Okazu
Last month, a Keishiki, or Affirmation Service, was mentioned as possibly happening at SLOBC. This service, officiated by Rev. Umezu, Bishop of the BCA, is an event where interested members are given a Buddhist name. If you’ve read the Wheel of Dharma, many BCA temples and churches have held a Keishiki and have attracted from 10 to as many as 55 members. Please contact any Board member, Rev. Nakano, or myself (shongo@surewest.net) if you are interested in receiving a Buddhist name.
Now that you’ve gotten your fill of all the foods from the holidays, it time to clean your palate for our Annual Crab Feed which will happen on February 4th at the church. The cost is still $50 per person for all you can eat Dungeness crab, BBQ tri-tip, salad, bread, baked beans and dessert (oh yes, and rice too). If you want ticket(s) for this popular event contact any Board member. “Don’t wait or it will be too late.”
Kung Hee Fat Choy!
January 28th is an auspicious date – the celebration of the Chinese New Year, the Year of the Rooster. If you were born in the Year of the Rooster (every 12th year from 2017) here are some of your traits (not necessarily always true): you are a loyal and a hard worker, committed in what you do, kind hearted, courageous, independent and humorous. If you are a male, you dress well and if a female, you wear beautiful and colorful clothes. You keep your home neat and organized. You are a very capable speaker but sometimes you stutter as your mouth tries to catch up with your brain. You are best matched with an Ox, Dragon or Snake and worst matched with a Rat, Rabbit or Dog.
If you are curious about how the order of the ani-mals in the Chinese zodiac calendar was determined, it goes like this: Long ago a powerful emperor wanted to establish a calendar based on 12 animals so he decided to have a race. The rat, although the smallest of animals, rode on the back of the ox with a cat. However, the rat shrewdly pushed the cat off the ox as they were crossing a river. Nearing the finish line, the rat jumped off the ox and scampered across first and thus established the order of the calendar. Did you ever notice why there isn’t a cat in the zodiac calendar?
Bits and Pieces