Dear Friends,
Here comes July! Creek Bend is cooler than many parts of the Springs, but even here, peas and strawberries are ripe for the picking, and the sunflowers ringing the terrace are hip high. The beautiful perennials Debbie Stavish and her team (including some of you!) planted in the front garden last year are reminders of the strength and generosity of community, and greet everyone who comes by.
For Springs Mountain Sangha members, travels, joys of seeing those we’ve been longing to see, mountains and rivers, and also pervasive uncertainties in our lives, and grief for the suffering that envelops our world as the virus continues to spread, all are here; and we brace for heat, fires and floods. Fortunately, we are all those hands and eyes; there is always a way to help.
Hakuins words ring clear: “Meditation can’t be praised enough. The good effects of generosity and discipline, prayer, self-reflection, and practice, have their source in meditation.” We are grateful to be able to join together in meditation both physically, now, and via internet, which continues to sustain the wider connections we have made during the pandemic.
So for July, you’ll notice more in person gatherings and continued Zoom offerings, and we hope you’ll be refreshed and sustained, strengthened, and inspired to contribute! Send poems, art works, music and your musings, and bring them to gatherings you attend. Let summer flower and bear fruit in all the ways.
Yours in the Dharma,
Sarah
Starting in July, we will begin our hybrid zoom and in person gatherings. Some gatherings will be only via zoom while others will be both in person with a zoom option. These hybrid gatherings are listed in this newsletter as in person, but we will try to have a zoom option available at most of them except where specifically noted. Monday and Thursday evenings will primarily be in person and Sunday evenings, Wednesday mornings and Saturday mornings will be online.
We will continue to use the 2021 Zoom link from month to month. If there is a need to change it, we will send out an email.
All gatherings are via zoom unless otherwise noted
July
Thursday, July 1, 7 PM: Evening Meditation at Creek Bend
Monday, July 5, 6:10 PM: Meditation and Sutra Service
Tuesday, July 6, 6:15 PM: Steering Committee Meeting, all welcome
Thursday, July 8, 6:30 PM: Evening Meditation at Dharma Rain Temple
Sunday, July 11: All-Sangha Celebration at Creek Bend Zendo
Monday, July 12, 6:10 PM: Community Night: Meditation and Conversation
Thursday, July 15, 7 PM: Evening Meditation at Creek Bend
Monday, July 19, 6:10 PM: Meditation and Dharma Talk, Sarah Bender, Roshi
Thursday, July 22, 7 PM: Evening Meditation at Creek Bend
Friday, July 23, 7 PM: Full Moon Walk, Red Rock Canyon Open Space
Monday, July 26, 6:10 PM: Meditation and Koan Exploration, Sarah Bender, Roshi
Thursday, July 29, 7 PM: Evening Meditation at Creek Bend
Ongoing Meditation Schedule
Sundays: Candlelight Meditation 8 to 8:30 PM – Online
Mondays: Meditation and evening starting at 6:10 PM – In Person
Wednesdays: Morning meditation 6:30-7:30 AM – Online
Thursdays: Meditation 7-8 PM – In Person
On Thursday July 8th, we will return to Dharma Rain Temple starting at 6:30 PM RSVP to Sarah Bender at sembender@gmail.com required – no zoom option for this meditation is available; All other Thursdays in July will be at Creek Bend Zendo starting at 7 PM with a zoom option.
Saturdays: Morning Meditation 6:30-8:00 AM, discussion 8-8:30 AM Online
A simple, early morning sit is offered on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, 6:30-7:30 AM. There will be no designated leader, but the Zoom Zendo will be open and available for those who would like to join. As before, Please leave your camera off while the meditation is in progress.
Additional Early Morning Meditations – Online
The Springs Mountain Sangha Steering Committee has generated our 2021 calendar which can be found here. There are a lot of exciting things planned for this year! Mark your calendars for the retreats. We are hoping to be able to gather in person for our Fall Open Source Retreat, October 18-24 and are planning more in person physically distanced things as the warmer weather arrives.
Upcoming Events
2021 Calendar
The Springs Mountain Sangha Steering Committee has generated our 2021 calendar which can be found here. There are a lot of exciting things planned for this year! Mark your calendars for the retreats. We are hoping to be able to gather in person for our Fall Open Source Retreat, October 18-24 and are planning more in person physically distanced things as the warmer weather arrives.
Steering Committee Meeting
Tuesday, July 6th, 6:15 PM – In Person
Please RSVP to Kelly McFarland at s.kelly.hls@gmail.com if you plan to attend. If you can’t make it in person but still want to join in, please let Kelly know and we can bring up the zoom room for the meeting.
All are welcome to join us at our monthly steering committee meeting if you would like to share thoughts with the steering committee or take a more active role in the business side of the sangha. No commitment is required, feel free to drop in. We typically meet the first Tuesday of the month, but at times this changes due to steering committee members’ schedules. Due to this, it may be a good idea in future months to email Kelly McFarland, s.kelly.HLS@gmail.com, if you plan to attend and she will let you know if there have been changes to the dates of the meeting.
All-Sangha Celebration
Sunday, July 11 at Creek Bend Zendo
Stay tuned for additional details
Please join us at Creek Bend Zendo for our all-sangha celebration. We will meditate, share a picnic lunch have a Zen book swap including a collection of Steve Milligan’s books donated by his wife Christina, and a Sutra sing. Please bring your own sack lunch as well as any books to donate to the book swap. Please contact Kelly McFarland at s.kelly.HLS@gmail.com if you need the address and to RSVP.
Full Moon Walk
Friday, July 23, 7 PM
We will gather together for an evening walk lead by Brandy Lancaster at Red Rock Canyon Open Space. Please email Brandy at bdl0824@gmail.com for additional details for meeting location.
Fall Retreat – Save the Dates
The Open Source will be offering a retreat from October 18-24th. We are currently planning for this to be an IN PERSON retreat at Pueblo Mountain Park in Beulah, CO. If you would like to help plan this retreat, please contact Kelly McFarland at s.kelly.HLS@gmail.com.
Open Source Email List
If you’d like to join the info/discussion group for Open Source (which is a place for you to offer your insights, spark discussions, etc. as well as receiving notices) just email the address below with your name and email address.
opensourcezen+subscribe@groups.io
Newcomer’s Orientation
Newcomer’s orientation is offered by request. This is a brief introduction to our meditation sessions and forms, which we pre-covid had offered on Community Night on the second Monday of the month. Please contact Kelly McFarland at s.kelly.HLS@gmail.com if you are interested in this orientation.
Work in the Room
Work in the Room by telephone or Zoom can be arranged with Andrew Palmer, Sensei at alpalmer128@gmail.com or with Sarah Bender, Roshi at sembender@gmail.com. Work in the Room is a close encounter of the sacred/ordinary kind—an encounter among you, a teacher, and the great matter that is most deeply real for you right now—and what clearly matters because it shows up in a conversation about the Way, whether, on the face of it, it seems sacred or ordinary. No special undertaking is required.
Newsletter Additions?
Do you have artwork, a poem or a volunteer story to share in our newsletter? If so, please send them to Kelly McFarland at s.Kelly.HLS@gmail.com.
Many Arms of Guanyin
One Nation Walking Together
From Executive Director, Kathy Turzi
Dear Friends,
It is hard to believe summer is here! I am so thrilled with the wonderful outpouring of help with the food drive, and I rest easier knowing the stomachs of the families and children we serve will not feel the pains of hunger thanks to you! We have shipped items via box trucks and mail for over a year and we are now happy to report that we are working on our fourth semi-truck load in six months as well as just delivering a box truck load full of much needed items. I am so excited about being able to send the semi-truck loads again as this allows for a much larger impact!
As we plug our way through the summer months, we will be collecting and loading school supplies to be delivered. Again, the everyday necessity of school supplies is needed as well as the other vital items for a home that we ship with your help. Now, more than ever, other items are needed to provide a safe and healthy home for the children, and I believe these items are just as vital as school supplies for learning. Beds for a good night sleep, table and chairs for a meal for a healthy body and mind, clothing, shoes and coats to wear to school, hygiene items to allow for a clean body, and now more important than ever, the cleaning supplies and sanitizers to continue to reduce the risk of the virus as children await the availability of the immunization and for families with members who have health issues and cannot, for whatever reason, receive the vaccine.
Please consider helping support our work and allow us to continue to ship these much-needed items. Your financial donations allow families and children to have much healthier and brighter futures and for us, helps us reach our goal of making that positive difference.
Essential donations of school supplies and goods are always needed. Monetary donations, especially recurring monthly donations, help us get our trucks on the road, to bring these vital items to the People we serve. No amount is too small to make your monthly difference. If you would like to host a school supply drive at your office, church, civic organization, or in front of your home for a no-contact drop off for friends and family, we are happy to provide you with a box, a list of needs, and a poster. To obtain a complete list of needs or for more information, please give us a call at 719-329-0251 or send an email to: laura@onenationwt.org Donation drop off may be done at our office Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. To make your one-time or monthly donation, please mail to, ONWT/3150 N. Nevada Ave./Colorado Springs, CO 80907 or go online HERE
You may bookmark our donate page at www.onenationwt.org/donate Credit card donations may also be made by phone, 719-329-0251 during our business hours.
Thank you for your caring heart!
Kathy Turzi, Executive Director
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
About Dana
During these times when we cannot meet in person, you can donate to Springs Mountain Sangha through our PayPal account. You can get to the SMS PayPal link on the SMS web site at: https://www.smszen.org/supportsms/
We depend on the generosity of our members to support the work of our sangha.
If you want to make a donation to Sarah Bender specifically, for example, dana for classes, group meetings or work on the phone (suggested donations for these are $10 per class, or $20 for a 20 min. individual meeting) you can do this by sending a check directly to her.
Sarah Bender
7528 Jenkin Place
Colorado Springs, CO 80919
Support for Cloud Dragon
An easy way to support Cloud Dragon, the Joan Sutherland Dharma WorksAmazon shoppers, sign in at smile.amazon.com and choose Cloud Dragon Dharma Works as the charity you would like 0.5% of your purchases to go to. It costs you nothing extra. We’re grateful for your generosity.
See also Joan Sutherland’s Patreon site,
https://www.patreon.com/posts/do-you-trust-yr-31567633
This is another good way to support Joan’s work and receive fresh teachings from her.