I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and ate just enough….shoots, I know I’ll over eat again and go back for more. I always try not to but I love the tako and sashimi my in laws bring over. Last year we had a bunch of crab thanks to a big haul my friend’s dad made.
I hope everyone is planning on attending the Town Hall mtg on 12/4 at 6:30pm in the Annex. This will be our first community event to give everyone the latest update on the Generations Campaign and Annex Renovation project. We will also include an update on our partnership with the Red Cross to be a disaster relief center. As you all know, the Temples are the Anchors of Jtown and will continue to serve that role for many years. We see ourselves as a gathering spot “for the Community in the Community” which is why we want to reach out and have this Town Hall mtg. JTown is going through a resurgence with the current construction of new Sr housing off 6th/Jackson, plans for the Corp Yard, Wesley’s renovation plans and new business coming in and we want to provide the folks who live in the area a chance to hear about us and ask questions. Please plan to attend.
As I look back at my first year in office and begin to plan for my next, I’m very proud of our Board and Ministers. We have launched a $10M capital campaign and raised almost $2M to date, have design drawings in hand, updating our membership lists with emails and additional contact info, started a new young adult Buddhist chat night and resurrected the Research & Planning long term strategy team to name a few. We will go into more details at our General mtg after the Town Hall on 12/4, so come on by.
Speaking of the Research & Planning (R&P)team, we need your help to guide the Temples Strategy. The R&P team will be sending out a brief survey to see what YOU, our Sangha, is interested in seeing at the Temple, what we’re doing good and bad and any suggestions. For example, We want to know why members or people don’t come to the Temple so we can create a more inclusive Temple. We need this info to ensure our services, activities and programs are in line with what YOU and the next Generation is looking for, need or want. Remember there are no wrong answers so provide us with your Wish lists!! We will provide a hard copy and electronic surveys for your convenience. Your participation would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks for reading and will see you at Town Hall and General meeting on 12/4.
In Gassho,
Todd Tsudama
JAN