friends to be my main advisors. I have asked some of them to assist me in this very difficult job, and they have agreed. Below is a partial list, as some have yet to be named, but includes:

Ministers: Gicho (2020)

CBE: Rev. Marvin Harada

IBS: Rev. Dr. David Matsumoto

Hongwanji: Rev. Kiyonobu Kuwahara

Lay: appointed by BCA president (2020)

I believe, all programs developed under the office of the Bishop would have three shared goals:

Establish a culture of safety and inclusiveness within a growingly diverse BCA, for all of its organizations and local temples.
Develop a unified vision for the future of Jodo Shinshu in America, highlighting its unique contributions and teachings to the larger community in general, and the Buddhist community in particular.
Raise awareness, education and understanding of the Nembutsu teachings to guide our everyday lives in what we think, say, and do, and appreciation of the Jodo Shinshu tradition that connects us to our roots and to one another.

The following three areas are crucial for the development of BCA’s future success:

Communication:

The current communication systems in place for every operation in BCA, from temples to headquarters, ministers to Bishop and lay members to BCA leadership have been too inefficient to meet the demands of an increasingly fast-paced and information-dense modern culture. With the technology available to us, it would be advantageous to set up all parties electronically and to coordinate at least a monthly schedule for meetings and discussions. A case in point is the Bishop’s Office with the ministers and district leaders.

The Office of the Bishop as leader of both ministers and lay organizations must be accessible and transparent not only to a select few, but also to the diverse membership of the organization itself. With more streamlined communication, all components of leadership and membership are more likely to proactively respond to the needs of the organization and its members.

Education:

Whereas ministers have been trained in rigorous formal education and solid doctrinal foundations for our tradition, our lay membership would benefit from a more systematic and organized educational curriculum. This curriculum will be at the center of what our temples offer. Education and programs are the main assets BCA can share among its temples. This would not only apply to the old Sunday School model for preschool to high school levels, but also adopt an integrative and developmentally based system of learning. The study materials must include a substantial Adult Education component, to stimulate interest and dialogue on contemporary and pressing issues that we face today. This approach would extend to and overlap with the Minister’s Assistant training programs. With American culture in potentially volatile and uncertain transition, addressing current issues through Jodo Shinshu’s unique lens is of great interest among many of our young adult members. The entire curriculum must emphasize the kindness and wisdom of our Jodo Shinshu teachings and tradition in all aspects of our lives. This will be a high priority item, filling the gap between current CBE courses and the graduate level courses offered by IBS.

I would ask, whenever possible, for IBS ministerial students to help in this curriculum development and implementation. This would become part of their training for their future work as ministers, to benefit the temples they will eventually serve. In return, the students would receive some form of financial compensation to assist them with graduate school expenses.

I believe a great starting point for this curriculum would be Rev. David Matsumoto’s “Triple A’s of Jodo Shinshu.” I would like BCA to openly address important societal issues, such as race, gender equality and inclusion, mental health, fiscal and economic responsibility, among many others that affect our lives as Americans. BCA has a responsibility to go beyond secular humanistic arguments to a deep reflection on how Jodo Shinshu teachings can help us better understand and approach these dilemmas.

I would like IBS to become a stronger partner in developing the Ministers Continuing Education program (MCE) and Ministers’ Assistant Program classes (MAP). To date, we have been taking advantage of IBS’ generous pro bono educational services to BCA. It is time for BCA to provide just compensation for the services that IBS provides our BCA educational programs. IBS is a key component to our BCA educational programs; however, IBS is a separate entity that relies on funds for its various operations. Classes and workshops would be taught by a wider array of IBS faculty and current BCA ministers for MAP and MCE seminars. Many of our senior ministers, for instance, have served for years and have a wealth of knowledge to share with our entire BCA Sangha, beyond their local temples.

Organizational Structure:

Our current organizational setup needs to be evaluated for the pros and cons of what aspects should be left in place and what needs revision or restructure. A pervasive theme for example is the growing shortage of Kaikyoshis for the current number of temples and their needs. The ideal ratio of Kaikyoshi to members is about 1:300. Some temples have expressed concerns about their ministerial needs not being adequately met. The BCA MAP can help ensure that each temple receives enough support.

Along with the Office of the Bishop, each minister will develop a strategic plan for their temples. This would include an evaluation of temples’ current status and resources vis-à-vis the minister’s abilities and plan of action for their temple. The results will be discussed with the Office of the Bishop, whereupon a collaborative plan of action will be constructed, depending on available options presented to the minister, the temples they serve, the strategic plan for the temple, and the best fit for both. The Bishop and/or Executive Assistant must meet with each minister individually as well as with the Temple Boards each year at a minimum. Because BCA temples are each quite diverse and unique, a “one-size-fits-all” approach may not apply. Each temple and Kaikyoshi must set up their temples for success with their current demographics, with BCA as the resource for the temple and respective district.

We must further utilize the value of our Minister’s Assistants in BCA. They are a huge untapped resource, and most are dedicated and sincere in their intentions to assist their supervising and resident ministers. To better prepare them in the course of developing the MAP program, we will begin to standardize training and testing for doctrine and ritual for those interested.

A few years ago, an ad hoc BCA committee of ministerial and lay members completed a set of guidelines called the “Ministerial Training and Development Manual.” I would like to see this re-introduced, polished and implemented to establish the highest standards of quality and integrity in our religious activities and goals.

Attention must also be given to BCA Headquarters and its administrative staff. Redundancies, competencies, and pay structures will be examined, and Headquarters will be streamlined for efficiency, cost-effectiveness and productivity. The fewer but more effective the positions, the better the pay.

Conclusion:

This platform is a culmination of my deepest dream for BCA. Now is the time to begin to identify and develop a more defined and stronger presence of Jodo Shinshu Buddhism in the West. No longer just a transplanted ethnic tradition, it is a Religion of Gratitude taking root in our American/Western identity and offers a powerful framework on which our religious and spiritual life can truly rely on.

- J.K. Hirano