title
PROPOSED RESOLUTION
CONGRATULATING REV. PATTI NAKAI ON HER RETIREMENT
WHEREAS, Rev. Patti Nakai will retire from The Buddhist Temple of Chicago on October 1, 2023 after 28 years of dedicated service as Associate Minister and Resident Minister; and
WHEREAS, Rev. Patti Nakai is a third-generation Japanese American woman born in Chicago; and
WHEREAS, Rev. Patti Nakai earned her undergraduate degrees in International Economics and Japanese History and Culture at the University of Minnesota; and
WHEREAS, after working in various areas such as banking, Rev. Patti Nakai was encouraged to pursue Buddhist studies and moved to Japan to enroll at Ōtani University in Kyoto, Japan, where she earned an MA in Shin Buddhist Studies; and
WHEREAS, Rev. Patti Nakai has full ordination as a minister and dharma teacher (kyoshi) at Higashi Honganji, the head temple of the Otani-ha sub-denomination of Shin Buddhism in Kyoto; and
WHEREAS, Rev. Patti Nakai served as part-time minister at the Higashi Honganji temple in Los Angeles for eight years, after which she returned to Chicago in 1995; and
WHEREAS, Rev. Patti Nakai served as Associate Minister at The Buddhist Temple of Chicago for many years before replacing the retiring Rev. Ashikaga as Resident Minister in 2013; and
WHEREAS, Rev. Patti Nakai was featured in the Spring 2013 issue of Tricycle magazine and has also contributed to the publication; and
WHEREAS, Rev. Patti Nakai is a frequent speaker and panelist at various conventions in the United States and Canada; and
WHEREAS, In 2015, Rev. Nakai was one of a handful of Buddhist delegates to meet with the Pope at the Vatican for a Buddhist-Catholic dialogue; and
WHEREAS, Rev. Nakai lives in Skokie, Illinois; and
WHEREAS, Rev. Nakai is an active leader in Chicago and has been recognized as a women of faith leader by Cook County; and
WHEREAS, Rev. Nakai is a cancer survivor; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Board of Commissioners of Cook County, on behalf of the 5.2 million residents of Cook County, does hereby offer Rev. Patti Nakai congratulations on her retirement; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a suitable copy of this Resolution be spread upon the official proceedings of this Honorable Body and that an official copy of same be tendered to Rev. Patti Nakai.
end