Reedley Buddhist Church Home

ABOUT US:

The Reedley Buddhist Church was established in 1936 with the Rev. Rijun Katsueda becoming the first resident minister. After World War II and the relocation of the Japanese residents, the church was rebuilt in 1952-53 and the Rev. Gibun Kimura became the third minister. In 1961, the Sunday School classrooms, conference room, office, and restrooms were started and completed in 1962. A boyhood statue of Shinran Shonin was donated by Mr. Seichi Hirose of Japan and placed in the U-shaped garden. The enitre project was completed and dedicated on April 15, 1967. Rev. George Shibata, our present resident minister, began his association with the Reedley Buddhist Church in 1975.

The church renovated the conference room and added a new kitchen facility in 2003. They added a new wrought iron fence surrounding the property in 2006, updated the hondo in 2007, and completed a storage building next to the small kitchen in 2008.

The membership continues to hold steady with approximately 200 members. The Buddhist Women's Association, the Reedley Dharma School, and the Jr. Young Buddhist Association remain active and support all activities sponsored by the church.

New! The Reedley Obon Festival will be held on Saturday, July 31st! We hope you will make plans to attend! Different foods will be available for purchase beginning at 5:00 PM. Come dance, come visit, and come observe the Obon festival with us!

We will be observing Hatsubon at our Family Obon service on Sunday, July 25, 2010 at 10:00 AM. We hope everyone will plan to attend, especially those church members who have lost a loved one during the year. (since our last Hatsubon service last July) A family representative will be asked to light a lantern for his/her loved one during the service. Guest speaker for the service is Rev. Carol Himaka from the Enmanji Buddhist Temple.

* Click here for a printable copy of the flyer to send to your family members!

New! SAVE THE DATE! The Reedley Buddhist Church will be celebrating its 75th Anniversary on Saturday, April 16, 2011. All members, present and past are invited to this celebration. More information will follow, but for now, SAVE THE DATE!

We are also trying to put together a booklet and a video history of our church and its activities. If you have pictures from long ago or more recent ones, we would like to borrow them! Digital copies would be great, or we can scan them and return them to you. Please contact: webmaster@reedleybc.org

New! Pictures from the 2010 Camp Dharma at Camp Keola at Huntington Lake have been posted. Go to the 2010 Pictures or click here! Thank you to Camp Directors Kent and Diane Kawagoe for their many hours of planning and organizing this annual event. Everyone had a great time!

New! The Vision and Preservation Committee is sponsoring a bus trip to San Francisco to see a Giants game and the Jodo Shinshu Center in Berkeley on Saturday, August 14th. Contact Stan Hirahara if you are interested in attending!

There is a new link to the BCA's Shinran Shonin 750th Memorial Observances. Click here for the direct link, or you can always go to the "Links" button on the left.

See the "DANA LIST" button to the left. This is a wish list for the church with items that members and friends of the Reedley Buddhist Church are welcome to donate. Also, see a list of donors for items donated towards our new storage room.

Check out the master calendar for 2010. Scheduled and tentatively scheduled activities, meetings, and services will be list for the entire year. See under Monthly Newsletter button or click here!