Sangha

  President’s Message
  RB's Corner
  Minister's Assistant
  Greeters' Program
  From The Office
  Church Maintenance
  Bazaar
  Legacy Endowment Fund Board
  Shotsuki Hoyo
  Sports
  Cub Scout Pack 50 News
  Sakura Gakuen
  Dharma School News
  Boy Scouts
  Girl Scouts
  Sacramento Buddhist Women’s Association
  Mochi Tsuki Order Form
  Donations
  Welcome New Members
  Congratulations Newlyweds
  Condolences to the Families of
 

President’s Message

Richard Kai

The Betsuin will celebrate the end of the year 2009 with the annual Joya-e Dharma Service, and welcome the new decade of 2010 with the Shusho-e service in the Hondo within a time span of less 12 hours from the evening of December 31 through the morning of January 1, 2010. The traditional New Year’s Eve service or Joya-e, which translates to mean “Bell of the last night,” will be held on December 31 in the Hondo starting at 7:30 p.m., while its counterpart, the Shusho-e service will be held on January 1, 2010. The New Year’s Day Service is customarily the first Buddhist observance of the calendar year. Its original purpose was to wish for world peace, a successful harvest, and provide an opportunity to reflect upon the past and resolve to live a life of Nembutsu gratitude for the upcoming year. Please join the Board of Trustees at these annual celebrations of life at the end of the calendar year.

On an administrative note, there will be two envelopes arriving in your mail during the month of December that should garner particular interest of the sangha members. The contents of the first envelope are mostly administerial in nature with the election of the Board of Trustee members to fill the terms of office from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2012. I express my appreciation to the seven returning trustees and acknowledge the departure of three long-term members of the Board. The seven returning trustees are:

- Mark Amioka

- Valerie Fong

- Don Honda

- Eddie Imai

- Roger Ito

- MaryAnn Miyao

- Gordon Nitta

Each of these members have served multiple three-year terms of office on the Board of Trustees. They also carry many duties and responsibilities to carry out the affairs of the Betsuin. My deepest appreciation is extended to these individuals for renewing their commitment to the sangha and governance of the administrative affairs of the Betsuin.

Three members have decided allow others a turn at being part of the temple’s governing body. I am forever grateful to Frank Hirota, Don Masuda and Steve Kawano for their dedicated service to the Betsuin and its members. These three individuals provided unselfish commitment to the Betsuin, provided guidance, leadership and institutional knowledge of the temple affairs. They topped it off with serving as chairpersons of various Board committees, ministerial affairs, hospitality for new ministers, and unwavering support to guide the affairs of the Board.

Ballots will be included in the first envelope to vote in the seven returning members and to elect two new members to the Board of Trustees.

- The first new nominee is no stranger to the temple’s affairs. This person served as the Dharma School superintendent, and held several key positions of the Board of Trustees, including treasurer, president-elect and president of the Board. This nominee is Sherman Iida.

- The second nominee is no stranger to temple members as well. He is always available to lend a helping hand to a number of Board-affiliated and sponsored organizations; his experience and willingness to jump in to get things done will be a welcome addition to the Board. The second nominee for the term of office beginning January 1, 2010 is Roger Ikemoto.

Please cast your votes for the seven returning and two new nominees by December 8, 2009.

The math majors among you are obviously puzzled by the fact that seven plus two does not equal the 10 open slots for the 2010 term of office. For the inquisitive minds, the Board of Trustees decided at its November 10, 2009 meeting to hold the 10th position vacant as a tactical move for future considerations. Nominees to fill the last spot on the Board will be brought to the Board of Trustees by the President during the course of the 2010 calendar year as provided by the bylaws governing the election and nomination of individuals to fill vacant positions on the Board.

The second envelope contains information that is reflective of the economic times of today and growing cost of doing business. The Board of Trustees for the past two years has voted to extend the temple’s annual operating budget expenses by 10 percent beyond the inflow of revenue by allocating monies from the General Fund reserve. The purpose of the actions taken by the Board was to make necessary repairs and upgrades to the temple facilities and the minister’s parsonage, and provide supplemental funding to offset the increased cost of operating the temple’s business affairs. More than $100,000 has been allotted beyond the annual budget to fund projects such as repave the parking lot, upgrade the kaikan kitchen, replace the fire suppression system to comply with California building safety codes, repair leaking roofs, make necessary improvements to the Dorset house, and pay increased BCA dues, utility costs, health and property insurance and other normal cost of operations.

The contents of the letter will provide more details and rationale for increasing the member dues and the initiation of a “pledge” system from honorary members and the general membership. A summary of the increases are as follows:

- A voluntary pledge of $85 per honorary member to offset the cost of BCA dues for those who are 85 years of age and older;

- An increase of $50 for individual member dues and $100 for family membership;

- A voluntary pledge drive for those who wish to donate beyond their respective membership dues.

The Board regrets imposing additional membership dues on the sangha during these hard economic times. We understand many of you — as well as members of the Board of Trustees —are faced with financial situations resulting from work furloughs, salary reductions, layoffs, weakening retirement savings and other economic hardships. We will continue to analyze the temple’s income and expenses, and look for ways to economize to the extent that is reasonably possible. We also welcome any ideas you may have to generate more income to the General Fund in the future years.

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RB's Corner

Rinban Bob Oshita

Hello and welcome to the month of December…With the coming of December, we bring the year 2009 to a close. How quickly the days of our lives pass and time just goes by.

Here in Sacramento, we are fortunate to have a temple filled with vitality, with so many successful programs. Because of this, we naturally have more people participating…and taking leadership roles for various groups and activities. With more people involved, it seems inevitable that personalities will rub up against each other; and sometimes they not only clash, but they collide. Everyone seems well intended, but when such conflicts occasionally happen, I can’t help but wonder how things could go so far.

What are people thinking? What is it we are trying to accomplish with our actions? What is it that won’t allow us to work together harmoniously?

At such times I wonder what causes us to lose sight of what is really of value. “What is the big picture of life that Buddhism tries to encourage us to keep in mind as we live?”

When we lose sight of the big picture, without thinking, we just feel we know what we value…and we know what is right. But the essential encouragement of Buddhism is very simple: What we must value most in life…is life itself. We must value this opportunity to live…and appreciate this experience we share together.

There is a Buddhist saying that is closely associated with the Tea Master, Sen No Rikyu (1522-1591). The phrase is, “Ichigo-Ichie.” Literally it means, “One Moment-One Meeting.” Within the tea ceremony it implies that our coming together in this moment happens but once in our lifetime; let us appreciate this time together.

Ultimately, in the big picture of things, it’s certainly NOT about winning and losing a basketball game. It is not about getting what we want or having our way. Ultimately and most essentially, it is about valuing life and this time we have together.

When our dharma eyes are open, we cannot help but see that we must not take for granted this very moment of life we are living. As I’ve often asked us to consider, “How many months of December will be ours to enjoy?” However many, that number is limited. Realizing this, let us try to live together and work together harmoniously — in the spirit of “Ichigo-Ichie.” Let us live knowing that each day is new and fresh…and at the same time, each moment may be our last.

With our dharma eyes open, let us try to enjoy this winter holiday season, letting go of our complaints, our anger and resentments…and embrace each moment and each meeting with others, knowing that they will never come again. In Jodo Shinshu, we would call a life of Ichigo-Ichie, “A life of Nembutsu.”

Wishing everyone a safe, happy and harmonious winter holiday

season!

RB

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Minster's Assistants

Michiko Yukawa

Taxi drivers in Japan are very honest, courteous and kind. If someone should forget or leave something in a taxi, the driver will go out of his way to make sure that the forgotten item is returned to its owner. Some taxi drivers are very quiet while speedily taking you to your destination. Others are friendly and inquisitive. We also found that most drivers are very knowledgeable about their city.

In Kyoto, as we passed Sanjo Ohashi, or “3rd Street Bridge,” our driver informed us about the famous Tokaido Road between Kyoto and Japan. He noted that 150 years ago, it took 25 days to travel from that Sanjo Ohashi, by way of the 53 stations of the Tokaido Road, to Nihonbashi in Tokyo. A traveler would walk, averaging about 10 miles per day, wearing, not comfortable sneakers or walking shoes, but waraji (sandals made of straw) and carrying two or three extra sandals on his belt to wear when the first pair wore out. The only baggage he carried would be what he was wearing and possibly rice to cook at inns that did not provide an evening meal. The driver then marveled that today, we can travel the approximately 288 miles from Kyoto to Tokyo by Shinkansen, or “Bullet Train,” in 2½ to 3 hours! In comparison, the distance from Sacramento to Bakersfield is only about four miles longer at 292 miles and takes us about 4½ hours to drive. Imagine walking that distance!

Listening to the driver, I wondered what it must have been like when Shinran Shonin was exiled to Echigo over 700 years ago (in 1207). There surely was not a Shinkansen or even a Honda Civic that would take him away from his abode in Kyoto…he must have traveled by foot on straw sandals. The travel distance between Kyoto and Echigo Province or modern-day Niigata City is 340.5 miles. The travel distance from San Francisco to Los Angeles is about the same at 341 miles, and traveling at 65 mph on a four-lane paved and scenic highway, it takes us about 6 hours. Granted that Shinran Shonin was only 34 years old when he was exiled, the perilous journey would have taken him over a month, walking non-stop, good weather permitting. Then 30 years later at the age of 62, he traveled the over 288 miles from the Kanto Region approximately near modern-day Tokyo area, to Kyoto. If just 150 years ago, it took a traveler walking the cleared and smoothed Tokaido Road with its 53 “comfort” stations over 25 days, how much longer and perilous the journey must have been for Shinran Shonin 700 years ago, before the Tokaido Road even existed!

In Shinran Shonin’s time, 62 years was considered a very old age. Why then would he even consider leaving the comforts of home to undertake such a long and dangerous journey? We are taught that one of the reasons Shinran Shonin returned to Kyoto was because of the availability of texts and resources to accurately revise and refine his comprehensive work, the Kyo Gyo Shin Sho or “The True Teaching, Practice and Realization of the Pure Land Way,” which he had begun in 1224. His foremost aspiration was to set down in writing the true teachings of Nembutsu so that it might be handed down to future generations. His monumental work was finally completed in 1247 when he was 75 years old.

But Shinran Shonin did not sit back and relax, then. The Kyo Gyo Shin Sho had been written entirely in Chinese characters, as scholarly works were then produced. For the sake of the followers, Shinran Shonin began writing to convey the Dharma through other works in understandable Japanese. From the age of 76, he began writing the 118 hymns of the Jodo Wasan, praising the virtues of Amida Buddha and the Pure Land. He then continued with works praising the Seven Masters. He continued writing countless letters, notes and verses prolifically until the age of 89 years.

Shinran Shonin’s words are our guide that we must not treat lightly nor take for granted. Because of all the hardships he endured, because of the great effort and dedication that he put into his writings, all of us today are able to live a life of Nembutsu. Reverend Yukawa, when he attended Ryukoku University in Kyoto, took a course on the Kyo Gyo Shin Sho from Professor Junjo Oe. He remembers that when Professor Oe once brought his personal copy of one volume of the writing to class, he raised it above his head in respect, bowed his head, and very reverently and carefully opened the obviously old and well-worn cover to read a portion. Seeing this, Reverend Yukawa had the very strong impression that Professor Oe was sharing a priceless treasure with the class.

Shinran Shonin put forth great effort into his writings with deep dedication for our benefit. And before him, the many disciples of Shakyamuni Buddha wrote down his words in the sutras, for our benefit. We cannot — we must not then — treat the sutras, the writings and verses, thoughtlessly and automatically. And when we begin to understand and appreciate their dedication, we cannot help but sincerely express our gratitude with gassho and Nembutsu.

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Greeters’ Program

GREETERS’ SCHEDULE

2009 - 2010

If you cannot be a greeter on your assigned date, please find your own replacement.

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From The Office

Thanks again to Wayne Fong, Mary Ann Miyao and Ted Ito for helping with the mail-outs. Can’t do without you!

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Church Maintenance

Ed Imai

Over the past two months, the following members performed maintenance on the Betsuin’s facilities. The Betsuin is sincerely appreciative to the following members for volunteering their time and hard efforts:

- Gary Traganza repaired broken sprinkler heads, replaced fluorescent lights in main bathroom, and readjusted yagura parking lot light timer. Refurbished and repainted rolling tool box that was donated by Sam Adachi. Spent countless hours cleaning up and organizing the maintenance room. Also, repaired urinal in Annex men's bathroom.

- Max Hamamoto, John Itagaki, Robert Ito, Tomio Masaki, Ed Mizutani, Mike Nagai and Eiichi Okamoto performed the following: 1) Replaced the deteriorated table top and repaired the legs of the table used to serve coffee in the courtyard; 2) Slackened the cables that go from the yagura to the trellis to allow for shortening during the cold weather; 3) Dug up and prepared the flower beds along the X Street fence in preparation for the Betsuin Dharma School nursery students to plant flowers.

- Roger Ito for repair and adjustment of sprinklers.

- Bob Chavez and Ed Imai for winterizing the three swamp coolers located over the outdoor kitchen/cooking areas.

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Bazaar

Legacy Endowment Fund Board

Valerie Fong

The Legacy Endowment Fund Board has been busy this year with a very successful rummage sale in June, organizing a number of workshops, and hosting the Oyako Holiday Fashion Boutique in November. We want to thank everyone for their support and participation. 

Over the next few months, we will be telling you more about some exciting activities that will be announced during Dharma School services and in the Sangha newsletter. Two such projects are in the works:

- An interview with Eugene Okada, owner of Yorozu Gifts, who was the first editor of the Sangha newsletter. In this historical interview with Eugene, we hope to record his thoughts and memories about changes that he has seen through the years about our temple. This should be exciting reading for everyone.

- A screening next year of a documentary film by Jeff Adachi (son of Sam and Gladys Adachi): “You Don’t Know Jack…the Jack Soo Story.” Jack Soo is considered as the first Japanese American to be cast in a regularly recurring role in a weekly television series. Jack’s fascinating story is portrayed in a 60-minute film, which includes television and film clips, and interviews with friends, family, and co-workers. Viewers will see Jack’s talents through rare footage as a stand-up comic, singer, actor and dancer. Fans of the comedy show “Barney Miller” won’t want to miss this event.

Happy Holidays from the Legacy Endowment Fund Board!

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Shotsuki Hoyo

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Sports

Alan Wu

As we embark into December, let me say this about that. That would be all this talk about how we are in this terrible recession and how the economy is down the tubes and how everyone is going to lose their jobs. And while this is all happening, we have this “balloon boy” in Colorado (no, not Reverend Peter) who was really an “attic boy” and why Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom had a two-hour show about their wedding, and why Bruce Jenner is even on TV, and why we should all feel sorry for Kim Kardashian that Reggie Bush said “see ya.” And yet while people did not lose their jobs but had to take three-day weekends, we had a record-setting Bazaar this year and, by the way, thanks again to all our sangha for helping and contributing to the Bazaar. So with all this doomsday talk, we still see 16- year-old girls getting million-dollar parties, and we crown a 21 year old the youngest poker champ ever with $8.5 million, and don’t forget about the poor guy that he beat — that guy had to crawl back home with only $5 million in his pocket; what a shame. And how can we go a day without hearing all about Jon and Kate plus 8, or shall we call them “Jon and 4 plus Kate and 4 on every other weekend,” but with all that, there was still the need to have Christmas stuff and things out in stores on the Tuesday after Labor Day, and to top it off, nothing puts you into the Halloween spirit like hearing Christmas music playing overhead while buying the orange-and-black M&Ms, yes, the orange-and-black M&Ms, not the red-and-green M&Ms, because we are in such a horrible financial situation right now, everyone is chomping at the bit to get out and get all their Christmas shopping done before daylight savings time ends. I just don’t get it. Am I the only one?

As we embark on another basketball season, please keep this in mind: It’s Church basketball, nothing more, nothing less. And also, please remember the attendance requirement of 60 percent attendance is for BOTH service and class to remain eligible to play.

As we embark on another mochi-tsuki, please remember to order your mochi with the order form in this Sangha, and for the sports families, also please remember your work shift.

As we embarked on our maiden voyage into the uncharted waters of bowling this past fall, there was plenty of fun to be had by both the kids and the adults. Imagine that, adults and kids participating side by side and having a great time. We even witnessed not one, but two perfect games by our very own Ray Valdovino. Ray makes it look so very easy. The bowling league was such a success, look for it again next year. A great big 16-pound thank you goes out to Ray for doing such a great job as our bowling commissioner.

As we embark into a new year, hope you had a good one, and may the next one be even better.

See you next year.

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Cub Scout Pack 50 News

Marty Sakata

We have finally seen the change in seasons. Under clear and starry skies, and with the welcome cool fall weather, Pack 50 kicked off its first Pack campfire at Beach Lake Park. Den 5 Webelos Scouts served as our masters of ceremony and they did outstanding! Great job, boys! The evening highlights included award presentations, skits and jokes, and the making and eating of s’mores. Congratulations go out to our Den 8 Tiger Cubs. They set the bar by dressing sharp in their uniforms and coming away with the top prize for the uniform inspection. Way to go, boys! A big thank you goes to Boy Scout Troop 50 leaders Bobby Tanaka and Keith Adachi for participating in the event along with our new Den Chiefs. Another big thank you goes to Roger Ikemoto and his committee for setting up this event.

The day after a night of s’mores and skits, the boys kept their smiling faces on for our Pack and Den pictures. We’d like to thank Michael Gill, Minh La and Greg Kochi for coordinating our annual picture day. It was a smooth-running event as usual! The pictures turned out awesome. Look in the Cub Scout display case at church for all of our smiling scouts!

Our Pack has grown to 67 Cub Scouts with the addition of 20 new Cub Scouts. A big Pack 50 WELCOME to each of the boys and their parents!

Jonathan and his parents, Pam & Rod; Brayden and Dylan and their parents, Debbie & Jim; Andrew and his parents, Jane & Greg; Benjamin and his parents, Eva & Brad; Andrew and his parents, Stephanie & John; Keith and his parents, Vivan & Lance; Ryan and his parents, Audrey & Derek; Collin and his parents; Cole and his parent, Carlene; Clark and his parent Beverly; Ryan and his parents, Lisa & Minh; Ethan & Ryan and their parents, Gayle & Dale; Geoffrey and his parents, Staci & Geoff; Jaden and his parents, Josey & Jeff; Marcus and his parents, Emily & John; Mason and his parents, Janet & Russell; Aaron and his parents, Carolyn & Dennis; and Ryan and his parents, Laverne & Richard.

October was an extremely busy month for our Pack. We started off the month by having our annual pancake breakfast fundraiser! The church courtyard air was filled with the delicious aromas of cooked pancakes, sausages, ham and eggs. We saw many people leaving with big smiles on their faces and stuffed tummies! The Cub Scouts and parents would like to thank all who came out to support this fundraising event. Your support helped make this breakfast one of the most successful ever! A special thank you to our donors for this event: Nor Cal Produce, Calvada Foods, the Sacramento Betsuin and Brian & Cindy Hatano. Your generosity is very much appreciated! A special thank you goes to Gayle Firth and Nick Shebert for co-chairing this event, along with their pancake breakfast committee. You all did a wonderful job in making this a huge success! Thank you!

Pack 50 scouts took part in a once-in-a-lifetime celebration, the Capitol March here in Sacramento. Celebrating 100 years of Scouting, Pack 50 and approximately 6,000 other Scouts from Northern California marched from Raley Field to the steps of the State Capitol. After the march, the Scouts were treated to food and entertainment back at Raley Field. It was an exhausting day, but lots of fun and filled with memories.

After the Capitol March, many Scouts and parents prepared for the annual SBC Halloween Party, which consisted of carnival games, face painting, costume contest, haunted house and delicious food. Over 100 participants ranging from 2 years to the almost non-living were judged on their creative costumes. This event could not have been possible without the hard work, sponsorship and donations from the various church organizations and following groups: Victory Trophies, Frito Lay, Calvada Food Sales. Special thanks goes out to event coordinator Cheryl Mark and the Halloween committee, and costume contest judges Carol & Tim Castle, Bobby Tanaka and Ray Valdovino.

Pack 50 would like to say “Mahalo” to everyone for supporting our latest fundraiser — School Kine Cookies from Hawaii. The cookies were gobbled up in just a week’s time. We received our second order, so please look for us in the SBC courtyard after church, or just ask a Scout! These make great gifts for the holidays! There are five flavors to choose from: cornflake, shortbread, chocolate chip, chocolate chip macadamia nut and vanilla macadamia nut. Yummy!

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Sakura Gakuen

Masako Thomas

If you have not registered yet, please contact Masako Thomas as soon as possible at (916) 482-8770 or e-mail: sakurahanami@hotmail.com

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Dharma School News

Ken Furukawa

Wow, December is here for 2009! So much has gone by, it seems such a short time... I guess every day is another lesson about impermanence. Moments we live go by so fast, and so often they are unappreciated. So let me start this month’s submission with deep sincere thanks to all of you who work so hard to keep our Dharma School program so vital and fun! I especially want to thank:

- Carol Tamai, who keeps things straight and organized for the Dharma School, and not just the monumental task of attendance (that may be easier than keeping me in check)!

- Valerie Fong, who as the assistant superintendent for lower division (the bulk of students) and TA coordinator, keeps so many things working smoothly!

- Sensei Grace Hatano, who coordinates all the services.

- The Kitchen Crew for all the work keeping us well-fed!

- Nancy Hashimoto and Leilani Ito (my better half) for the children’s choir adding that soft touch to special services, and creating a wonderful Dharma School extracurricular activity!

- Sensei Koichi Mizushima and Jennifer Nitta for all the work with our Jr. YBA, creating a way for our older students to work together and explore life and the Nembutsu together! In fact the Central Cal Jr. YBA conference in Fresno was well attended, educational and fun... and our chapter skit won the talent show!

- Reverends Patti, Tim and Carol; Senseis Grace and Koichi; RB and RP for all the dynamic teaching in services and the Youth Advocacy Council. Their efforts have created a higher goal for our Dharma School programs, and their examples are inspirational to many.

- And last, but certainly not least, Richard Kai, who has patiently worked with me to fulfill all the many tasks and roles of superintendent.

With such extensive leadership, and a much longer list of dedicated parents, teachers and students, it is no wonder that we have a large and diverse student enrollment. Each of us is a representative of our sangha, temple and Dharma School. I think we must make a great impression! I am pleased to recap that we have 47 new students in our program, and I want to emphasize that 7 are new to the Upper Division (7th grade and up)! I hope this reflects a draw, not just related to our excellent sporting programs, but also to some of the programs mentioned earlier.

Nursery I

Lauren Anderson

Tara Cooper

Brendan Fitzgerald

Mitchell Maseba

Kianna Nakaoka

Drew Watanabe

Elysse Yasuda

Nursery II

Kelley Anderson

Tori Coloma

Luca Del Bene

Nyack Emery

Eric La

Mia Miyata

Jaylen Travis

Lily Yeargain

Kindergarten

Ignacio Alcocer

Derek Fong

Alexa Leong

Carson Nakao

Lillian Reven

1^st Grade

Antonio Alcocer

Brandon Balaoing

Ryan La

Geoffrey Miyao

Ben Yeargain

2nd Grade

Matsue DelBene-Kymos

Lucas Matsuura

Ethan Nakahara

Jason Nguyen

3rd Grade

Alexa Alcocer

Sydney Carlos-Ruiz

Lindsey Miyao

Ashley Nguyen

Brandon Noguchi

Lindsey Yep

4th Grade

Zharia Dunbar

5th Grade

Jocelyn Louie

6th Grade

Steven Kawamoto

Robyn Noguchi

Courtney Virgil

7th Grade

Emilio Carlos-Ruiz

Alex Collard

Maranda Wirth

Brennan Yamamoto-Chan

8th Grade

Jenelle Otani

9th/10th Grade

Jonathan Dickson

Kelli Kawamoto

December is an important month in our Jodo Shinshu Buddhist tradition. Bodhi Day is an important time for us to reflect upon the wonderful event of Gautama Buddha’s attainment of Enlightenment so many years ago... and it is available to us too! Joya-E service takes place on New Year’s Eve, a great way to reflect upon the innumerable influences upon our lives, illustrating the teaching of interdependence. If you think about it, it is such a great way to close a year and get ready for the next... the next morning at the Shusho-E service!

In Gassho.

Donations

Dharma School “Courtyard” gratefully acknowledges donations from the following:

1st and 2nd Grade Classes

Gladys Adachi

Ted Fukui

Girl Scouts Troop 569

Naomi Hamamoto

Sumie Hamamoto

Esther Hokama

Reverend Peter Inokoji–Kim

Randall Ishida

Kimiyo Ishii Family

Grace & Sam Ito

Tak & Ted Ito

Mae Kaneko

Joy Kihara

Utako Kimura

Michiko Kubo

Ron Kubo

Reiko Kurahara

Martha Kushida

Selise & Tim Lee

Dr. Timothy Mar

Cheryl & Kelvin Mark

Teiko Matsuo

Edith &David Matsuoka

Rachel Nagai

Eleanor Nobuye

Pat Okamoto

Mary Orite

Oto’s Marketplace

Barbara Takai

Elaine & Bobby Tanaka

Cindy & Ken Tanaka

Emi & Louie Watanabe

Tony Yokoi

Fusako Yokoyama

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Boy Scouts

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Girl Scouts Troop 569

Susan Ely

Every year at about this time, the kaikan fills with excited Girl Scouts as they officially join or begin another year in scouting. The evening of November 13 was no exception. We had 18 Girl Scouts investing and 161 Girl Scouts rededicating! Nine of our scouts received an Advanced Padma Award. Seniors 3 asked that donations of canned goods be brought to the event and collected 300 cans just from that night. They will be taking the donated canned good to Foodlink. What a great way to start the year!

Once again our girls outdid themselves with fall product sales. Nineteen of our troops sold a record $20,966 in nuts, candies and magazine subscriptions. This is over $1,000 more than we sold last year. Thanks, everyone! And thank you to Bev Sato and Diane Huey for keeping track of the sales.

At the last leaders’ meeting, FOG Street (Friends of Girl Scouts) thanked the volunteers who came out and helped with the Halloween party. Cheryl Lieu thanked Tim Castle and Ray Valdovino for judging and Cadettes 5 for organizing the face painting.

The leaders from Seniors 2 (graduating Seniors 2009) would like to congratulate the following girls for earning their Gold Award: Lauren Otani, Sara Wing, Sara Matsuura, Jenny Kushida, Kimberly Nakamura and Michelle Tamai. Congratulations, girls! We are very proud of you!

Juniors 3 took a trip to Effie Yeaw Nature Center and earned their Wildlife badge. Everyone had a great time going on a nature hike and learning about different wildlife and nature. They even went to the American River to see the salmon run. Unfortunately, the water was too low for the girls to see any salmon.

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Sacramento Buddhist Women’s Association

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Mochi Tsuki Order Form

SACRAMENTO BETSUIN

SPORTS COMMITTEE

MOCHI TSUKI

PICK UP

Saturday, December 12, 2009, 12:30-3:00 p.m.

or Sunday, December 13, 2009, 9:00-11:00 a.m.

Please submit orders and make checks payable to:

Sacramento Betsuin Sports Committee

c/o Sacramento Buddhist Church

2401 Riverside Boulevard

Sacramento, California, 95818

MOCHI ORDER

Name                                                                                              

Address                                                                                           

Telephone                                                                                        

E-Mail                                                                                              

Lb(s)                                        Kasane Set(s)                                   

Total Cost $                                  Cash             Check #           

Pick up            Saturday                      Sunday

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Donations

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Welcome New Members

Krysty Emery

Russ Gartz

Erik Hoffman

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Congratulations Newlyweds

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Condolences to the Families of

Tamie Muraoka    September 10, 1914 – October 1, 2009

Henry Fujimoto    November 24, 1923 – October 31, 2009

Wakako Shimizu   June 18, 1914 – November 1, 2009

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