2026 Zone 3 gathering, Salobreña, Spain

Dear brothers and sisters,

During the second week of May, zone 3 had its annual gathering in Salobreña, Spain, in a beautiful venue just by the sea. This hotel has often been chosen for Subud events, including by International Helpers for their annual meeting just a couple of weeks before us!

We were around 70 participants this year, coming from every countries of the zone but one, and with a notable number of observers. People also came with their families, allowing us the delight to have young children among us.

As always, meeting in person gave us the precious opportunity to truly feel each other — to share good food, laughter, and of course to do the latihan together, which is after all the essence of Subud. Each country also presented their situation and the areas where collaboration could grow.

Subud Britain is preparing for a packed National Congress in August; Portugal is buzzing with energy around the 2028 World Congress in Fatima; Spain has a new committee since late 2025; Ireland is quietly doing extraordinary things with a small but dedicated membership, Italy is attracting new members despite its small and scattered membership, while France and Netherlands are preparing a joint meeting with Subud Belgium to show support and integration.

Beyond the national associations, we also had the pleasure to hear from WSA, the WCOT and MSF, as well as a lively presence of the wings through SES zone 3 and SICA zone 3, which highlighted the “oneness” of Subud in the world.

This year, the theme we explored was putting the latihan into practice. In particular, we asked ourselves, how can we, through our actions, follow the guidance of the latihan coming from Almighty God? In the talk we listened to collectively (72 EDI 02), Bapak said that:

“ […] God is close to human beings, God’s power envelops them, not just from time to time, meaning that there is a special time for that, but all the time. In short, every time you move, every time you act, within that movement or action is your worship of God. The fact that it is like that shows that God’s love for human beings is endless. It is always there.”

Naturally, there is no one size fit all to what it means to put the latihan into practice, but being together in Salobreña reminded us of how nice it is not just to be together, but also to work together and bring the proof, or the result of our latihan into the world.

This gathering reminded me of how blessed I am to be the zone 3 representative, for it gives me the unique opportunity to meet and work with so many beautiful people. I would like to thank Ruth, Subud Spain chair, for co-organising this gathering, Edmond, the zone 3 treasurer for his unrevelling support and hard work, all the delegates for their commitment, and all the observers who travelled to join us in togetherness.

The final praise goes to Bapak, for everything he did so we can receive the latihan, and to God Almighty for His Grace and His Light.

Yours truly,

Mahrus,
Zone 3 Representative