By Sebastian Paemen

Mahrus Harnadi-Fremont, the Zone rep of Zone 3, recently sent out an e-mail, asking for news and stories from the countries in our Zone to be published in the WSA newsletter. Here is an update about Subud Netherlands.

There are currently around 100 active members in the Netherlands, divided over 8 groups: The Hague, Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Hillegom, Zutphen, Rosmalen, Midden-Nederland and NW-Gelderland. The advantage of being a small country with a good infrastructure is that virtually all these groups are within a maximum of 1 ½  hours drive away from each other. 

The present National Helpers are: Reinbrand Visman (KC), Arianna Kraak (KC), Wouter Hanhart and Henriette Sillem. The National Committee consists of Lydia Sillem (chair), Freek ten Herkel (treasurer) and Sabariah van Beek (org. councillor). 

Latihan

On the first Sunday of the month we have a national latihan whereby members from different groups come to do latihan together, followed by testing and lunch. Previously this was always held in the Rotterdam Subud house but recently it has been decided to rotate these national latihans between the groups, so that more members can experience the benefits. 

In April a successful kejiwaan weekend was held in beautiful surroundings near Deventer, in the centre of the country. 

Several helpers were involved in sick latihans this year with Roland Bake and Lawrence Leetz, two dear brothers who have since passed away. These visits were full of love and the latihans were a privilege to take part in. 

Subud properties

Since The Hague group sold their house two years ago, Subud Netherlands owns only one Subud property;  the custom built hall in Capelle a/d IJssel, just outside Rotterdam. However, The Hague, being the largest group, is looking to buy a new hall, but hasn’t succeeded yet to find anything suitable. For the time being they do latihan in a former school.

The Rotterdam Subud hall plays an important role in SNL; meetings, gatherings, Susila Dharma- and cultural activities taking place there. Subud Rotterdam hires out spaces to a diverse clientele: yoga classes, Sufis, church groups, therapists, providers of courses and workshops, etc. The income from this, contributing around € 17.000 per year to SNL, is the largest contribution to the national budget. 

Other activities

Subud Netherlands doesn’t hold national congresses anymore as the interest in this has waned over the years. Instead two Annual General Meetings are held, one in spring and one in autumn. Usually around 25 members attend each meeting. At the occasion of the Centennial of Bapak’s receiving of the latihan in January this year, a large Indonesian meal was enjoyed in Rotterdam. In The Hague, during Bapak’s birthday celebration, last June, another delicious Indonesian meal was shared. Indonesian and Surinamese food are a feature of Subud Netherlands, thanks to our Dutch-Indonesian and Surinamese brothers and sisters.

The new SNL website has just been launched. The new site is more accessible, modern and user friendly: subud.nl. We also have a new monthly newsletter with personal, national and international news, and excerpts from talks translated into Dutch. The design is roughly based on the Subud Britain Journal and Subud Voice. The newsletter has improved communications and helps to bring members together. 

SNL are currently considering hosting next year’s Zone meeting, the main concern being that hiring large venues is very expensive in the Netherlands. Meanwhile the idea of organising latihans and gatherings together with members in Belgium and Luxemburg is being discussed.

This summarizes what is going on in our part of the Subud world. We are grateful to have the latihan and to be able to contribute to Subud. Peace & Blessings to you all, from your brothers and sisters in the Netherlands.