for the Practice of Tibetan Buddhism in the Gelugpa Tradition
Our little red cart in the gompa, used to distribute texts for our classes and pujas, has been beautifully painted with the Eight Auspicious Symbols by member and artist Lee Clark, who spent many hours creating this lovely offering.
Many thanks, Lee!
Thanks go out to Zena Allen for re-designing our outdoor sign by the front door. Communicating clearly in a beautiful way makes our Center more welcoming and fresh to everyone who either stops by for a visit or comes regularly. Thank you Zena for making our entry more lovely!
Thanks go out this week to every single one of you who supported the 2018 Annual Appeal. Whether you are circumambulating the stupa, giving in-kind gifts, volunteering at the Center, or financially supporting us in any way that fit your budget know that we APPRECIATE YOU! You have made this the best Annual Appeal ever. From the bottom of our hearts and with hands folded we THANK YOU.
Thanks go out this week to Aaron Harris for his diligent work on Dharma sorting. He spent 3 days lovingly separating Holy Images to be stored from the Dharma no longer needed to be burned. Thanks also to Tim Mulhern for taking his time to burn the Dharma with a good mind and heartfelt practice. Thanks guys, our office has more space now!
Thanks go out this week to Julia McCollum, who is our new inside gardener. She has been trained well by Carol Vogel who has taken care of our plants and flowers so lovingly. Julia comes once per week to offer her kind service and joyful effort while making sure we are ready for Sundays! (Note: Everyone is welcome to bring flowers for the altar at any time we are open. It's a great way to offer to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas!)
Was that the pitter patter of Rudolph running late on the roof this week? No siree, it was Karl Brown doing his annual labor of love ridding our gutters of leaves. Thank you for risking life and limb to keep our roof and gutters in ship shape order. We appreciate you Karl!
Thanks go out to our thank you note writing team for the Annual Appeal. Diane Meyer, Zena Allen and Julie Quetel took the time to send you a handwritten note in thanks for your donation of heart and hand. That's a lot of writing - we appreciate the personal touch you guys!
Thanks go out this week to Patrick McGinity, Joey Gooch and Tim Mulhern for burning our fires brightly during Dorje Khadro on New's Year's Eve. It took brave souls baring freezing temperatures to bring us three brilliantly burning fires to cast our seeds in and purify our negative karma. We appreciate your efforts!
Thanks go out to our Holiday party crew for helping to make the season so bright! Julia McCollum, Jennifer Minella, Courtney McDonald and Joey Gooch came early to help set up. Linda Saah, Lauri Robbins, Jack Shannon and Tim Mulhern helped break it all back down to make it ready for Sunday morning. Thanks go to Christy for getting wonderful gifts for our own Geshe-Claus to give out. Big thanks to Heather Sanderson for coordinating a fun event for all!
Thanks go out this week to our volunteer ornament artists! During our holiday party we handed out the 2017 Holiday Ornament, the Endless Knot. Thank you to Erin Sloan for organizing the plan and Joey Gooch, Sue Stern, Courtney MacDonald and Zena Allen for making our ornaments so pretty this year. If you couldn't make it to the party, they are on a table in the lobby, please help yourself. Thanks guys for you happy effort!
Thanks go out this week to our cleaning crew last Friday morning: Zena Allen, Laurie Robbins, Gary Mickey, Susan McClure. They worked hard to make everything look clean, fresh and tidy for Geshe-la's return. Joey Gooch and Dwight Clark gave our stupa an amazing clean as well! Thanks guys, we appreciate you!
Thanks go out this week to our own "Dan the bookstore man" for his years of service ordering books, shelving all the new orders and working in the bookstore one Sunday a month. Dan, you have supported our Dharma needs for many many years, and we greatly appreciate you! Thanks for your "happy to help" attitude and stellar advice for so long.
Thanks go out this week to our fabulous Annual Appeal stuffers! We finished just in time for Thanksgiving 'stuffing.' Kim Lillig, Julie Quetel, Matilda Parker, Rene LeReau, Brian Dyer, Dianne Meyer and the two visitors that were up for volunteer work and a good chat. We appreciate you for all your joyful effort to get the appeal out before Thanksgiving. Thanks go to you!
Sometimes big help happens in a quiet way, behind the scenes. Patti Pandya literally worked behind the scenes — or rather, “behind the curtain” off the kitchen — when she helped tackle re-organizing the storage where we keep supplies for our Spiritual Programs. With Patti’s cheerful help, the supplies have been consolidated, the space better organized, and there’s room to breathe! Many thanks, Patti!
Thanks go out this week to Gary Mickey who comes every Friday to tidy up our Center in preparation for the teachings on Sunday. He lovingly makes sure everything is in the right place, takes out the garbage, vacuums and makes the door sparkle for our teachers entry! Thanks Gary, for making our Center so inviting. We appreciate you!
We use about 200 long mats on the floor at the Light of the Path retreat, and more than 200 small cloths to cover student tables. A brave team of laundresses hauled all that fabric to the nearby laundromat recently for a marathon of washing, drying, trimming and folding - all is ready for the next retreat! Many thanks to Venerable Khando, Joanna Smith, Cherie Sutorus, Jill Marie and Donna Seese for their work!
Thank you to Eric Perry for being the sole Serenity Gardener helping Joey Gooch dig holes for our children to plant bulbs last Sunday. Eric and Joey worked hard to prepare the ground for over 400 bulbs! We'll all look forward to a burgeoning garden this Spring. The children will get a real kick out of knowing that had a part in making our grounds so lovely. Thank you Eric and all the children for your kind efforts!
Thank you to all the folks who brought flower bulbs for the children to plant in the garden next week! We will all enjoy the fruits of your generosity as the garden fills with blossoms year after year. We appreciate your kindness and generosity for this fun project!
It takes a team of at least 7 teachers every Sunday morning to make the children's program work. This week we'd like to thank: Kelly Hutzel, Courtney MacDonald, Kolleen Mitchell, Jorie Walker, Vivian Magarino-Gomez, Elise Strevel and Georgia Brown for being the first to sign up with our new system of volunteers and enrollment for students. When we share the joy of teaching, many get to be involved on a deeper level with our children, the future teachers of the Center! Thanks to our new team.
On Sundays when Geshe Gelek or Geshe Sangpo can’t teach, our wonderful Discovering Buddhism teachers and other senior students step in to lead the discussion, bringing fresh new voices to our discovery of Dharma. They very kindly offer this on top of their other service to Kadampa Center. Big thanks to Venerable Lhamo, Venerable Khando, Venerable Choekyi, Steep Smith, Don Brown, Robbie Watkins, Erin Sloan and Karen Edwards!
