Source: Urban Dharma
http://www.urbandharma.org/udharma4/news.html
Long before Reyn Yorio Tsuru became minister of the Shingon Shu Hawaii temple on Sheridan Street last year, he had been trying to make Buddhism more relevant to the younger generation and more appealing to local people.
He saw the congregation was aging -- "The demographic age was 79!" -- and was afraid Buddhism as a religion would die off with its elderly members.
As church director the past 15 years, he took it upon himself to boost attendance at the church by explaining the meaning of ancient Buddhist rituals, and translating sermons given in Japanese to English. This was done mostly to help the younger people, but it benefited members of his parents' generation as well, who did not understand much about the traditional customs, either.
"Japanese Buddhism is not what you would call a religion that brings itself close to individuals. Its temples are principally for memorial services and funerals, where sermons are delivered in Japanese," Tsuru said.
It disturbed him that temples were run by Japanese-born priests who had little understanding of local ways, so he tried to be more "hands-on and accessible" than traditional Buddhist priests, most of whom he believes live cloistered lives. To this day he still cooks bento meals and does odd jobs for the parishioners who are in their 80s and 90s.
Tsuru, 41, donned the official "minister" hat last January (he is still church director), but his parishioners continue to call him "Reyn," not "Sensei," the respectful title that comes with the job.
Today the average age of his parishioners is 45. This year he plans to start holding a service in English, following the one in Japanese, which will slowly be phased out.