SEPTEMBER:
2nd Karaoke Night 7:30pm
7th Labor day – Temple Closed
8th Board meeting 7:30pm
13th Garden Cleaning 9am
19th Bishop Akiba Dharma Talk 8am
Rev. Kuwahara’s Zen in Daily Life 9:30am
Goeika Practice 1:30pm
20th Higan-E, Monthly Service & Memorial 11am
Dr. Kato’s Buddhism Lecture in Japanese 10am
Fujinkai Meeting 10am
Keiro Kai Luncheon 12 noon
3rd Karaoke Night 7:30pm
18th Eitaikyo, Monthly Service & Memorial 11:00am
GARDEN CLEANING TIME AGAIN !
ZENSHUJI NEEDS YOU! Please come to Zenshuji on September 13th starting at 9am for our quarterly garden cleaning. We welcome any and all who wish to volunteer a little of their time and effort to help keep our temple looking great! NO EXPERIENCE REQUIRED!. Only the desire to want to help. We will provide a coffee break and lunch so let's get together and have some fun! See you there!
BURNING CEREMONY (OTAKIAGE)
Join us for a wonderful day at the beach and enjoy participating in the Burning Ceremony. What is a burning ceremony? It is a service where people may dispose of things that have special meaning such as old obutsudan, daruma dolls where the wish has been fulfilled and both eyes are complete, pictures, things that are precious to a family member but no one wants it or no one to leave it to, and other things you do not want to just throw out. Bishop Akiba performs a short ceremony and the pit fire is lit and the items are burned. It is a serene and compassionate way of releasing personal items.
Join us at Huntington Beach on September 27th and enjoy the fresh ocean air, participate in the service, enjoy the pot-luck lunch, and get your daily dose of vitamin D from the sun. Tent, tables, chairs are provided so bring your beach towel, sun tan lotion for a few hours at the beach. Mr. Hideo Mura barbecues delicious hamburger patties, hot dogs & fish, which taste so much better at the California beach. So don't disappoint him!
For directions and more information to the Huntington Beach Burning Ceremony and Pot Luck Lunch, call Rev. Kojima, Rev. Lang or Mrs. Miyoko Mura at Zenshuji (213-624-8658).
KEIRO KAI LUNCHEON
This year the annual KeiroKai Luncheon will be held on September 20th at 12 noon.
The cost is $15.00 per person. Advance reservations are required. Please call Zenshuji for more info at 213-624-8658 or fill out and mail the Application form to Zenshuji, 123 South Hewitt st, Los Angeles, CA 90012.
KUDOS TO THE OBON CARNIVAL COMMITTEE
BY Carolyn Hashiba
A great big THANK YOU to the Obon Carnival Co-chairs, Ray Haynes, Doug Seki, Brian Kimura and the committee members! With a late jump start, Ray, Doug & Brian worked many hours to get the city permits, communicating with the various committee chairs, learn the various operation procedures, set up the important construction dates, and solve the various unforeseen problems that popped up. CONGRATULATIONS on a job well done!
Another round of applause goes to the various organizations whose many hours of labor is most appreciated. The Fujinkai ladies and friends who came early to make the sushi and ohagi, Mr. George Takeyasu who arranged for the flower donations and his Nursery Committee for making the beautiful bunches of flowers, the Barbecue Group & Mr. Hideo Mura who year after year work in the heat to produce the famous 'Zenshuji Barbecue Chicken and Beef', and the Zenshuji is known for the best Obon Carnival food in town so we want to thank the people in the food booths: Udon Ladies, Ujiie Family & Mrs. Miyagishima, Monarrez Family, Nagamine Family, Zendeko/Exercise Class Parents, Ujiiye Family, Shimozawa Family, Zazenkai Members, Sadobu Group, Daruma Club, Miyoshi Family, Terakoya Parents and many, many more individuals.
Our game booths provided all the little ones with the challenge and skills to win a gold fish or one of the small, medium or large toy prizes. Thanks to Brian and Christine Kimura for setting up and organizing the activities. Many children went home happy!
Many guest sat at the picnic tables from late morning waiting for our wonderful entertainment. Mr. Hideo Kikuchi and Mrs. Hiroko Seki collaborated together to provide a program that was enjoyed by all age groups. The Zendeko Group, headed by Vivian and Doug Seki, with their unique sound is always a favorite by those attending.
The finale of each evening is the Bon-Odori. Watching the young and old, the professionals and amateurs, the shy and vivacious all dancing to the ondo music and sounds of the taiko drum is always a thrill. We had many first timers join in for the experience of celebrating the Obon season.
Once again, KUDOS to Ray, Doug, Brian all those who worked very hard to make the 51st Zenshuji Obon Carnival a success!
OBON RE-USE ECO BAGS A BIG HIT!
Thanks to Janice Shimozawa for her donation of Re-use Ecology Bags! Many people bought the colorful bags that was designed by Janice. The guests were excited to have a bag they could take from one temple obon to another and have an easy way to bring things home. If you remember last year we had the Obon Aprons which were designed by Janice. We are really fortunate to have members with such great artistic talent and the compassionate heart of giving. Thank you Janice for your time and energy spent on this project.