August 5, 2009

Dear Devotees,
 
This message has six announcements from the Bharatiya Temple of Lansing.

1) Reminder: Fun, Fitness, and Fundraiser 5-kilometer Walk on Saturday August 8:
Details are posted at: http://lansingtemple.org/misc/walk.pdf
By walking 3.1 miles (5 kilometers) with your spouse/kids/family or just by yourself--this should take less than an hour even if you chat and walk--you will not only get healthier and have fun, but you will also be helping to generate funds for your temple. That is because the temple has got sponsors who are donating an amount to the temple for each walker. Already we have a collective pledge of $70 per participant completing the walk, and we are in the process of getting more sponsors. All you have to do is to show up at Hartrick Park Pavilion, 3685 Hulett Road, Okemos, MI 48864 on August 8 any time between 9:30 AM and 11 AM, register for the walk (there is no registration fee), and walk the 5 kilometers along a specified route. The more the number of participants, the more is the fund raised for the temple. Thank you in advance for your participation.

2) Special time for Saturday morning program at Temple on August 8:
To allow devotees time to take part in the Fundraiser Walk (see above), the usual Saturday morning program at the Temple will start 30 minutes early. The Suprabhatam program for all the deities will begin at 9 AM and Abhishekam to Lord Venkateswara will start at 9:45 AM.

3) Bhajan-Sandhya program on Saturday August 8 at 6:30 PM to honor Sharmaji:
The program, consisting of bhajans and speeches, will be from 6:30 to 9 PM. It will be followed by a pot-luck dinner. Details are posted at http://lansingtemple.org/misc/Sharmaji_Farewell.pdf. Dr. Kumar Arun has taken the lead in organizing this program. Any donation or gift must be given directly to Sharmaji or his family.

4) Reminder: Sponsors are invited for the Second Sunday Birthday/Anniversary Havan on August 9. This monthly program, from 11 AM to 12:30 PM, was started last month (July). The inaugural program was a great success, with about 20 sponsors who celebrated their birthdays, anniversaries, and graduations with the havan. We hope to see an even bigger response for the August 9 event, when the havan will be for Lord Shiva. To sponsor, please contact any one of the following:
Ajay Bhargava, 517-347-3718, youngrehab@sbcglobal.net
V.K. Jain, 517-203-0888, jainvk@comcast.net
Rajat Shah, 517-349-7762, shah.rajat@comcast.net
Temple Priests

5) Krishna Janmashtami will be celebrated on the evening of Thursday August 13. Details will be announced soon.

6) Retreat with Swami Bodhananda on August 21-22:
Swamiji, who is well-known to our community, will conduct a Retreat at our temple on the evening (7 to 9 PM) of August 21 and all day (9 AM to 4 PM) on August 22. Please mark your calendar, for the Retreat is on a topic that is sure to be of interest to all: "Crisis to Confidence: Practical Wisdom from Upanishads and Bhagavad Gita." Details are posted at: http://lansingtemple.org/misc/Swami_Bodhananda_August2009Retreat.pdf


Sincerely,

Bharatiya Temple of Lansing
955 Haslett Rd
Haslett, Michigan 48840.
Phone: (517) 339-6337