Reopening Update #3

Effective Saturday, March 26, 2022, Windward Buddhist Temple will no longer require masks to be worn inside the temple. This is in alignment with the end of the State of Hawaii’s indoor mask mandate as of 11:59 pm on March 25, 2022.

• Masks will be optional, and those who want to wear masks should continue to do so.

• If you are not feeling well, please do not visit the temple.

As announced on March 3, we are no longer requiring proof of vaccination to enter the temple. However, as always, you are encouraged to consult with your doctor and if you are eligible to be vaccinated, please do so.

Reopening Update #2

Since Oahu is changing the guidelines of not requiring vaccination checks and distancing effective March 5, 2022, in consultation with Rev. Sumikawa, starting Sunday, March 6, WBT will only require wearing masks in the temple.

Effective Sunday, March 6, 2022 we will no longer be checking for proof of vaccination. Thank you to those of you who have volunteered to be "vaccine status checker" or "ushers" each Sunday.

I think this is good news and a step in a positive direction which will allow many who have been hesitant about attending live services to feel more comfortable about attending live services.

In gassho,

Prudence Kusano, President

An Update on Reopening (January 2022)

Dear Members and Friends,

Warmest wishes for a Happy New Year!

I am grateful that we have endured the many months of COVID restrictions with a positive attitude and knowledge that everything changes, even COVID will one day be controlled. Having the temple closed since March 2020 has been a challenge. The Board of Directors has continued to do its best to be in communication with members and friends and to share the Dharma through YouTube.

The effort to look for new ways to keep the Sangha together and to spread the Dharma, resulted in several positive outcomes. For example, despite the inconvenience and missing the Sangha fellowship, Windward Buddhist Temple’s online Sunday services have reached our friends and members as well as people outside of the Windward District and even people living on the mainland. Many of us learned to use Zoom and attended conferences and Dharma classes which we would not have been able to do prior to the pandemic. The Board learned how to conduct monthly Board meetings via Zoom.

In August we had a Bon Dance dinner sale that brought together members to safely prepare the dinner and to connect with people who came by to pick up their orders. The Fundraising Committee replaced the live fundraising events with an Online Store.

The temple has been able to weather this pandemic due to the support of the Board and the members who have generously contributed to the temple. I look forward to serve as President again this year with the goal of reopening the temple for regular services and fellowship.

Wishing you a Happy, Healthy, Safe and Peaceful New Year.

With Gratitude, Prudence Kusano

An Update on Reopening (November 2021)

Dear Members and Friends,

Good news: the temple will be open for some live, in person services!!

Since some of the COVID restrictions are being lifted, the Board has decided to slowly open the temple for live services. We will begin by having one in-person temple service a month and as more restrictions are lifted, more will be added.

The Eitaikyo Service on November 14 and the Bodhi Day service on December 12 will be held at the temple. The other Sunday services in November and December will be pre-recorded and available for viewing on Sundays via YouTube, WBT website and FaceBook.

We will continue to follow government guidance for in-person services by limiting the number of people in attendance to 50% of capacity and those 12 years and older who can verify their COVID vaccination status. Everyone will need to be masked and physically distanced if not from the same household. We will be allowed to chant and sing with our masks on.

Everyone attending the service is required to:

1. Present proof of their COVID vaccination status and a photo ID, and

2. Sign in on the COVID tracking sheet as they enter the temple

Nametags will not be used, so it will be interesting to see how many of us can recognize each other after almost 20 months since our last live service in March 2020. We look forward to meeting new people who may have been waiting for services at the temple.

There will be no fellowship after these services. Many of us look forward to meeting new people and to chat with old friends over refreshments; however, we need to be patient for the time when this will be possible again. In the meantime, we look forward to seeing you at the Eitaikyo and Bodhi Day services.

In gassho,

Prudence Kusano

An Update on Reopening

Dear Members and Friends,

It has been 18 months since we closed our temple due to COVID-19. It has been a challenging time for all of us. With the availability of vaccines and the decreasing number of cases we were excitedly looking forward to having live services in September. However, as much as we are eager to return to “normal” with the increasing cases due to new variants of the virus, the WBT Board has decided that we will postpone reopening of the temple to protect all of us.

The purpose of this letter is to update you by sharing some of the opportunities that the pandemic has created for us.

• Weekly on-line Sunday service began in August 2020. Since the temple was closed for Sunday service, we decided to bring the Dharma to you. This required many of us to learn new skills to record and post the weekly Sunday services. Many of you and others from the mainland and other countries have been tuning in to the weekly services link. In this way the pandemic has allowed us to spread the Dharma far and wider than we have ever been able to do so in the traditional format. We hope to continue on-line services to allow those who have been relying on our weekly service the opportunity to continue their Nembutsu path with us.

• On-line Dharma education has flourished during the pandemic. WBT has conducted virtual Adult Dharma Classes that reached people who live outside of the Windward area. Many temples in Hawaii and on the mainland have also made available virtual Dharma education. Those of you who have access to a computer will find many opportunities to hear various Dharma messages, from New York, California, all the neighbor island temples, the Buddhist Study Center and the Buddhist Churches of America.

• The use of the computer and technology has allowed the usual conferences such as the Lay Convention to continue virtually. More people across the State have been able to “attend” these virtual conferences since the cost of travel and housing was replaced by a free connection through the use of Zoom and other virtual means. These methods have allowed many to feel safe in their own homes and be able to take part in these conferences.

• Rev. Sumikawa led a limited group of people to conduct an Obon service at the Waimanalo Japanese Cemetery which is on the Marine Corp land. It was an opportunity for people with family members still buried there to visit them after many years. Hawaii Herald newspaper had an article about this visit.

• During this time the Board continued to meet virtually to ensure that necessary regulatory requirements, finances, and other obligations were met while keeping the Board members safe.

Fund raising has also been on-line. The WBT Country Store items were posted on the WBT website. In July takuan was sold and in August WBT bon dance dinnerplates were also sold.

The Board will continue to monitor the number of COVID cases and restrictions to determine when it is safe to return to live services. While you are sheltering in place, you can talk with Rev. Sumikawa for spiritual support by calling him at 808-492-7254. He is available to share the Dharma with you. Until the next time, please continue to be safe.

In Gassho,

Prudence Kusano, President

Windward Buddhist TempleDear Members and Friends,