ALOHA! Fall is here with its vibrant colors, cooler temperatures, and a promise of rain(?). Also, delicious fruits such as apples, pears, mandarins, and persimmons are readily available in the markets and fruit stands. Such an appropriate time of the year to have our Fall Appreciation Social to say “Thank You” to all the volunteers who helped San Luis Obispo Buddhist Church with its fundraisers and keeping the temple and grounds clean. More information in this newsletter.

Thank you to those who helped make our Rummage Sale a success: lots of tedious work dis-playing all the “treasures” and later, placing them back in storage after the sale. Mahalo to the blood donors at our Blood Drive-12 units of this precious resource were collected.

Our driveway alongside the temple will receive an overlay of asphalt and the back and top parking lots will be sealed and slurried at the end of September. This capital improvement project will be fol-lowed by repairing of termite damaged wood/dry rot on the temple. The entire temple will then be fumigated in early November.

About this time every year, all temples/churches are asked to submit their membership count to the Buddhist Churches of America (BCA) which is then used to determine each temple’s assessment for the following year. The membership count is for “dues paying members” and for SLOBC, the member-ship stands at 63. This number does not tell the true situation at our temple because we have many more “non-members” who attend our weekly Sunday Dharma Services, participate in activities we offer, and help with fundraisers and special events. The health of our temple and its sangha is OK. However, until other means become available to help fund BCA’s operations, the dues paid by each temple are crucial to the BCA. The annual membership dues we assess our 63 members not only fund our operations but also BCA’s.

My hope is that more people who find that SLOBC is truly a part of their lives make that commitment and become dues paying members. The temple, its grounds, the minister’s residence and the retreat facilities will continue to exist as long as we have the funds to support them but more importantly, we want the people who attend SLOBC (the sangha) to continue to feel that they belong to our community.

Gassho,
Gary Hongo