Later this year (Sept 16-18) IOBT will be hosting the 75 th Northwest Buddhist Convention and also celebrating our 75 th Anniversary of the temple! Because the pandemic has made everything so uncertain, we are holding out hope that things will get back to normal. We HOPE to have the convention in person with guests here from around the Northwest. We HOPE to gather together to have meaningful services, discussions, and workshops. Most importantly, we HOPE to have fun together as fellow Jodo Shinshu Buddhists. You might be wondering what the convention theme is all about. We thought, since we are celebrating our temple’s 75 th anniversary, that the theme should focus on the history of our Northwest temples AND then look ahead to our influence on the future of Buddhism in our region and our country. First I want to share some reflections on our temple’s past. I’ve been looking at many old photos with my mom. These pictures bring back memories of our temple’s past. There are pho