Dear Friends and Devotees,

                As the Vedanta Center completes the first year of the new millennium, we have many things to be grateful for. Within a relatively short period of time we have managed to complete the first phase of our building plan and have been enjoying the new shrine room and meeting hall. As a result of the added space, we have also been able to accommodate many out-of-town visitors in our guesthouse. All this is quite remarkable when we think back to the days of meeting under a tent, renting the community center hall for Sunday programs, and squeezing into our tiny shrine room for arati and meditation. Our congregation has also grown, and it is quite common for our new meeting hall to be filled to capacity on Sundays, especially when visiting swamis come to speak. Of course, our new building is still far too small to accommodate the crowds that come on Puja days, and our lack of space is also felt in the relatively small area we have for serving food and selling books. For all of these reasons, it seems clear that the time to start thinking about the next phase of construction is now.

                Going hand-in-hand with the plans for expansion of the Center is the prospect of purchasing the property adjacent to us. The addition of the 5.7 acre lot would not only allow us to offer housing to devotees who would like to live near the Center, it would also be a great boon to the Center itself by providing additional parking and a new entrance way on Homecrest Rd. as well as protection against any future developments on the property.  Our original plan was for the sale of the units on the property to pay for the cost of the land, but even after lengthy negotiations with the owner over price, it seems likely that the Center itself may have to subsidize a portion of the payment. Other issues, such as zoning, will also have to be worked out before we can proceed with a purchase of the land.

                As a result of the generous monthly pledges that many of you give to the Center, as well as special gifts from devotees both here and throughout the country, we have managed to accumulate a substantial portion of the amount of funds needed for the future plans. If we can raise an additional $250,000, I feel confident we can go ahead with our expansion plans and also continue to explore the “Vedanta Village” project on our neighboring property.

                I hope as many of you as possible will be able to attend the general meeting on December 16 to hear more about these two important projects. For those of you who would like to inaugurate the new fundraising drive with contributions for the year 2001, we have provided a space below to make your pledge and donation.

                The continuing support of all of you has been a source of great joy to Swami Brahmarupanandaji and myself. We join together with Swami Swahanandaji in offering our prayers to Sri Ramakrishna and Sri Sarada Devi for a year filled with peace and great blessings for all of you.

 

                Sincerely,

 

 

 

                Atmajnanananda

 

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Amount:   $1000___            $500___                 $250___                 Other___

 

 

 

Please make checks payable to the Vedanta Center and note that the donation is for the building fund. The Vedanta Center is a not-for-profit religious corporation under Section 501-C3 of the IRS Code. Our Tax ID Number is 52-2032566.