Temple President’s November 2012 message

Hello Temple Members!

I hope everybody is doing well. Sorry I have not published messages for the past two newsletters.  Much has happened in the last few months.  First of all, I need to say thank you to everyone for all your hard work for the Obon, and special thanks to Dr. Hirasuna who again did a superb job as Obon Chairman.  I also would like to express my gratitude to Gary Tanimura who organized the Tri-tip food sale despite his very busy schedule. Thank you also to the ladies of the Women’s Buddhist Association who tirelessly help at most, if not all, of the Temple events.

The Eitaikyo and Monthly Memorial Service was well attended.  Reverend Inouye was our guest speaker and gave a very inspiring Dharma Talk. After the service we honored our seniors at the Kerokai Luncheon. Thank you to Larry Hirahara and the Kerokai Committee for again putting on a wonderful Kerokai Program.  

In closing, my perspective is that this year is passing by very quickly; I cannot believe November is upon us.  The Temple Board and Sensei, like many of you, have worked very hard on the behalf of the Temple. I hope that some of you can volunteer to serve on the Board and help to lead the Temple and continue the important work of spreading the message of the Dharma.  

Sincerely In Gassho,

Gary Omori

Temple President’s July 2012 Obon message

Hello Temple Members, 

As we head into the final stretch of our Obon preparation, I hope everyone is doing well and ready for the Obon. I want to express my sincere thanks to all of you who have been working in preparation of the Obon. By now, everyone should have received the Obon work schedule either by email or by regular mail.  If you have not received your copy, or need to make changes, please contact me ASAP.  Thank you to all of you who helped at the Temple cleanup and thank you to the gardening group who have spending so much of their own time to prune and maintain the trees and shrubs.  

I did not make the newsletter deadline for the July newsletter but I would like to include an excerpt from my un-published July message for this newsletter:

The annual Lady Takeko Kujo Memorial (Kisaragiki) & June Shotsuki Service was held on June 17. Reverend Z. Taniguchi gave a very nice Dharma talk. Thank you to the BWA for sponsoring this service.

We have a new tree in the the Temple yard. On Saturday, June 23, the  Buddhist Temple of Salinas and the City of Salinas received a cherry tree in commemoration of the 100 year anniversary of Japan giving cherry trees to the United States as a symbolic gesture of friendship.  The Buddhist Temple was honored to be chosen as a site for the 2012 donation of cherry trees. Consul General, Mr. Hiroshi Inomata presented the Temple and the City a cherry tree to Salnas Mayor Dennis Donahue and me. It was a great honor to accept the cherry tree on behalf of the Buddhist Temple of Salinas.  After the Tree planting ceremony, the BWA served light refreshments. Thank you Larry Hirahara, BWA , Larry Tokiwa and everyone involved for making this event a wonderful and memorable event.  The Consul General said he hopes this event paves the way for many more visits to Salinas from the Consulate Office of Japan.

In closing, I again to say thank you everyone for your support and all your help. Thank you to Mr. Jim Uchida who cheerfully volunteers his time to do repairs at the Sensei’s house and the facilities. May we have a successful and wonderful 2012 Obon!

In Gassho,

Gary Omori

仏教会会長のメッセージ

仏教会の皆様へ 

お盆の準備も最後の忙しい時期になってきました。お盆のためにお手伝いくださっている皆様に心より感謝しています。お手元にスケジュール表がe-メールか郵便で届いていると思いますが都合の悪い方は速やかに役員にお申し出てください。仏教会の大掃除にお手伝いくださった方にお礼申し上げます。特に時間をとって何日も来て庭の木を整えてくださった方々有難うございました。 

7月はニュースレターの原稿締め切りに間に合いませんでしたが、是非皆さんに読んでいただきたいので今回載せさせていただきます。 

6月の婦人会主催の九条武子夫人追悼法要と6月祥月法要は谷口瑞渓先生に特別講師をしていただき大変楽しくよいお話をされました。婦人会の皆様有難うございました。 

6月23日に新しく桜の木が植えられました。これは日本から日本とアメリカ合衆国との友情の印として贈られた桜の木の100周年を記念してサンフランシスコの日本総領事を通していただきました。猪俣総領事から仏教会とサリナス市に贈呈されドナヒューサリナス市長と私が受とり植樹式を行ないました。式の後お茶の接待を婦人会が準備してくれました。平原ラリーと常盤ラリーと婦人会とその他お手伝いくださった方々にお礼申し上げます。これは大変名誉なことだと思います。総領事はこれをきっかけにして総領事館より多くの訪問の機会が出来ることを望みますとのことでした。」 

最後にもう1度申し上げます。皆様のお手伝いに大変感謝いたします。内田ジミーが開教使宅と他の建物の修繕を請け負ってくださいました。有難うございます。 

さあ皆さん、お盆を一緒に成功させましょう。 

合掌

仏教会会長　大森ゲリー

Temple President’s July 2012 Message

Dear Temple Members,

I hope everyone is doing well. The year is passing by so quickly, I can hardly believe it is already July and the Obon season is upon us!  Our Obon will be held on Sunday, July 29, 2012. Of course, the weeks before the Obon, we will be busy preparing for the Obon. You should be receiving Obon work lists in the first week of July. Please take the time to review the Obon packet and make sure you are scheduled to work. If you need to make scheduling changes, please contact Carol Cisneros, ASAP.

The annual Lady Takeko Kujo Memorial (Kisaragiki) & June Shotsuki Service was held on June 17. Reverend Z. Taniguchi gave a very nice Dharma talk. Thank you to the BWA for sponsoring this service.

We have a new tree in the the Temple yard. On Saturday, June 23, the  Buddhist Temple of Salinas and the City of Salinas received a cherry tree in commemoration of the 100 year anniversary of Japan giving cherry trees to the United States as a symbolic gesture of friendship.  The Buddhist Temple was honored to be chosen as a site for the 2012 donation of cherry trees. Consul General, Mr. Hiroshi Inomata presented the Temple and the City a cherry tree to Salnas Mayor Dennis Donahue and me. It was a great honor to accept the cherry tree on behalf of the Buddhist Temple of Salinas.  After the Tree planting ceremony, the BWA served light refreshments. Thank you Larry Hirahara, BWA , Larry Tokiwa and everyone involved for making this event a wonderful and memorable event.  The Consul General said he hopes this event paves the way for many more visits to Salinas from the Consulate Office of Japan. 

Lastly, on Sunday, July 8, we will be holding our Obon service. We will have services at the Yamato and Garden of Memories cemeteries, and the Obon and Shotsuki service will be held at 11:00 AM at the Temple. Bishop Umezu will visit the Yamato Cemetery and be guest speaker at the Temple service. 

Please welcome the Bishop to our temple.

Thank you,

In Gassho, 

Gary Omori

Temple President’s June 2012 Message

Hello Temple Members,

I hope everyone is doing well.  Many thanks to Gary Tanimura and his capable crew for again putting together such a nice picnic. Gary has undertaken this task for the third year in a row. Thank you Gary T, Larry, Herb,  BWA,  Dharma School and everyone involved for their hard work in making the picnic such a wonderful event. This year the weather was also very pleasant.

Please mark your calendars for this year’s Obon, Sunday, July 29, 2012.  As you know, this is our Temple’s largest source of revenue.  It takes a tremendous amount of effort to make this event happen but the burden on each person can be lessened if more people participate. So please donate some time in making this event successful. The Obon committee is busy organizing and preparing for the Obon. The work lists are being updated and will be distributed soon. If you have friends or family that can help that are not on the list, please contact Gary Omori or Carol Cisneros and we can add them to the list. Thanks!

On Saturday, June 23, the Temple will receive a cherry tree from the S.F. Consulate General of Japan celebrating the 100 year anniversary of Japan’s gift of cherry trees to the United States as a gesture of enduring friendship. Information on the Event Schedule will be posted soon. 

Lastly, on Sunday July 8, Bishop Umezu will be our Guest speaker at the Obon service. Please welcome the Bishop by attending this service. Thank you very much. 

Sincerely In Gassho,

Gary Omori

仏教会会長のメッセージ 

仏教会の皆様へ 

皆様お元気におすごしでしょうか。先月仏教会恒例のピクニックがありました。谷村ゲリー氏が3年連続で実行委員をしてくださいました。有難うございました。楽しく滞りなく終われ谷村ゲリー氏を始め常盤氏、ワング氏、婦人会、日曜学校やそのほかにお手伝いくださった方に大変感謝いたします。今年はお天気にも恵まれとてもよかったと思いました。 

お盆バザーは仏教会で最も大切な資金集めですので是非皆様にお手伝いくださるようお願いいたします。今年は7月29日（日）ですので予定に組み込んでおいてください。この行事を成功させる為には大変な労力が必要です。もしより多くの方がお手伝いくだされば一人ひとりの労力が軽減されます。どうかみなさんご協力をお願いいたします。お盆のお手伝いのスケジュール表が近々発送されます。もし御家族お友達でお手伝いくださる人を知っていらっしゃる方は大森ゲリーかシスネロス＝キャロルまで御連絡ください。よろしくお願いいたします。

6月23日（土）に桜の苗木が日本より合衆国に友好の印として贈られた100周年を記念してサリナス仏教会に贈呈されます。近々予定が発表されると思います。

７月８日（日）のお盆法要は梅津BCA総長が特別講師です。どうか皆さんもお参りに来て新しい総長を一緒にお迎えしてください。有難うございました。

合掌

仏教会会長　大森ゲリー

Temple President’s May 2012 White Path Message

Dear Temple Members,

I write this after spending part of the day at the Asian Fair. It was a very nice turnout and a beautiful day. Thank you to Larry Hirahara and the BWA, Sensei and Mrs. Fujikawa, and all the Temple members and fiends who helped to showcase our Temple and helped with the food sale and Artisan Artifact Sale. The feedback I received from both members and visitors suggest that the day was a great success for the Temple and the other participating organizations.

On April 15, Reverend John Iwohara was our guest speaker at the Hanamatsuri and April Shotsuki Service. We had a wonderful turnout and everyone had a nice time at the potluck luncheon. Thank you to Reverend Iwohara and Reverend Fujikawa and to everyone who made the day a wonderful day! 

April 19, 2012 marked the first Monthly Buddhist Meditation at Villa Serra. As a reminder, the monthly service will be held at 3 pm on the third Thursday of the month. Everyone is welcome to attend the service.

Thank you to Dr. John Hirasuna for again chairing the Obon. Dr. Hirasuna kicked off our Obon season by holding the first official Obon meeting on April 18. It was a good meeting; we still need help with Obon booth construction leadership as well as a chair for the Shish-kabob booth.

In closing, I want to extend my thanks to Ms. Mariko Yamashita for her dedication to keeping the Temple website current. The newest part of the website is the calendar. Changes to the Temple calendar are reflected almost immediately. I encourage you to check the website for all the current news and events: btsalinas.org.

Thank you. 

In Gassho, 

Gary Omori

仏教会会長のメッセージ 

仏教会の皆様へ

このメッセージをアジア祭りのお手伝いの後に書いています。お祭りもお天気も大変良かったと思います。チェアーをしてくれた平原ラリーや不二川先生ご夫妻、婦人会の方々や仏教会からお手伝いくださった方や展示や演技をしてくださった方々にお礼申し上げます。うれしいことにお手伝いの方や見にこられた方からは大変良かったという感想をいただきました。

５月１５日(日)は庵原ジョン先生による花祭り法要と４月祥月法要でした。沢山の人にお参りいただき、ポットラックの昼食も皆様と共に楽しいときが過ごせたと思います。庵原先生と不二川先生とこの日をすばらしい日にするためにお手伝いしてくださった方々に感謝いたします。有難うございました。 

４月１９日にヴィラシエラ老人ホームにて不二川先生によって聞法法要を始めました。毎月第３木曜の午後３時より始めますので是非お立ち寄りください。どなたでも聞法出来ます。

平砂ジョン博士は今年もお盆のチェアーをしてくださり有難うございます。４月１８日にキックオフ＝ディナーミーティングではじめました。今、ブースのコンストラクションのチェアーとシスカバブのチェアーを探しております。他推薦、自推薦御連絡ください。よろしくお願いいたします。

最後に山下鞠子さんにお礼申し上げます。新しい仏教会のウェブサイトを作り維持してくださっています。常に行事予定を最新にしています。どうか見てください。btsalinas.orgです。有難うございました。

合掌

仏教会会長　大森ゲリー