Springs Mountain Sangha, December 2023
Overview of December Offerings
Sunday, Dec. 3, noon All Sangha Meeting – Zoom; help dream the sangha forward
Monday, Dec. 4, 6 PM, on Zoom and in person at Shove Chapel
Meditation, Sutra Service, conversation
Tuesday, Dec. 5 6:15 PM on Zoom Steering Committee Meeting
Monday, Dec. 11, 6 PM, on Zoom and in person at Shove Chapel:
Meditation and Dharma Talk with Sarah Bender, Roshi
Monday, Dec. 18, 6 PM, on Zoom and in person at Shove Chapel
Meditation, Community Night Conversation
Saturday, Dec. 23, 7:30 AM, on Zoom
Winter Solstice Ceremony – all are invited
Monday, Dec. 25, No Monday evening meditation
Looking Ahead to 2024:
Residential Meditation Retreat Dates to Save:
April 15-21
A Springs Mountain Sangha Retreat
at Pueblo Mountain Park
with Sarah Bender, Roshi
September 30 – October 5
An Open Source Retreat
at Bodhi Manda Zen Center
in Jemez Springs, NM
with Megan Rundel, Sarah Bender, and Tenney Nathanson
Open Source Ecodharma
The next meeting of Open Source Ecodharma is Tuesday, December 12 at 7:30 p.m. Mountain, right after Tuesday book study. The Zoom link is: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87435206671?pwd=MFkwVDZnMmliTS9CS1dXRmcycEZmdz09 (or use Meeting ID: 874 3520 6671 and Passcode: 520753).
We are sitting with the vows as koans/climate koans, and we’ll talk about our experiences with these on December 12.
Contact Jen Sellers (jen@inspiredmastery.com) with any questions, comments, thoughts, etc.
Ongoing Meditation Schedule, All available via Zoom; Monday Eves available in person as well
Mondays: Meditation and evening starting at 6 PM; We meet both in person at Shove Chapel on Colorado College Campus and on Zoom
Weekday Morning Meditations: 6:30-7:30 AM; A simple, early morning sit is offered on weekday mornings. Someone will ring bells, and the Zoom Zendo will be open and available for those who would like to join. Please leave your camera off while the meditation is in progress. This way, people can come and go easily as needed. Sometimes the whole hour is in silence; sometimes, a koan or poem appears.
Saturdays: Morning Meditation 6:30-8:00 AM, discussion 8-8:30 AM On Saturday mornings discussions are kicked off by a sangha member with a brief talk pertaining to their own experience of practice we call Zen Threads. On alternate weeks, a “mini-threads” group discussion gives each participant a chance to share what is up for them right now. Both formats lead to rich and lively conversation. Join us! It’s a beautiful way to jump-start the weekend. You can join the meditation at 6:30, 7:00, 7:30 or 8:00.
Coming in December
December 3, Sunday, noon: All-Sangha Meeting
We gather in person and on Zoom to celebrate the year’s events, approve a steering committee and budget, and plan for the coming year
Please join us to hear about what we have created together over the past year, look forward to co-create our vision of the next year, and contribute your questions and thoughts so we can continue to invest in our Sangha in 2024!
Saturday, December 23: Winter Solstice Ceremony
We gather together to share a ceremony that honors the embracing dark as well as the return of the light at the solstice … We begin in the dark, chant the sun up, invite autumn spirits to return to their own lands, renew ourselves and our community with visualizations of the new light.
Coming in January
Habitat for Humanity Interfaith Build, #3 Support
We are signed up! We are going to participate in
a work day: Sunday, January 21
Come, and bring a friend!
We’ll be working together with members of Temple Beit Torah.
You can participate for morning, afternoon or both
(sharing lunch is part of the fun)
For more info or to sign up, please contact Brandy Lancaster, bdl0824@gmail.com
Early sign ups really help! So if you are pretty sure you want to join this community action, please let us know.
Many Arms of Guanyin
Volunteer with SMS
Are you interested in volunteering to help with a specific project within the sangha? Do you have a particular skill or enthusiasm for something that might be helpful? Would you like to help out, but not sure how? SMS truly values and depends on the many efforts given freely by the sangha to the sangha. This is dana and is so much appreciated. If you have questions or want to help, please contact Kelly McFarland S.Kelly.HLS@gmail.com
Support for Springs Mountain Sangha
You can donate to Springs Mountain Sangha in person at Shove Chapel using the dana bowl at the entrance to the dharma hall. You can also donate through our PayPal account. You can get to the SMS PayPal link on the SMS web site at:
https://www.smszen.org/supportsms/
Support for Cloud Dragon
The easiest way is to make a donation at the website, here:
https://joansutherlanddharmaworks.org/cgi-bin/dharma/page.cgi?g=Support%2FDonate%2Findex.html;d=1
or at
https://www.patreon.com/posts/do-you-trust-yr-31567633
This is another good way to support Joan’s work.