Thanks to Almighty God, and the work of a dedicated team of volunteers, Subud California hosted the first “virtual” regional gathering, attended via Zoom and conference call by over 215 brothers and sisters. Our Regional Helpers received the theme “Inner Peace and Outer Joy” last year, and how appropriate it is for our situation now!
The Annual General Meeting chair, Rifka Several, opened with words from Ibu Rahayu regarding the pandemic:
“Never put aside the power of God which is in each one of you. In truth, God loves all creatures, and will always protect, lead, and guide each one of you. Therefore, strengthen your worship of Almighty God. May God be just and loving”.
Our regional helpers provided their own prayers for us, our Gathering, and our Region:
“As we begin this time together, let us remember that we are in the holy presence of God, through which we find our inner peace and outer joy.
Almighty God, may we bring the fruits of our latihan into our daily lives so we may discover and know and live in our own unique potential guided by the power of God. Please help us to grow in compassion, courage and commitment to be the person God created us to be.
May we each find in our hearts the understanding of the important things in life. May we feel compassion and empathy for those who are suffering and for those who are less fortunate. May we show kindness to our brothers and sisters, may we show tolerance for those we do not understand. May we have courage! Courage to use our voice when something must be said and courage to follow our guidance to the best of our ability, with faith and trust that our guidance is true and benefits not only ourselves but also those around us. May the latihan guide us and may we continually ask, “Is this the life that God has given me?
May God continue to bless all of our Subud Brothers and Sisters, and may our latihan continue to reveal God’s magnificence and glory. May we all be full of love and good will towards each other and show all of humanity the results of our Latihan and our sincere surrender to the will of God.”
Regional Helper (RH) Report (see full report here):
According to the Subud USA census, Subud California has 543 members, 74 active helpers and 14 groups. When the RHs surveyed the groups, fewer than 543 are able to connect weekly with latihan.
The RHs made center visits prior to the pandemic to centers in San Diego, San Joaquin Valley and Santa Cruz.
The Region has expressed appreciation that regional latihans via conference call were quickly set up for Saturday mornings, usually followed by group test questions. Some local groups also have conference call latihans. The RHs are meeting virtually with candidate members and helpers. A greater outreach is being done to members not connected to a group, working with regional member council representative Rohana LoSchiavo.
Regional Chair Report. Luqman Katz, expressed his hope that we would be able to meet together in person soon. He thanked the membership for being able to serve for the past year, quoting Bapak that “service is not for the benefit of Subud, but for the benefit of you yourselves.” There are several service opportunities in Subud California: members are needed for the Property Management, Congress Development, and Community Resources committees.
Luqman outlined the quick action the regional committee had to take after the Covid-19 regulations went into place: the centers who have properties had to close them to renters and latihan attendance, and centers who rented facilities were not able to attend in-person latihans. After collaboration with our insurance company, center reopening protocols were developed and an attendance liability waiver form distributed.
Executive Director Report. Henrietta Haines, has focused on how to support the eight groups with properties and all members in the region. For protection with our insurance, it is important for members to follow the state and county guidelines and complete the required liability waivers.
Zone 7 Report Uraidah Hassani, reported with a PowerPoint presentation (view full report). Zone 7 comprises Canada, Mexico, USA, Cuba and Suriname and has 2000 members, 495 helpers, 23 properties and 46 rental spaces. She shared that the World Subud Association’s current topics are:
- Financial stability for Subud
- Wings being more active and connected
- Permanent locations for the Archives
- Support for Subud Cuba
- Increased youth involvement
Please see the presentation for more details, including a full description of the World Subud Association organizational structure and aims, current projects, and the 2020 budget.
National Helper liaison Reports – Michal Brownell, Benjamin Boyce, and Sofia Nicoletti attended the Gathering and reported on their activities, much changed since the pandemic. They offer monthly conference call national latihans and support regions, the wings, and Subud USA. They have streamlined the National Care Support Program offering emergency financial assistance to members (applications and donations can be made at info@subudusa.org).
Subud USA Reports – Lucas Boladian, Subud USA Chair, and Philip Lindstrom, Vice-Chair, attended and reported. National donations continue to support Subud USA, and we are able to continue our Zone 7 and World Subud Association pledges. The new Subud USA directory is available electronically or in print. The Tucson, AZ Archives are moving to the National Office in Beltsville, MD. Subud USA also oversees Elderberry, a project to support and connect with older Subud members. A virtual national Annual General Meeting is planned for early November.
REGIONAL COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Financial Report (Hasan MacNeil, Regional Treasurer): The loss of rental income affected centers’ ability to repay their regional loans. These are being suspended where necessary, and in some cases, centers receive a $5000 regional “Covid-19 Emergency Loan” to cover expenses. The Region is here to help.
Property Management Committee (Denise Jackson): She is a “committee of one” and asks additional members to join who have experience in buildings and property management. (See Center property reports here). A lot of repairs and deferred maintenance was accomplished prior to the Covid-19 closures.
Community Resources Committee (Elizabeth Trudell, Henry Couden, and Halimah Collingwood): This very active committee would like additional members interested in writing, editing and websites, as they oversee:
- Regional e-newsletter
- Regional email contacts
- Subud CA document archives
- Regional website
The Committee has secured DocuSign to obtain electronic document signatures for the required liability waivers. Invitations to sign electronically will be sent in September. Future projects include curating the Subud CA archives and revising the Center Handbooks, as resource permit. (Click here for the Community Resources Committee presentation.)
Congress Development Committee (Dennis Oliver, Chair): This experiment in holding a “virtual” Subud event has gone well in terms of planning and presentation. While we had planned to meet this month at UC Santa Barbara, this has been deferred until at least 2021. Given the plusses of not having to travel and allowing wider member attendance, we will aim to plan for more virtual events even when restrictions are lifted.
CENTER REPORTS
The Regional Helpers contacted all centers asking helpers to give a report. Click here to see the highlights.
The Subud California Annual General Meeting 2020 adjourned with thanks for the Gathering Team:
Luke Jones, Haryanti Jones, Dennis Oliver, Elizabeth Trudell, Rifka Several, Halimah Collingwood, Henrietta Haines, Raphaela Riparetti, Hasan MacNeil, Luqman Katz and our regional helpers Rasjidah Franklin, Helena Mertens, Renata Reid, Owen Riparetti, Hani’a Abram and Harlan Gleeson.
We wish you all INNER PEACE AND OUTER JOY!
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