Happy Spring! The days are getting warmer and the beautiful spring flowers are showing themselves along the highways and in our neighborhood.

Last month I asked for volunteers to help bake brownies for People’s Kitchen and I am so pleased to report that several ladies stepped up and volunteered! Thank you! We have amazing people at SLOBC and SLOBWA!

On April 13 SLOBC will be having a Hanamatsuri Service that celebrates the birth of the historical Buddha in Lumbini Garden. We will have our own version of the Lumbini Garden with a beautiful Hanamido decorated with flowers and a baby Buddha that we will sprinkle with sweet tea. If you have flowers that we can use to decorate the Hanamido, please bring them to the church on Saturday morning. We need flowers that do not have strong scents or thorns. We are especially looking for wisteria flowers that hang beautifully on the Hanamido. Thank you for checking your gardens.

After the Hanamatsuri Service, we will have a potluck lunch in the Social Hall. Please bring a dish to share such as a salad, side dish or dessert. Please try to let me know what you plan to bring so we don’t have 20 salads and no desserts. The invitation to the service and potluck is to all of SLOBC members and friends.

The Coast District Buddhist Women’s League (CDBWL) of which SLOBWA is a member has been inactive for about 4 years because we were busy planning for the Federation of Buddhist Women’s Association conference that was held in October 2024. Now the CDBWL is gearing up and needs to elect a new Board of Directors (BD). There are only 3 active BWA chapters in the Coast District and the organization of the BD is going to be the topic of discussion in a Zoom meeting on Monday, April 7, at 7 p.m. I would like a few of SLOBWA members to be involved in the discussion and planning for the CDBWL going forward. If you are interested in attending the meeting please let me know and I will send you a Zoom link.

If you have any questions, please contact me.

In Gassho,

Sandy