One of the first goals Levana and I have set for ourselves is to visit all the Subud California centers. Our hope is to meet as many members as possible and understand each center’s successes, challenges, and aspirations. Visit are scheduled to Sacramento and Marin on October 8- 9, and to Sonoma and Santa Cruz on October 22-23. We plan visits later to San Diego, Palo Alto and Arcata.
We also want to share a vision of where we are now as a Region, what we need to do immediately and over the coming two or three years, and how to look at the next five or more years if we are to be in healthy and sustainable state.
We very much look forward to visiting you all.
NOTE: Our four new Regional Committee members were announced in August and September. If you missed those messages, you can review their brief biographies HERE.
Subud California at Sacramento Report
4/10/2022
Property Update
The duplex has a new roof thanks to the Region agreeing to finance it. Our loan was for $32,000 and we were able to return $765 of that to the Region after completion. Our monthly payment is $744.21 at 5.5% interest, allowing us to pay off the loan in 4 years. If everything remains constant to the end of this year,
our group will be able to finish our mortgage payments to the Region on the duplex, several years earlier than its original due date. Our daycare tenant at the hall is increasing her enrollment, succeeding in a market where 50% of all daycare centers closed permanently over the past two years.
Our water system sprung a leak in the pipe supplying the outdoor drinking fountain. The repair was more labor intensive than any existing member could handle so we hired our gardener and he and his crew did an excellent job of finding and stopping the leaks. Yes, multiple leaks, 3 in all. Two in the feeder pipe and one in the interior of the drinking fountain.
Member Update
We had a lovely pot luck lunch after latihan with ten members in attendance. Halima Taylor, who has been visiting our group while she works on her local properties joined us. She has been a very nice addition to our group for the past two months.
Two of our members, Jeff Stone and Holly Rice are moving to Santa Fe, New Mexico. We will miss them and wish them luck and pleasant adventures in their new location. We have been without a Chairman or Regional Representative for several months. We currently have a candidate for each position and will have a center meeting on May 7th to fill those positions.
Lucas Hess, treasurer, for the group
Report from Sacramento: fab floor and foul fowls
by Lucas Hess, for the Center Committee
Property and enterprise management
Our lease with our current tenant, the Diamante Montessori School, expires on May 31st. Fortunately, negotiations in mid-April have resulted in signing a new lease, with the school reopening when possible. This is a very positive event, both for the Center and the school.
We continue to face some maintenance issues due to four foul fowls tearing up our flower gardens in front of the building. They rip out plants and the drip system, scattering bark over a very wide area. We found out the owners, when their lease ran out, simply opened their coop and let them go. Not kind of the owners and certainly not kind to the chickens. We’ve ordered a large trap and hope to be able to relocate them with someone who needs or wants chickens.
Our new vinyl tile floor was completed on April 8th, at no cost to us (due to prior installation errors). The COVID-19 situation made this possible, as if the school had not shut down in mid-March we would not have had the floor the 10 days and 2 weekends needed to finish the installation. Everyone who’s seen it is happy and satisfied.
In addition, we hired repair crews to fix both our rental housing unit (a duplex) and the Center. At the duplex, the porch overhang was replaced, along with a 25-foot facia section on the building. At the Center, the rear crash door and a very bad 30-foot facia section over it were replaced. We also replaced and grounded all the electrical plugs and replaced all interior lighting fixtures, 25 total, with LED versions. We expect savings to be around 30% per year on an ongoing basis.
We are currently engaged in restoring our outdoor flower beds and drip system with several different varieties of fresh plants grown from seed in the backyard of the duplex.
Center Life
As with all centers, we are not meeting for latihan at the hall but doing latihan at home generally at the same time as our normal latihan schedule. We have on hand an abundance of self-manufactured hand sanitizer (Everclear 140 proof alcohol, aloe vera gel, and 3% Clorox), available to any member who needs it by simply coming to the center to pick it up at the yurt.
Helpers and Committee were meeting regularly. The helpers added an active women helper, Aminah Herrman, and two active men helpers, Latief Dewes and Reynold Weissinger. We have no candidates at this time. We had scheduled a weekend kejiwaan gathering to explore how to accept getting older and explore the inner journey of aging. That has been postponed until we are able to again meet.
Our best to all of you with sincere wishes for all our health to remain as good as possible.
Update from the Sacramento Center
by Lucas Hess
We have had a busy fall in Sacramento. Our yard sale (the final one after over 25 years of holding it) brought in $845.08. Several members are pledging extra money to bring our total to $1,000.00. We’ll decide how to allocate it at our next business meeting. We also had a very successful BBQ, specifically inviting Walnut Creek members, and extending the invitation to anyone else who wanted to come. It was a pleasant day. After latihan and testing, we spent a long afternoon on the patio eating and talking.
Our new HVAC system, purchased with a loan from the Region approved December 2018, is working very well. We switched from cooling to heating when temperatures dropped into the low 40’s at night.
Our property manager had all our large trees trimmed and cleaned out over the summer. Recent high winds felled numerous trees throughout the local area; ours survived with little effect and no damage. A very real gift to us since we experienced several large limb drops earlier this year. Luckily no one was injured.
We pulled weeds, trimmed existing bushes and planted many new flowers in our front gardening beds prior to the new school year. The change has been noted by many parents and our primary tenant and has made the front of our building far more inviting.
Our scheduled events continue with latihans on Wednesday night at 7 pm and Saturday mornings at 10 am, and monthly events including a pot luck lunch on the 4th Saturday following latihan, and a business meeting on the 3rd Saturday.
We are working on some repairs to both hall and duplex, including changing lighting fixtures both inside and out at the hall to LED. Our interior lights, now all compact fluorescent, will be changed out a pair a month until we are completely switched over. We expect our electricity bill to drop by 30% with this change. It dropped 20% some years ago when we moved from incandescent to CFL’s.
The Herrman’s have been busy. Benedict, an International Helper, attended the International meeting in Indonesia and Kalimantan after being sent to South America and Canada as part of his work. Aminah, who is currently on the Board of SD International traveled to India.
We look forward to hosting the Regional Council in April 2020.
Subud CA Regional Council Meeting Report, 12/8-9/19
The Regional Council at work: Alicia Lerrigo (Marin), Sulfiati Harris (San Joaquin), Rifka Several (Sacramento), Levana & Hanafi Fraval (LA), and Robert Mertens (Chair, San Joaquin).
The Subud California Regional Council met over the weekend of December 8-9 at Subud CA at Sacramento. Eight councilors attended (two by telephone) and two additional centers were represented by non-voting members. To see photos of all the Regional Council members, go here.
Elizabeth Trudell, Chair, Community Development Committee, distributed a template for year-end reporting, due from all centers. Get a copy here.
Executive Director Report, Henrietta Haines reported on the house loan repayments (Los Angeles has fully repaid; Marin and Butte are still paying). She requested that if any Subud house has issues where our insurance (Church Mutual) might be involved, to contact her first. Henrietta is the one point person for the insurance company. In discussions about a possible insurance claim for a crawl space leak in the Marin house, the following property policy was developed and approved:
The moment a leak is discovered in a Subud property, an independent inspection is required to determine and document any mold issues. Contact Henrietta with any questions on this policy.
Also note that ALL Subud California centers, whether having regionally-owned properties or not, have liability insurance through a contract managed by the Region for protection against claims for accidents or damages.
In Henrietta’s financial report, she
requests that all people working for centers as independent contractors submit
invoices to the centers, which are then sent to the region. If they receive
more than $600 yearly, W-9s are required. Councilors requested that a short
financial report be submitted monthly to keep current with regional finances.
Subud CA at Sacramento loan request (Rifka Several): The center submitted a loan request to finance a portion of their HVAC system replacement. The center is paying $3700. The loan for $9000 was approved, to be repaid in 2 years with 5% interest.
Property Management Committee [PMC] Report (Farah Hess): The attorney hired by the Region to address the Subud CA at Los Angeles mineral rights has moved to another firm and will be able to work pro bono for us. The PMC will work with Sebastopol to review the rental coordinator agreement and tenant lease renewal. All property inspections for Subud CA houses has been completed.
Regional Finance Committee (Manuel Oliver): They need more members! This committee focus on strategic planning and future growth. Contact Manuel if you are interested.
Subud CA at Marin loan request (Alicia Lerrigo): Alicia has developed a center advisory committee and is working on a marketing and business plan for rentals, along with starting a “Subud Marin Growth Fund” fundraiser. She proposed a loan to address the “stage 1” maintenance issues. This proposal was submitted just before the meeting and the PMC did not have time to review it and make a recommendation.
Following quite a bit of discussion, the council approved a loan of up to $34,000 for emergency repairs (including water damage, roof repair, new water heater, smoke detectors, mold abatement, and electrical panel replacement). The final amount of this loan will be determined when bids are obtained. In addition to this loan, the council approved a 4-month management contract for Alicia to manage this work and continue developing the business plan ($4000 per month). The repayment of the loan was deferred until January 2020.
Big Fish Fund (Sulfiati Harris): This Fund is a monthly donation plan for the World Subud Association (WSA) to make monthly recurring donations at www.bigfishfund.org. Many small donations will help fund international helper work and also youth participation in Subud.
Centerprise Report (Hanafi Fraval): Reynard von Hahn from Subud Canada has set up a resource site for groups that have Subud properties – go to www.subudspaces.slack.com.
Badger Family Camp (Sulfiati Harris): Scheduled for February President’s Day weekend. The family camps are replacing the children’s summer camps.
Badger Community Center (Sulfiati Harris): Center members are partnering with the local school district to use empty school property as a community and arts center.
REGIONAL CONGRESS – SAVE THE DATE! July 19-21 at Sonoma State University. The theme is “Putting the Latihan into Practice.”
NATIONAL CONGRESS – SAVE THE DATE! July 4–7 in Albuquerque, New Mexico!
Hani’a Abrams (RH, Berkeley), Michael Myers (Councilor, Sebastopol) during lunch.Jeff Stone & Rifka Several (Sacramento); Henrietta Haines, (Executive Director, Walnut Creek), Elizabeth Trudell, Palo Alto)
Year end report from Sacramento Center
Submitted by Lucas Hess
In late 2017, the Subud CA center in Sacramento organized three fund raising efforts to benefit SD. These efforts started with simply asking for donations , continued with a lovely 5 course meal with a $20.00 donation request per person, held at the home of Theodore and Mary Salisbury (see photo below), and concluded with a silent auction and luncheon. These efforts raised $900.00 which was sent to the Regional Office to be forwarded to SD prior to year’s end.
Below: fundraising dinner at Salisbury home
We will be holding elections for a new Chair person at our regular Center/Business meeting in January. Aminah Herrman, our current Chair’s term of office ending on December 31st. She saw us thru some good times and some tough with kindness, perception and inclusion. We are all grateful for her efforts on our behalf and wish her well as Chair of Susila Dharma USA.
Our front yard is once again planted due primarily to the knowledge and persistence of Holly Rice who told us what and where to plant, arranged for the plants, soil and pots to be delivered to the hall where 7 of us took part in putting everything in place. It has made quite a difference to the feeling of our front yard. It is now welcoming and pleasant again. We owe a lot of thanks to Holly and the rest of the planting committee.
We welcome the New Year with a tenant in our school for her 4th year. Her enrollment continues to grow with very contented parents and children.
Our HVAC system is nearly 20 years old. While it is operating well at present we have made a decision to replace it in 2018 to avoid any failure during our very hot months. Expected cost is approximately $10,000.00. We expect to be able to pay that amount with our savings money set aside for the purpose of capital expenditures.
Our hope is that the entire Region enjoys a profitable and sustaining New Year. As Bapak said, “fear nothing of this world” Amen to that. For Sacramento’s group to yours, best wishes for happy dancing, pirouettes, singing and, as always, pray for more boils.
Sacramento Center Report, November 2016
LATIHAN ADDRESS: 1827 Markston Road, Sacramento, CA 95825
LATIHAN SCHEDULE
Women, Wednesday 7:00pm; Saturday 10am
Men, Wednesday 7:00pm; Saturday 11am
Simultaneous, 2nd Saturday each month 10am
Helper/Committee, 1st Monday each month 7pm
Active members: Women 15; Men 11
ACTIVE WOMEN HELPERS: Melinda Michaels, Halima Taylor, Francesca Wright
ACTIVE MEN HELPERS: Martin Almanzan, Lucas Hess, Uriel Michael Hardwin, Theodore Salisbury
NATIONAL HELPER: Benedict Herrman
COMMITTEE
Chairman Aminah Herrman
Secretary Kathleen Taylor
Treasurer Lucas Hess
Co-Treasurer Melinda Michaels
Librarian Theodore Salisbury
Property Mgr. Farah Robbins-Hess
GROUP ACTIVITIES
1ST Saturday of the month, Men and Women Group Testing following latihan
2nd Saturday of the month, Kedjiwaan meeting following latihan
3rd Saturday of the month, Center meeting following latihan
4th Saturday of the month, Birthday potluck following latihan
Group participation for events fluctuates, but they are generally well attended.
Earlier this month, Martin and Laura Almanzan hosted a Sunday breakfast for anyone who wished to come. They were both satisfied with the event and hope others in the group would be stirred to take a turn and sponsor a breakfast.
Our women members held a retreat at Francesca’s home this month and found it very rewarding.
Aminah Herrman and anyone interested are going to be coloring mandalas on October 29th. Material will be provided, lunch is pot luck.
There are two significant activities planned, but neither has dates as yet. Malama MacNeil is coming to present a method to increase and maintain cooperative behavior. We will also be holding a Center Retreat in the near future, something we have done frequently over the years and had good results from doing it.
We are currently working on filling out the National Census for 2017
THINGS ACCOMPLISHED THIS QUARTER
DUPLEX: A new fence installed on South Side of the property. This was a joint venture with the adjoining property owner who paid for half the cost and contributed work. A new AC unit was installed in the 1841 unit. The old unit trashed its bearings.
We have begun the process of paying off the duplex mortgage to the Region early. We expect to have that completed in early 2022.
HALL: The tree and bushes in front of the building were removed as well as all the old broken concrete where the tree roots had invaded. The tree had begun to crack the building’s foundation. Both the play structure and wooden fort in the back of the building were repaired and made safe for children.
A new wireless fire alarm system is being installed on Nov. 14th, replacing the AT&T service. We also added a new wireless phone system in the yurt. Both changes will result in reduced operating costs.
A new interior surface in the children’s bathroom was installed, replacing some that had deteriorated due to age.
A new doorbell system was also installed after the failure of the current one.
FINANCIALS
Our tenant continues to provide us with a steady income. Our donations fluctuate month to month but we meet our stated obligation of $450.00 per month to the Region plus insurance and an additional $329.00 per month payment to the duplex to help pay off its loan. While we currently only have $1,100.00 in savings, we expect that figure to increase substantially over the next two years.
Submitted by: Hamilton Chaffee, Regional Council Representative, Sacramento
Early Days at Subud Sacramento
by Mark Penwell
When Helissa and I arrived in Sacramento in August of 1967, Subud Sacramento consisted of three men and three women. Latihan was held in the home of Ernie and Maulina Pendergast in a small room upstairs. Ernie and Maulina were an elderly couple who had been involved in the Gurdjieff movement. They were in Combe Springs, England when Bapak was invited there by John Bennett, who was the leader of a large Gurdjieff group there. As I recall, this became the first introduction of Subud outside of Southeast Asia, and Ernie and Maulina were opened then.
Right after Combe Springs, Bapak went on the first of his many world tours, preceded by John Bennett to prepare for Bapak’s visits. San Francisco was an obvious place for Bapak to visit, but after that, he came to Sacramento. So Bennett came, then Bapak, after which about a hundred people were opened here in Sacramento. However, by the time Helissa and I arrived, most had moved on.
The two other men in Sacramento didn’t come regularly and eventually disappeared. For about a year or more, it was just Ernie and I, and the three women and Helissa. Eventually some Subud members from other places moved to Sacramento. At one point when we had about 12 members, it became difficult to do the latihan in that small room. Ernie had been a member of the Odd Fellows Fraternal Order in Sacramento who owned a very large, multi-storied building in the downtown area. The Odd Fellows organization was no longer active, but they were renting rooms and halls in the building. Ernie still knew the person in charge of that, so we worked out a deal for the group to rent two of the halls twice a week. We did latihan there for many years.
We didn’t, during that time, function as a Subud Center in the manner of having a committee, business meetings, etc. I collected the donations and paid the rent. Helissa and I went to Council Meetings and Congresses. We also visited the San Francisco, Marin, and Berkeley groups often, and got to know their members. Because of that, some moved to Sacramento, having learned that we now had a “group” instead of just a couple people, and a large place to do latihan. In addition, Sacramento was much more affordable than the Bay Area.
In 1987, the Odd Fellows had to sell the building and we ended up in a small, prefab building at a park that was just an open room. We had to have simultaneous latihans, since there was no place for people to wait while others did latihan. There was a floor to ceiling curtain that could be pulled across to divide the room, but the men and women could hear each other during latihan, and this disturbed some.
In 1994, someone found a building in East Sacramento that belonged to an Interfaith organization that had a large room for latihan and a smaller one where people could wait. While we were at the Interfaith building, we began having meetings discussing the possibility of finding a building of our own. We had a small but stable membership, and it seemed like the next logical step to take.
Next installment: Sacramento finds a house
About the author: Mark Penwell was opened in Sacramento in 1967 and is still part of the Center. He became a helper in 1975. Over the years he served as treasurer, vice chairman and chairman of the group. He and his wife Helissa attended many National and Regional Congresses, as well as two International Congresses: Cilandak in 1971 and Toronto in 1979. He still attends latihan once a week, but became inactive as a helper in 2004 upon retiring from his career as a school psychologist.
When the Fast is Over…
Submitted by Lucas Hess
Subud Sacramento had an Eid al-Fitr dinner on Saturday July 18th at 6pm. The group provided BBQ’d hamburgers, hot dogs, and marinated chicken, and the rest of us brought dessert, salads and other nice things to eat and drink. The picture is of us on the patio doing one of our favorite activities –eating and schmoozing!
About eighteen were in attendance, including a young lady from Norway named Corrina, a friend of Haakom Obedize’s, who was visiting both him and Halima Taylor, his mother. Renata Reid and Henrietta Haines also joined the festivities, along with Dominic Moleski’s wife, Debi.
Several of us stayed until 10pm and enjoyed the fireworks put on by the nearby California State Fair, easily observed from our center’s backyard. It was an enjoyable and interesting time. The food, the company and the conversation were excellent, and those who had observed the Ramadan fast were glad it was over.
Photo: Sacramento Subud members and guests enjoying the evening on the patio next to their yurt, behind the Subud house
Latihan with Regional Members
Members of the Sacramento group were invited to do latihan with regional member and helper, Ariana Ward-DeFalco, and other visitors at the DeFalco home in Nevada City.
From left to right:
Ariana Ward-DeFalco, Nevada City, CA (holding Odelia DeFalco), Helma Muller, Reno NV, Rahanna Frykberg , Oakland, CA, Camille Hofvendahl (Ariana’s mother) from Portland (holding Beatrice DeFalco).
Sacramento Center Report, May 2015
Submitted by Hamilton Chaffee, Regional Councilor
Latihan Address: 1827 Markston Rd, Sacramento, CA 95825
Phone Contact: 916 927-8876
Latihan Days and Times: Wednesdays (6:00 pm W, 7:00 pm M) and Saturdays (10:00 am W, 11:00 am M)
ACTIVE MEMBERSHIP (2x month attendance at latihan)
Total – 25
Men – 10
Women – 15
Active Women Center Helpers/Candidates/Inactive/Retired: 4 Active Women Helpers
Active Men Center Helpers/Candidates/Inactive/Retired: 2 Active Men Helpers
Helper/Committee Latihan Day/Time: Second Monday of the month at 7:00 PM.
Committee Names/Phone & Email Contact:
Chairperson: Myrna Echols
Vice Chairperson: Vacant
Treasurer: Lucas Hess
Secretary: Vacant
Property Manager: Farah Hess
Regional Councilor: Hamilton Chaffee
Center Life and Events
The patio overhang on the duplex was completely rebuilt due to dry rot.
We are sending a donation to the Emmanuel AME church in S.C. from personal donations from the members.
We are currently researching a possible site in Sacramento for the next Regional Congress.
Meldan Heaslip, Regional Helper, paid us an unexpected and welcome visit this month.
We replaced for toilets with low flow units. Water use at the center for the past two months has dropped by over 50% compared to last year. In addition, our water provider reimbursed us for the entire cost of the toilets.
Financial Summary:
The main facility continues to be leased for a Montessori school. The tenant is doing well and has a very good relationship with the group. A new one-year lease has just been signed continuing the previous lease terms.
Both units of the duplex remain occupied and rents are current.
A slightly larger number of repairs to the main building have been needed very recently, but all of these have been handled within the center’s normal operating budget.
April 2015 Update: Sacramento
In March Sacramento hosted a helper’s meeting. It was well received (pun intended) and attendance was right around 100 people. The response we heard was positive. We, the Sacramento group wants to thank everyone who attended, after all without your being here the effort would have been non-productive. As it turned out, it was productive, active, happy and well fed. Not a bad combination and well worth the effort we made.
— Lucas Hess
In response to a request by Subud Portland, Subud Sacramento has agreed to raise $1000 to add to Portland’s annual Susila Dharma USA Matching Fund Drive. The Matching Fund has been spectacularly successful over the years, especially in concert with Subud New York’s Matching Fund, which has been available due to the sale of the air rights above their building. This year, Portland hopes to come up with at least $4,000 on their own – Sacramento’s efforts would bump that to $5,000. That ‘pot’ would then be used as matching funds to contributions to SD USA from all over the country.
The group plans a garage sale in early May, as well as other possible activities (BBQs, game nights) to fundraise the full amount.
— Benedict Herman
Sacramento did a little property (critter) maintenance last weekend! Dominic and son, Vincent, dug a 20 foot long, two foot deep trench along our yurt deck and buried wire fencing. We expect this will deter further visits from skunks and possums!
Our new tenant for a second year, another Montessori school, is seeing her business increase this year to 18-20 children. She expressed appreciation to Subud for our support.
–-Farah Hess
Playing with the Unknown
by Aminah Herrman
Some of the Sacramento members got together after latihan to tickle the creative process and explore what might be at core of our intentions as we embark on 2015. With boards, paint, scissors magazines and glue we let our selves be drawn to what was most alive in us at the time. Images, words, colours, shapes were freely applied onto boards that told a story, pictured a prayer, suggested an intention, or expressed an idea.
Lots of discussion, sharing discoveries, laughing, and the telling of stories accompanied this free form creative play. At the end we shared with one another. Some had things they wanted to say about their finished product, others were quiet and satisfied with just allowing the process, and a few decided to continue at home and spend more time with it.
We completed our day together going out to lunch and continued to share on multiple levels on the things that bubbled up as we spent time together in this way. It was a very nice day.
All helpers are invited to spend a full weekend sharing latihan and learning together about this most significant group responsibility. This very special event will take place on March 6-8, in Sacramento.
One of the purposes of this helpers’ event is to improve the functioning of our Subud groups because it is well understood the critical role that a Helper plays in the well being and harmony of each group.
During our time together, each one of us will have the opportunity to feel for ourselves how we are doing in our helper role. We can gain understanding of the strengths we bring to our role and in what areas we could be doing better, and how. In so doing, each one of us will come away with a greater capacity to carry out our helper responsibilities.
We will also have the quiet space and time to ask and receive on questions related to our own personal lives. And of course we will have much time to reconnect and just be together.
Subud helpers from throughout California and the U.S. have already registered, including some currently serving as national and international helpers.
Every effort has been made to keep the registration and accommodation costs as low as possible for this event. However, if the cost to attend is a barrier, we ask that you please reach out to your group committee or group members to see if there would be a budget available to help cover your expenses. Please go here for information and to register.
We hope that all members here in California who are, or have been, serving as a helper or a candidate helper, or those members who are considering taking on this role, will take advantage of this special opportunity to be all together. We are excited. We look forward to learning with you.
With love from your CA regional helpers
Bustami, Elna, Lucia, Luke, Maria, Meldan
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Additional note from Lucas Hess, Sacramento Subud:
“It is really neat to log into the registration site and see people from Florida, New York, AZ, etc all coming. The site will easily take care of whoever comes and the registration fee includes EXCELLENT food from the top rated caterer in our area. The weather should be very nice in early March here (at least we are hoping for that).
This should be a very useful time spent with helpers from all over the nation and some international visitors. We will do our best to make everyone’s visit memorable.”
Subud CA at Sacramento – August 2014 Update
Submitted by Lucas Hess, Treasurer Subud California at Sacramento
We currently have 29 active members and 9 who are on our roles but never attend latihan. We have 2 active men helpers and 1 active man National Helper. We have 3 active women helpers.
Our scheduled latihans are Wednesday and Saturday. They are well attended, especially Saturday. We have a Chairman, Treasurer and Asst. Treasurer. At present we have neither a Secretary nor Vice Chairman. We meet regularly on Saturdays after latihan. The 1st Saturday is set aside for our Helper/Committee meeting and latihan. 2nd Saturday is our kedjiwaan meeting. The 3rd our Center business meeting and the 4th our birthday pot luck. These Saturday meetings provide us with continuity, stability, fellowship and the opportunity to work with and gain understanding of each other outside the latihan itself.
We have just increased our pledge to the Region by $100.00 per month from the Center and for the first time a $100.00 per month pledge from the duplex, which is, after all, our other enterprise. This brings our Regional Pledge to $634.00 per month.
Our current leasee, Diamante Montessori, has struggled a bit this first year. Currently, she has increased her enrollment to 12 full time and 8 half time students and expects to enroll at least 2 more full time students in the next few days. She is committed to her work and the children and we are fortunate to have found each other.
We are replacing the large awnings in the back of our hall. They are original with the building and we only wish we could find canvas that good again. The two will cost us
$1,247.00. As well, we have just purchased new outdoor blinds for our patio area to better control the amount of sun that is on the patio when we are there. The patio has undergone many changes. It has planter boxes along its South and North sides courtesy of the hard work of Uriel Hardwin. Plantings have been done by both Benedict and Aminah Herrman and Uriel Hardwin and Melinda Michaels. We have had several bbq’s on the patio over the last 5 months and it is often the gathering place for the group after latihan. It is truly a pleasant place to be.
An accident required us to purchase a new stove for one of the duplex units. The tenant will pay $300.00 of the cost and the duplex will pay the rest. We’ve had two weddings in the yurt, the Herrman’s and the Moleski’s chose to be married there. Both were beautiful and touching ceremonies that were well attended. We also had one retirement party for Farah Robbins Hess that was a lot of fun.
We lost one of our oldest members to Sonoma in April. Abraham Spivak moved to an active senior center to be near to his daughters. We miss him, wish him well and know he is happy. We have added two new members, Suse Calvo and Theo Parfet. The men have one new candidate member, Dylan DeGrott.
Photos from Sacramento Subud Center
Dominic Moleski and his bride, Debi at their wedding celebration:
Members enjoying the firepit at the Sacramento Center:
Susila Dharma Donation Challenge
Sacramento Subud has established a Susila Dharma matching fund of $1000 to encourage donations from groups and individuals. Please help with a donation of any amount before the August 1 deadline.
If we reach our goal, Pacific NorthWest Subud will match the $2,000 from California, doubling to a generous $4,000. If Subud New York can rise to the occasion with a further match, your donation would help generate $8,000 to help people in need throughout the world. Please help us achieve this goal and quadruple your donation! Send checks to: Attn: Subud Sacramento Treasurer, 1839 Markston Road, Sacramento CA 95825.
Subud Life at Sacramento, May 2014
Wedding. Yes, another wonderful wedding! Dominic Moleski and his bride, Debi, were married in the yurt May 18th. A pre-wedding BBQ earlier in May was enjoyed by many.
Activities. A yurt beautification project has been underway and is nearing completion, with patio deck by Lucas Hess and Vincent Moleski, a pergola by Uri Hardwin, Dominic and son Vincent, and planter box wall and trellis by Uri. The Herrmans planted flowers around the yurt and Melinda Michaels contributed climbing honeysuckle. We have been celebrating the occasion with BBQs, and plan to continue as often as our chef, Benedict Herrman, will keep grilling!
Bapak Videos. An invitation is extended to members once a month by our center helpers to view a Bapak video at varying locations.
Helper Retreat. All of our active and one inactive woman helper attended, accompanied by one man helper. We hear it was a wonderful experience. Thank you to the Regional Helpers and the Los Angeles group!!
National Congress Proposals. Our center had a very well attended business meeting May 17th, discussed and voted on each congress proposal. Overall, the group had serious concerns on the process. The current National Committee did not follow our SUSA Bylaw requirement to provide proposals to the membership a minimum of 90 days prior to the congress. Should any proposals be ratified, we will be in violation of our bylaws. Additionally, the membership was not provided with the actual wording of the proposals, rather only a synopsis.
Susila Dharma USA Matching Fund
By Farah Hess
Subud Sacramento is pleased to announce its first SD USA Matching Fund of $1000. We will match donations up to a total of $1000 between now and August 1st, at which time the entire sum collected will be sent to Subud Portland… to be matched again!
Thanks to a one-time grant from SES, Portland has a substantial matching fund of its own – so let’s take advantage of it! If we can turn our $1000 into $2000 (or more) through your donations, we can then grow it to $4000 with a match by the Portland fund.
What to do? Send your donation, made out to Subud California at Sacramento to the address below, and put SD USA in the memo line.
Attn: Lucas Hess, Treasurer
Subud California at Sacramento
1839 Markston Road
Sacramento CA 95825
Please send all donations to be matched by August 1st. We will collect the funds, and send them to Portland for further matching on August 2nd. All donations are tax deductible.
Secretly, we hope Subud NY will have a matching fund again this year, too… which could mean – dare we say it – another match! So far, however, there is no word about NY’s plans. Stay tuned!
Thank you. Together, we can make great things happen.
WELCOME Suse Calvo, new member Sacramento Subud!
A warm welcome to Suse Calvo, who was opened recently in Sacramento Subud!
