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Dear Friends,
It is time to prepare for the Elders arriving on the land for the 27th time. This has been to our great benefit to be blessed these many years with the precious teachings that these wise beings have brought to us through the wisdom and blessings of our teacher the Venerable Dhyani Yahoo.
We are told this will be the last of these Elders Gatherings as this cycle of teachings is coming to a close. We look forward to what will surely be a new form arising from this wonderful yearly event.
I am getting ahead of myself here, we need to create with our teacher and friends this final time another wonderful Elders Gathering, a culmination to this work. We honor all those Elders who have crossed by here over the 27 years. We hear the echoes of their words, and are grateful for the examples they have set for us. I can see Red Thunder Cloud standing by the Arbor fire hands held high to father sky praying from his heart in his Catawba language and translating his own words in English so we could share in his gratitude for all we are given. All the Elders have come to share what they knew was good for the people. Wadogh (I am grateful).
In a couple short weeks the El ders will arrive on the land and we will be ready to help them share with the people their stories, songs and dances.
We have a wedding, naming ceremonies, and coming of age ceremonies, wonderful joy makers for friends and family. We who live in the valley have begun the preparations on the land: the water is hooked up and tested fine for drinking, the arbor wintered well and needs little repair, the women's arbor will be completely redesigned and built, the posts have been cut and prepared, the construction has begun, the labyrinth has had a makeover and folks come regularly to walk it. The Peace Stupa looks beautiful, the Temple of the Adawis is in regular use and hosted the 13 Indigenous Grandmothers recently for a luncheon. The community hall and kitchen are becoming the focus this week with a large area of new floor being put in the kitchen and beautification of the community hall dining area in the works. The grounds look great with all the water we had this spring, everything is lust and rich. The White Tara shrine is getting a new coat of varnish and is a sparkling addition overlooking the camping area.
So you see the locals have been busy, and what we talk about most is who is coming from California, who is coming from Germany, and who is coming from Poland, Spain, Mexico, Canada, Hawaii; we want to know. This happens for us every year we anticipate your arrival and we have learned to love a surprise.
Being the last Elders Gathering, I have told our generous donors that the passes they have earned over the years in reciprocity for their gifts, need to be used up this year. A couple of donors who have large amounts of passes have set up a sort of scholarship program to use their passes to support people to come to the Gathering who could not come without financial help. So I am putting it out to the Gadugi members here to recommend folks who would like to come and could use aid in the form of day passes to come to this last Elders Gathering.
Please contact me at artobey@gmavt.net with your recommendations of people for passes. These are day passes; camping fees and all other expenses will have to be managed by the individuals.
The donation letters went out to our generous donors several weeks ago and I recently found out that our largest donor has had to sell the family business after many years. This will create a large dent in our ability to provide the abundance of foods we have grown accustom to having for the staff meals in particular.
So we would ask that each person make a donation or collect a donation in the form of food or money equivalent to $1/meal to offset the projected short fall. This way we may be able to keep the quality and abundance of foods for staff that we have grown accustom to. This is roughly $3/day or $10 for the weekend per person. Thanks in advance for making an effort to help with food costs and support the overall expenses for Sunray.
Over the years certain folks have made it a point to donate to the Elders Kitchen and please know how grateful we are to have had your support. This has had a huge effect on the Gathering over the years. You can send your donations this year directly to me, Andrew Tobey, PO Box 273, Lincoln, VT 05443. Make the checks payable to Sunray with a note for "Elders Kitchen". You can also donate directly on the Sunray secure website with a note for Elders Kitchen by going here.
If you wish to donate food for staff; fresh vegetables, fruit, berries, and cheese are good. We really have enough Zucchini, cucumbers, and bread. If you have bulk items like beans and rice, please let me know ahead of the Gathering so I can figure it into our purchases.
The Cantina will be in operation this year. If you would like to support the Land Trust you could help by doing some time working in the Cantina and of course by purchasing some their tasty items.
Also the land caretaker position is open which has a small stipend and cabin available. Contact Julie James if you are interested living on the land for the rest of summer in this way. sunraypeacevillage@gmail.com
Jeanne Hubbuch is the central focalizer for this year's Elders Gathering. It is her first time on the Corn, Beans and Squash team. Julie James and Andrew Tobey are supporting vegetables, but I don't know which ones. Please make an effort to thank Jeanne for her efforts and offer her your help.
Friends that are looking for workstudy opportunities please have them contact me as soon as possible at artobey@gmavt.net. Remember that fulltime workstudy folks earn a one day Peacekeeper Training Wednesday August 3rd after the Gathering. As you know there are many jobs that need to be done at the Elders Gathering. Gadugi members are obliged to work as part of their Gadugi commitment. Please make it known to Jeanne what area you would like to support. You may email info@sunray.org with a note that it is for Jeanne and we will forward it.
On a personal note, I would like to thank Dhyani Ywahoo and her ancestors for carrying light to this time. Showing me the way to the Peace Village and encouraging me to participate in the Peace Keeper training. The benefit from these teachings and from my associations with the Sangha and Elders has been the jewel of my life. Wadogh.
Peace,
Andrew Tobey
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