Hello Sangha Members,

It seems that we just finished our Obon Festival and here it is again. WOW! One year
has gone by fast. Here we are getting things ready for the summer — Obon Festival
and Retreat groups coming in.

We need help in many ways such as cleaning the church and its surroundings inside and out, preparing foods for otoki (light lunch after a special service), repair projects, making signs, etc. We need people volunteering their help in many different ways throughout the year. The more help we have the faster it goes. If you have couple hours to spare come and join us in making our church look and feel welcomed. If you have family bring them along. Dana (selfless giving) is taught to us by lis-tening to the Dharma.

The Obon Festival is our last major fundraiser for the year. The Obon Committee is looking for volunteers to help sort and pack the supplies and equipment into the trailers and set them up at St. Patrick’s School. We also need help in prepping foods such as kushi sashi and teriyaki chicken, making the inari sushi and getting raffle prizes. If you would like to volunteer your time, please contact Janis Eto, Sandy or Gary Hongo, Barry Bridge or me. We are in the 2017 Membership Roster. You can also call the Church phone number and Rev. Nakano will forward your message to one of us or better yet, come to a service and seek us out — it would be good seeing you. Let’s make this Obon Festival bigger than ever.

Our first Retreat Group will be coming in end of June. We are almost ready with just a few more cleaning up and repairs to do. These retreat groups come from the Northern and Southern California. They plan for a weekend of fun and religious discussions at our facility.

In Gassho,
Donna Sato