December 2007

Dear Center Family,

It is with much love and warm wishes that we send this end-of-the-year newsletter. How wonderful that so many of you have been able to visit the Center recently. The cabins have been full every weekend since the summer, and the number of day visitors continues to rise. This year we have had a notably large number of visits from Indian Baba lovers; some live in the States, but many have come all the way from India to be at Meher Baba’s Home in the West. They bring with them a sweet reminder of the Indian culture and a lovely devotional spirit; their visits are always very special.

Much time and attention this year has been put into strategic planning for the Center’s future. The Board of Directors wrote to all of you in August, asking for reflections you might want to share about the major issues the Center must address now and in the future. It has been heartening to receive so many responses, your loving concerns and creative ideas. The Board’s work on this strategic process has continued in frequent meetings throughout the fall, and a second two-day retreat meeting is scheduled for mid-December. After the first of the year, Board members will be in touch with you again, reporting on the progress in their planning, and giving you more opportunity for feedback and input.

Program News

In early October, the annual Nearby Community Day was held at the Center. It began with Arti in the Meher Abode Compound, followed by breakfast at Dilruba. All then gathered in the Barn for a program focused on “inspiration and joy in our Beloved”, with open sharing by those who wished to contribute a story, a quote, a poem, a song. It was quite lovely. Then came a picnic lunch on the lawn in front of the Original Kitchen, an afternoon of enjoying the Center, and finally, afternoon tea and goodies. The program that evening was a special video of Darwin Shaw, taken in Los Angeles in the mid-80’s.

On November 3, Baidul’s daughter, Sarvar Taraporewala, came with her two daughters, Freny and Shirin. Sarvar shared many stories of being with Meher Baba, including memories of the Blue Bus Tours. On November 10, Charles Haynes spoke to a packed Meeting Place, full of many old friends who had not seen him in a long time. It was a beautiful talk, focused on Charles’ experiences with Baba at the 1962 East-West Gathering. On Thanksgiving we enjoyed a lively and humorous talk by Ed Luck, who first met Baba in 1961. The Center was full, and many from the nearby community joined in for the afternoon Thanksgiving dinner, the evening program, and also for pie in the Refectory at the end of the night.

Two new regular activities were started earlier this year. On Saturdays, from 3 to 4 p.m., there are readings from Mehera-Meher in the library reading room. And every Thursday, Friday and Saturday afternoons from 3:30 to 4:30, chai is served in the Original Kitchen. The tea time has become a sweet and simple time for people to connect with one another and to share their lives with Baba.

Staff and Volunteers

The Center’s staff has, as always, received so much help from volunteers this year--with everything from cabin cleaning to auto repair to grass planting to tea serving, and much, much more. There has also been an increase in the number of young people involved (by young, I mean under 35!!). Some are regular volunteers---nightwatchmen, teawallas, Gateway evening workers, trail trimmers---some are “interns”, temporary paid workers, part time or full time, working a regular schedule with the Center’s ongoing staff. And we have one new full time young staff person: Ruby Holmes (well-named, we say, because she IS a gem). It is a wonderful thing to feel the legacy of loving care for Baba’s western home moving slowly but surely into the hands of the next generation. JAI BABA!!

Meher Abode

On the front of this newsletter is a photograph of Meher Abode (Baba’s House), taken in the 1950’s. As most of you know, it is one of three structures at the Center that Meher Baba asked to be kept as much the same as possible the way they were when He was here (the Lagoon Cabin and Barn are the others). As visitors and activities continue to increase at the Center, it is a good time to look back at the history of Baba’s house, reaffirm its purpose, and clarify the guidelines for its use.

Built as His private residence before His first visit to the Center in 1952, Meher Baba stayed in Meher Abode each time He came, always expressing how much it pleased Him, personally showing visitors around the compound and through the rooms of the house. Visits with Him there were brief and infrequent, but very special. During the 1960’s, the atmosphere of privacy and intimacy at Baba’s House was maintained, as Elizabeth, Kitty and Jane personally showed individuals and small groups through the house, sharing stories and descriptions of Meher Baba’s time there. In the early 1970’s, they began opening Baba’s House for retreat guests on special holidays for one hour; a few years later, an extra hour was added for the nearby community to come. During these years, when a crowded Center was only 55 guests, and the Nearby Community was less than 50 people, visitors were always asked to “pass through the house quietly, in small groups, staying only a few minutes so that not too many are present at one time.” This was Elizabeth’s, Kitty’s and Jane’s way of preserving the special atmosphere, making sure every guest had a moment to experience it, and protecting the Meher Abode for those who would come in the future.

By the mid-70’s, this occasional time was made a weekly opportunity, on Sunday mornings. In 1983, Friday afternoons were added, and in 1998, Tuesday mornings, all in an effort to make sure the increasing numbers of guests had a chance to visit Baba’s home. At the same time, much attention needed to be given to physical maintenance of the house and its furnishings. As years had passed and accessibility had increased, the house and furnishings had of course begun to show signs of aging.

Continuing the long legacy of balancing the care and use of this special place is a challenge that faces us now and in the future. Today, more people are coming to the Center than ever before, and over 400 Baba lovers are living nearby. Nearly 150 people visit Baba’s House each week, close to 7000 each year. We assume these numbers will increase and trust that the guidance Elizabeth, Kitty and Jane provided is even more important now than when visits to Meher Abode first began.

In the coming months, and especially as we approach the busy holiday weeks, we need to reflect on and be more aware of how we come to Baba’s House, and what each of us can do to help maintain the sweet and intimate atmosphere of Meher Abode for every guest to experience. Let us make sure that every person has the opportunity to be in Baba’s room and has adequate space to bow down at the foot of His bed. We will open Baba’s House two additional days during the holidays, on Saturdays, December 22 and 29, from 11:00 to 1:00, to provide an additional opportunity for all to come.

Ongoing Work

The repairs and restoration of all Center structures are constant and consuming. The buildings get older, and we use them more. That combination is a great challenge for the maintenance crew. Their latest project was restoration of the Boathouse, built more than 60 years ago. The screening was entirely replaced, repairs made to the wooden structure, ceiling painted and woodwork restained, all to match how it originally was done. During the summer, the Dilruba kitchen was remodeled: new plumbing, new electrical wiring and outlets, an additional stove and sink put in, new flooring, the cabinets raised to provide better counter work space, everything freshly painted, and new counter tops installed. In the unique way that Center restorations are done, the “new” Dilruba kitchen looks and feels very much the same---but refreshed, and able to handle the demands of more activity and more people.

A small stovetop, refrigerator, water heater and new faucet were added to the Original Kitchen to accommodate the new afternoon tea times. Major painting projects this fall have included work at the Cove, Tree Room, Cedar Nook, and also at Meher Abode (the exterior woodwork only). The roof there was also replaced, as well as at the Library and the Original Kitchen. Smaller repairs continue every day: windows in the Refectory replaced, Cabin on the Hill steps reconstructed and improved, termite damage repaired, to name just a few.

In the grounds department, there has been continued focus on the removal of excess soil buildup around building foundations. It was begun last year at Baba’s House, where part of the old foundation was cleared of dirt and plant matter, important for maintaining proper drainage and airflow around the building. The same work has been completed at the Guest House, Lagoon Cabin, and the Original Kitchen. It involves digging up all of the planting near the buildings, removing LOTS of dirt, and then relandscaping the area to create the same feeling and naturalness that has always been there. At the Original Kitchen, extensive repairs to the septic system were also called for, due to the increased use of the old sink during the new afternoon teas. The grounds crew will return soon to Baba’s House to continue removal of soil around the rest of the foundation there. Another recent project has been to prepare the boundary line between the Center and Wal-Mart for installation of new fencing. As that area is very vulnerable with regard to both intrusion and fire, this project, although expensive, is now a top priority.

Intensive cleaning of all the Center’s buildings is underway again. It is the fall and winter task for the cabin crew and volunteers who work with them. It is time consuming, detail work, so additional hands are always helpful and welcomed. The holiday season is challenging as well, with every cabin full, and as soon as someone goes, the next one is waiting. It is a happy but hectic time.

Your Loving Support

It is through your love and generosity that this care for the Center is possible, and we need your ongoing financial support. Because our expenses continue to increase, we are reaching out now for a broader response. Any amount you can give, as this year comes to a close, is so helpful, and will be used to keep the Center as Meher Baba would want us to---beautiful, peaceful, in 100% repair, a place where all may find spiritual renewal, "a place of pilgrimage for all time". It is our great opportunity to join together, to give from our hearts, in gratitude for Baba’s Grace, in loving response to His gift to us---Meher Center. If you have questions about various ways to make donations to the Center, please call 843-272-8793 or email mdilruba@aol.com. and a Board member will contact you.

May your holidays be warmed by Meher Baba’s tender presence in your lives. We look forward to seeing you at the Center soon.

In His Abiding Love,
Barbara Plews, Administrator