Mission Statement

The mission of the San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuin is to learn and to share the Jodo Shinshu

understanding of the Three Treasures

Buddha, Dharma and Sangha

Motions

• A motion was moved/seconded/passed to accept the October Board Meeting minutes as corrected.
• A motion was moved/seconded/passed to waive the facilities rental fees for an additional three years to the CYS Dance Group for their recitals.
• A motion was moved/seconded/passed to extend the contract with Cody Anderson Wasney (CAW) Architects of work up to the Phase II scope of work through the presentation to the City of San Jose.
• A motion was moved/seconded/passed to offer end of the year monetary gifts from the Betsuin to both ministers. This is an addition to the oseibo program offered to Sangha members to give individually not only to the ministers but to other Betsuin people.

Correspondence

A thank you letter from Fuji Towers was received for the use of the Betsuin’s tables, chairs, canopy and PA system for their recent open house.

A thank you letter from Reverend Yamagishi was received expressing his appreciation for the honor of being the guest speaker for the Fall Ohigan Service.

Guest and Presentation

Guest Kristen Kawayoshi-Lee requested an extension of the three year fee waiver for another three years for the CYS Dance Group.

Ministers’ Report - Rinban Sakamoto

• Bishop Selection

Nominations for the Office of Bishop have been submitted.

• Minister Assistants (MAs)

Ministers Assistants Michael Jones and Dennis Akizuki accompanied Reverend Mikame to a recent Morgan Hill Sunday service. Following the service, they talked with the members there regarding activities of the Morgan Hill sangha and how the Betsuin might be able to help. One of the observations is that the sangha cannot survive with just traditional members. the sangha needs to have Buddhist and cultural activities and invite the broader community to participate.

MAs will begin to be integrated into the Sunday morning speaking schedule.

• Programs

Sitting Sessions will begin December 1. The sessions will begin at 8:15 am and conclude at 9:15 am.

Reverend Mikame has begun contributing articles in Japanese to the Dharma newsletter.

Phase II Report - Janie Doi and Rinban Sakamoto

• On Wednesday November 6th, Rinban, Janice, Dean Osaki (Phase II Fundraising Consultant), and Chris Wasney (CAW Architect) me with two City of San Jose staff people to share the Betsuin’s Phase II project concept, to ask if they foresee obstacles, and to ask how to work w/ city departments going forward. The city staffers gave feedback one of which they know the Betsuin is an important asset to Japantown and to the city in general and encouraged us to “think big”, not to let parking issues drive our plans, and present a concept at the Annual General Plan Amendment session.

Special Events Committee Report - Emi Tsutsumi and Joyce Iwasaki

• Welcome Reception for Reverend Etsuko Mikame - Sunday October 27, 2019

We were fortunate to have guests attend such as Bishop and Mrs Umezu (BCA), Rev Mukojima (Mountain View Buddhist Temple), Rev Yamagishi (Lodi Buddhist Church), Rev Keith Inouye (Wesley United Methodist Church), Ken Tanimoto (Past BCA President), Roy and Pj Hirabayashi (founders of San Jose Taiko), Wisa Uemura (Executive Director of San Jose Taiko) and Franco Imperial (Artistic Director of San Jose Taiko), Michel Sera (President of Japanese American Museum of San Jose), Jane Kawasaki (President of Yu Au Kai), Derek Ives (Activities and Facilities Manager of Yu Ai Kai), various Coast District Temple Sangha members and neighborhood friends and neighbors. It was wonderful to see many San Jose Sangha members attend as well.

Appreciation is extended to the Board of Directors who sponsored and put hours of work into this reception, to Janice Oda for playing a key role in the planning process, to Al Hironaga for taking pictures, and to all the kitchen helpers, people who helped with food preparation, servers and the clean up group. All your time, talents and help made this event special. Thank you!

Japantown Neighborhood Night (SJ Earthquakes) - Joyce Iwasaki
July 6, 2019

PARTICIPANTS: Groups were invited to benefit by promoting ticket sales to their organization. Participating organizations will receive some funds from their ticket sales. The only requirement was to provide a W-9 to SJ Earthquakes. Other groups asked to participate included SJJACL (San Jose JACL), JCCsj (Japantown Community Congress of San Jose), and WUMC (Wesley United Methodist Church) but they declined to participate or did not respond.

Participating Organizations:
Japantown Business Association: 30 tickets : $150.00
SJ Buddhist Church Betsuin: 23 tickets: : $115.00
Japanese American Museum of San Jose: 12 tickets: : $60.00
Yu Ai Kai: 10 Tickets : $50.00
Silicon Valley JACL: 2 Tickets : $10.00
(Note: SVJACL gave approx. 5 tickets to JBA)
San Jose-Okayama Sister City: 2 Tickets : $10.00

TOTAL 79 Tickets : $395.00

150 Suite tickets were given out with 85 tickets scanning in that night. Suite tickets were distributed based on display of SJ Earthquakes flags or banners to promote Japantown Neighborhood Night. Japantown is an easy neighborhood to promote Japantown Neighborhood Night, due to having a visible Japantown retail core. PROMOTION EXCHANGE: Negotiated for a pop-up tent for Japantown promotions such as Obon, Farmer’s Market, Japantown Art Walks, SJT workshops, JAMsj events, etc. The pop-up tent acted as a meeting place for the attendees.

Property Management Report - Steve Onishi

• 6^th Building

We had a major water leak in the upstairs bathroom. One of the pipes burst and we had water cascading down walls and the stairway. Fortunately, Al Hironaga was working outside when he heard the water. The water for the entire building was shut down until the problem was resolved. Afterwards, a large fan was turned on upstairs and a dehumidifier was used downstairs. Fortunately, this occurred during the heat spell where the air was very dry.

• Education Building

Routine maintenance issues continue to arise as the building continues to age. A new door knob/lock was installed in one of the classrooms. A new paper towel dispenser was installed in Lotus. Door lock on the library restroom was repaired. The outside water faucet was removed. Evidently, a “homeless” person was seen trying to get a drink and when it didn’t work, he knocked if off the wall. Be vigilant when you see such people around.

• Office

We recently had an incident in the office on a weekend day. A person became belligerent and was actually taken away by the police. We are investigating potential security measures/devices that we might employ to insure a safe environment in the office, especially if there is only one or two people there.

• Gym/Multipurpose Room

Our new facilities were once again showcased during the recent Kalapana concert. The word is getting out about the capabilities that we have! A special thanks goes out to Neal Kodama of the SJ Judo Club. In order to create the stage, he built 4 additional wooden benches (exact duplicates of our existing benches) that were required to configure the stage properly! If you get the chance, please thank him as he went way above and beyond the call of duty!

• Solar Panels

We are restarting our solar panel committee after a long layoff. We reviewed the three proposals that Greg Aso received and have decided that we would like to meet with each of the three companies. If you have any questions, please let us know and we will present to the companies.