April 17, 2020 – Richmond CA Rotary

NEXT MEETING: April 17, 2020

Hiroshima: Bridge to Forgiveness

Eight year-old Takashi Tanemori was playing hide and seek when the atomic bomb devastated his home and family in Hiroshima. Today he believes that forgiveness is the ultimate solution to dismantle a nuclear bomb. For forty years Tanemori struggled with revenge. In 1985 he experienced an epiphany, in a profound transformation of the heart, realizing that forgiveness leads to peace.

He remembered his samurai father’s dying words: “the greatest way to avenge your enemy is by learning to forgive”. Tanemori’s own path to forgiveness is a testament to the power and redemptive force of forgiveness. He has reconciled with history and his own painful past.

Tanemori believes forgiveness is the way to overcome the darkness of the human heart, to turn enemy to friend, to make the world a safer, peaceful place.

For security reasons, our video conference meetings are by invitation only. The Zoom invitation will be sent to our members with the subject Richmond Rotary [DATE] Invitation. If you didn’t get it last week, please check your spam. Rotary guests are welcome. To receive the Zoom link, request it by sending an email to info@richmondcarotary.org prior to our meeting on Friday.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

The City of Richmond will host an Online Town Hall this Friday, April 17, on Covid-19. The mayor, city manager, and public safety officials will provide updates on the pandemic’s impact on services and response, and ideas on how the community can help during this crisis.
You must register to attend. Please submit full name, email address, and questions to Ruben Hernandez Story at Ruben_Hernandez@ci.richmond.ca.us. The link will be provided upon RSVP. Submit questions by Thursday, April 16, 12 PM.
Do you know of an event you want your Richmond neighbors to know about? We will post it on our community calendar. During this “shelter in place” time maybe you know of some great online events you’d like to share with the general public—lectures, meetups, or even volunteer opportunities. You can submit your events quickly via this online form: https://bit.ly/rotary-rich-cal and Iris will get them posted for you!
This week’s Board meeting is Thursday, April 16 at noon. Contact President Jan for more info.

RECOGNITIONS AND HAPPY/SAD DOLLARS

LAST WEEK’S PROGRAM

The Need for US-Russia Rapprochement Today

Our guest speaker Sharon Tennison, discussed the “Need for US-Russia Rapprochement Today.” Although the nuclear threat each nation poses has dropped out of the national consciousness, the grave danger of nuclear war remains with us. Mr. Tennison offered her book, “The Power of Impossible Ideas: Ordinary Citizens’ Extraordinary Efforts to Avert International Crises,” free to Richmond Rotarians. If you are interested, please direct your request this week to jan@spokewise.com.