Winter 2010

Dear Meher Center Family and Friends,

On Tuesday, December 22, 2009--Mehera's birthday--for the first time in our collective memory, a loon landed on the Center lake and spent the afternoon, checking out the "sushi" and announcing his/her presence with plaintive wails. Loons are large, duck-like birds that are usually seen on lakes in the north woods, and they have highly distinctive calls. They may winter in this area, but remain out on the ocean and do not call. So it was a moment of unusual and distinctive beauty, an exquisite natural occurence that felt reflective of Meher Baba's abiding presence. As we move into another new year, with its profound struggles and challenges all over the world, how blessed we are to know Him, and to have His Home in the West to care for and to visit.

Strategic Plan Progress

In the spring of 2007, the Board of Directors began a strategic planning process to identify the most important issues facing the Center in the next ten years, to set goals to address each one, and to create action plans to reach those goals. Through an ongoing process of meetings, consultations, surveys and the development of planning drafts, the Board's strategic plan is now complete, and work on the action plans has begun. The Board invites your participation as this process continues and Meher Baba's Plan unfolds! All of the input and offers to help that the Board has already received will be passed on to the appropriate working groups, but it also is very useful to have the current "participation form" on the web site (Past, Present and Future/Planning and Support) filled out by all those interested in participating.

Program News

Since our newsletter last summer, we have enjoyed many wonderful programs at the Center. In August, Hardeep Hanspal and his wife, Indra, visited from India, where they live as residents at Meherabad. They have been to the Center many times, but this was the first time he shared his Baba stories on the stage of the Meeting Place. It was wonderful, as were Bill LePage's final talks before he and Diana returned to Australia in September. Next came Henry Kashouty, delighting everyone with his many recollections of times with Baba in the 1950's. In October, young adults gathered, as they have for the past several years, for a weekend on the Center. There was a special entertainment program involving many of their talents and inspirations, and they worked together on several grounds and cleaning projects while they were here. In November there was a special performance by Mountains to the Sea, with choir members participating from Asheville, Chapel Hill and Myrtle Beach. At Thanksgiving, Larry Karrasch, who first met Baba in 1952, spoke beautifully of his continued contact with Him during and after the East-West Gathering in 1962. December brought the holidays and special programs for Mehera's birthday, Christmas Eve and night, and New Year's Eve, two entertainment programs (one for youth participation!), and a wonderful talk by Robert Dreyfuss, sharing how he learned about Baba and his journey to meet Him in 1965. In January we look forward to an Amartithi talk by Naosherwan Anzar, and in February, Baba's birthday celebration with three short plays by Joe DiSabatino on the 24th and a talk by Ralph and Stella Hernandez on the 25th.

Center Work

During these quieter winter weeks, the Cabin Crew is focused on the annual cleaning of all the Center buildings. No easy task, as the "quieter weeks" seem few and far between. The holiday time was perhaps the busiest ever, and the Gateway concurs that reservations, dayvisits, drop-ins and tours are steadily increasing. How fortunate we are to have the dedicated help of so many local volunteers, and even a few hard-core cleaners who come to stay at the Center and scrub!

The work of the Grounds Crew is constantly "growing". Pruning, cutting back around the buildings, mowing, and vista work take great amounts of time and attention. Cutting dead trees and limbs, clearing roads and trails, road maintenance and project work are also a focus. Recently the compound area on the lake side of Dilruba received special attention—reshaping and restoring it to what it looked like years ago. The view of the lake is beautiful. In the compound at Meher Abode, removal of soil that has built up around the foundation has continued around the east and north side of the house, and drainage improvements made. Areas of the compound are being opened up for more gathering space, clearer views of the lake and ocean, and better ventilation around the house. The same preservation effort also continues around other original Center buildings.

The Maintenance Crew's focus has been on the repairs that are constant and labor intensive for the Center's aging structures, and for the comfort and safety of guests and visitors. Since the summer, they have replaced all the screening on the footbridge, treated all the wooden porches at the Bungalow building, repaired the tubs in Cove 2 and Cabin on the Hill, replaced the screening and did other repairs to the porch of the Lake Cabin, cleaned and varnished the cabinets and replaced the floor in the Caretakers Cabin, and repainted all the handicap ramps with a nonslip finish. Right now the Refectory is closed down for repainting and repair in the sitting room, the kitchen and the back entryway and pantry.

Preservation projects at the archives and Meher Abode are continuing, making it possible to take better care of and share the historic items and Baba treasures that are at the Center. In the coming months, CD copies of some of the Center's original audio recordings that have been preserved from the 1950s, 60s, and 70s will be made available for listening at the Library. These historic tapes include wonderful programs and speakers that vividly bring back that special time when many of us (or our parents!) were just hearing about Baba or visiting the Center for the first time.

New Board Members

At its annual meeting on January 10, the Board of Directors elected two new Board Members. They are: Ann Edelman of Myrtle Beach and Ruby Holmes of Asheville. Other Board members reelected for the coming year are: John Leiter (continuing as Presiding Officer), Nancy Geagan, Arsenio Rodriguez, Marshall Hay, Jonathan Burroughs, Cassie D'Argenio, and Wendy Haynes Connor (continuing as Treasurer). Ann has agreed to fill the role of Secretary. Molly Irani---who has served on the Board for the past four years, faithfully attending meetings though she lives in Asheville and providing endless hours of dedicated attention to the challenges the Center faces---has stepped down. We will miss her presence and spirit on the Board, but are grateful for her ongoing love and support of the Center. Thank you, Molly!

New on the Web Site

A complete copy of the text of the Center's original 1959 Charter, including amendments, is now available on the Center's web site (www.mehercenter.org). The Board Goverance Document, which summarizes the responsibilities of the Board of Directors, the Administrator and staff of the Center, and the processes by which the Center is to be managed, is available as well. The Board's current Strategic Plan and a participation form to fill out to help with implementaion of the plan are also posted. All can be found on the "Planning and Support" page in the "Past, Present & Future" section. And there is a new way via email to give feedback or input of any kind to the Board of Directors and/or the Administrator. It is described in the "Open Invitation for Feedback..." section of the "How to Contact Us" page on the web site. The two email addresses it provides for this direct communication are: mehercenterboard at gmail.com (for the Board) and dilruba at mehercenter.org (for the Administrator).

Associate Membership and Donation Forms

Enclosed with this letter are our annual Membership and Donation forms. We send these every year at this time to encourage your support, and to ask for updated information so that we can stay in touch with you. Also included for your review is a financial summary of the Center's 2009 operational income and expenses. Each year we have to draw from the Center's endowment to support operations, using a restricted amount so that the endowment can continue to grow. In the "Operational Needs Effort" letter sent to you last month, we anticipated a shortfall of $100,000 to meet 2010 operational expenses. Your response to that letter has been incredible---to date we have received $48,000. How sweetly Baba shows His tender care. The December letter also emphasized the importance of endowment stability and growth, and as the Board moves forward with a concerted effort to build the endowment, you will be kept well-informed and invited to help.

Email Communication from the Center

You can now receive weekly program information, Center newsletters, advance notice of special events, updates on the strategic planning process by email, and occasional news or emergency information. To sign up for email communications from the Center, go to the "Past, Present & Future" section of the Center's web site, then click on "Staying in Touch".

A wisp of the Center...

For this newsletter, a staff member at the Gateway reminded me of the following excerpt from "Recollections" part III, by Kitty Davy, in The Awakener Journal, Vol. 6, No. 4, pgs. 31-33, which describes how Meher Baba spent His days at the Center in 1952. Kitty wrote: "Baba walked over each morning around five a.m. from his house at the far end of the Lake to the Guest House where he breakfasted - just tea and cereal. Before seven a.m. he would be seen literally racing down the path to the bridge, crossing the Lagoon, up the steps to the main dining room; he would look around to see all were present, send for the absentees and then sitting just inside the doorway discuss various details of the moment whilst we finished eating. Then...he went for a brisk walk to the beach along the lower path by the lake, returning by the upper road...In the afternoons, Baba suggested games outdoors...Did we play fair? Why ask? With Baba, it is not the winning but the fun...Another form of recreation was boating on the lake...The evenings at the Center would be spent with Baba at the Guest House, where all the women would be called to be with Mehera, Mani, Goher and Mehru. Jokes were told to make us laugh...Then Mani would read passages selected by Baba from Hafiz and other Persian poets and Baba explained their spiritual meaning. Also, we talked about saints...At 7:30 sharp, Baba would say goodnight to all and leave the house. Outside the gates, Adi Sr. would be waiting to walk back with Baba to the New House (Meher Abode)." When we come to the Center, as retreat guests, day visitors or workers, it is deeply touching to think of Baba enjoying the Center in the same ways that we are able to, and to feel His timeless Presence here. I recently walked the Lake Trail at the Center with an old friend who commented that "it seemed like we were floating a little bit."

We hope you will be visiting the Center soon and often in 2010. And may this year find you at peace in your lives, in harmony with the challenges you face, and in touch with His Love in your hearts.

In Meher Baba's Abiding Embrace,

Barbara Plews, for Meher Center

Click below for copies of the 2009 Financial Report, 2010 Membership Form, or Monthly Automatic Donation Form, in PDF file format.

2009 Financial Report

2010 Membership Form

Monthly Automatic Donation Form