I have exciting news for those of you who can give a little more.  A recent resolution by the SPNW board – sponsored by members of our group – allows every dollar we raise toward a loan to be considered a grant that the group will not have to repay. The $7000 loan we have from the housing fund will turn into a grant once an additional $1,511 has been raised. Please consider donating these funds at your earliest possible opportunity.

I am happy to report that we have just received a generous donation from Subud California at Arcata of $500. This is a significant step toward reaching the member 47% share of costs to repair our building.  Remember the Centerprise will provide 53% of these costs ($12,253) which are now at $23,119.

Outside of the loan from SPNW we still need to raise an additional $3,866.  Any funds you can provide for this effort will assist us in meeting these costs.  We have currently raised $5,489.

Note: Should you be able to pledge to contribute these funds, please let me know and I will add your name to those who have pledged.  Currently we have remaining pledges of $300.

Our young brother Aakarsh Gottumukkala is asking for support for his trip to the Gathering in Albuquerque, NM July 4 to July 8th.   I have put his airfare on my own credit card to help out and will share my hotel room with him.  He just graduated from College with a Master’s Degree. My goal is to raise the $300 airfare. So far two members have donated $180.  If you wish to support this effort, please do. Please make check out to me: Marston Gregory and they will apply to his trip.

Thanks for helping,

Marston Gregory

We are trying something a little different for our coming day of spirituality!  We will be using the Menucha format of having latihan then have a circle of members with an open agenda and later will be exploring ideas and testing questions which come from the circle, after lunch.  We hope everyone will attend and share life experiences, questions and answers with our Subud family!  Please come this Sunday to share this experience with your brothers and sisters!

PROPOSED AGENDA FOR JUNE 9 Kedjiwaan Day:

General Latihan – 11:15 – 11:45 am

Circle of all members in lady’s latihan hall 11:45 – 12:45

Lunch (women and men together as a community) 12:45 – 1:30 pm

(Members are asked to bring a dish to share)

Testing questions resulting from the circle 1:30 – 3:00 pm

Update

Fundraising for the maintenance of Spring Street Center is progressing. The request for matching funds in our newsletter brought in the match of $500 three days later.  Donations toward that match campaign were $600, and then Subud Arcata pledged an additional $500.  The match has now been completed.

Can we reduce the loan from Subud PNW?

I am hopeful that we will be able to raise more funds in the coming months, so that we can return some of the Subud PNW loan money before the summer is over.

You can help with a small monthly increase in your donation

Some members have pledged $500 toward this effort which they pay in installments through increase their monthly donation by $50 a month until their pledge is complete.  Can you make a monthly pledge in some amount toward the loan repayment?  Please email me directly with any amount you can pledge, and I will add this to the pledged totals.

And Thanks!

New name for donation checks to Subud Greater Seattle

Please change the “Pay To The Order Of” section on your handwritten or automatic withdrawn check from your account to “Subud Pacific Northwest Greater Seattle Center” or, if that won’t fit, “Subud PNW Greater Seattle Center”. Bank rules, recently changed, are delaying deposits.

This is your newsletter and it would be great if we could use it to share our experiences here.  If you have a feeling to write something about your inner or outer blessings or travails, or if you have anything you want to post, please do so!  Send to me at rachmanc@gmail.com.  It is helpful to hear stories of how we are coping with our outer and inner worlds and perhaps give hope and encouragement to our brothers and sisters!

Faith

When I was a boy, living with my parents, my faith was Roman Catholic.

When I was a college student, full of new ideas and the knowledge that I could choose my spiritual path, I wondered what I would choose and found many paths that could be that path – one was shown to me in a dream.

When I was done with college and living in San Francisco, trying to figure out what sort of man I would become, I found that the rock and roll, sex and drugs religion suited me for a time. And, then it didn’t. My marriage collapsed and my work life was going nowhere.  It was then that my soul, having put itself on a shelf saying, “come back to me when you’re ready,” asked, “Are you ready now?”

Then I had dreams of leaving the sex and drugs and rock and roll scene. I was afraid, but I kept going until I found a clearing, and, in that clearing, I found the place I’d seen in the dream in my college years.

It felt like I was home. It felt like I’d finally found my path. And, having walked along that path now for over 40 years, I’ve never felt lost, always at home, in the grace of this faith; in this practice we have in Subud.