Announcing a new category of the Audio Dharma posts – Guided Meditations. Our first sharing comes from Kamala Masters offering a meditation on “Loving Kindness”. Over time we expect the collection to grow; to see a listing of all guided mediations, click here. Enjoy.
NEWS
Occasionally, volunteers are needed for two related activities:
- Audio Collector: Attend a Thursday Night Dharma talk. Get the .MP3 file recording and upload to a shared folder in the cloud. (No file editing is needed.)
- Audio Editor: Edit the .MP3 dharma talk file and upload to SIM’s website.
These activities allow for a flexible schedule as they won’t require you to attend every Thursday night dharma talk but for the times that you do attend, it will give the usual volunteer an appreciated respite for the evening. For questions and more information, please contact Sabitre Rodriguez or click here to submit your contact information for follow-up.
Set-Up Volunteers Needed
Some of our long-time set-up volunteers would like to move on to other opportunities, so SIM is seeking sangha members who would be interested in embracing this rewarding way to serve the sangha. We would also like to expand our existing teams from two to three to lighten the workload and shorten the time it takes to do the work.
If you become part of a set-up team, you commit to coming one Thursday per month an hour before the meeting, 6 p.m. the first three weeks of the month, or 5 p.m in the fourth week (that week the beginning meditation instruction starts at 6 pm). Closing down after the meeting takes between 30-45 minutes, depending on how much extra help other members can provide.
If you’d prefer to be part of a general pool that assists on an as-needed, as-available basis, that would also be very welcome.
This work of transforming the Dharma Center space into a welcoming place for sangha members to gather is rewarding work. It’s an opportunity to get to know our new place intimately and to get to known fellow sangha members you might otherwise never interact with. If you are interested in becoming either part of a volunteer-team or part of a volunteer-pool, please email Margaret Buss.
Volunteers Needed for One-Day Retreat January 28th
If you plan to attend the one-day retreat on January 28th with Amma Thanasanti, would you consider helping with either set-up or take-down of the Dharma Hall? Tasks include bringing flowers, setting up the tea service and/or cleaning up kitchen and break room afterwards, setting out name tags, setting up the sound equipment, and arranging chairs and cushions — you won’t have to do them all; you would be part of a team and would be guided in the tasks.
The daylong start at 10 a.m. The set-up team will meet at 8:45 a.m. to ensure the Dharma Hall is ready by then.
If you are interested in this special act of dana to the community, or if you are able to bring flowers, email Margaret Buss.
Flower Yogis Wanted
If you have a green thumb and a colorful garden (or other source) and would be willing to bring flowers to sangha meetings or one-day retreats, on either a one-time or regular basis, please email the Set-Up Coordinator Margaret Buss.
SIM’s NEW ON-LINE DONATION SYSTEM WILL BE OPERATIONAL NEXT WEEK – FOR NOW, WE NEED TO RELY ON SNAIL MAIL!
We are disappointed to report that SIM’s new on-line donation system will not be operational until the middle of next week. Until then, we need to rely on USPS “snail mail.” Once the system is operational, you will receive notification via this email.
If you are in a position to make a year-end contribution, please make out a check to “SIM” and date it before the end of the year. By mail, send to:
- Sacramento Insight Meditation Sacramento Dharma Center 3111 Wissemann Drive Sacramento, California, 96826
Or, you may bring the check (dated no later than December 31) to the first Thursday evening sitting of 2017, on January 5, 2017.
The SIM Board of Directors encourages you to sign up for our new Monthly Contribution Program when the new on-line donation system goes live during the middle of next week. The Monthly Contribution Program is designed to cover our fixed, recurring operational expenses. You’ll be able to go to SIM’s home page at sactoinsight.org, where you will see the “Donate” button in the lower right hand corner. A click on that button will take you to our new donation page.
The Monthly Contribution Program will not cover dana for our presenters. The Dana program for Thursday evenings and One Day presenters—a dana bowl for contributions by cash or check— will remain the same.
We would like to provide new practice programs and opportunities; to identify and cultivate new presenters; and to subsidize our scholarship fund and work exchange opportunities. Without the generosity of all our members, however, we will be unable to meet our current anticipated deficit for 2017 of $17,000, or to develop new programming.
Thank you for your generosity. We hope you and your family have a safe and happy holidays.
SIM Board of Directors
- Dennis Warren
- James Barnes
- Barbara Colton
- Renee Kunz
- Cathy Vigran
If you’d like to stay abreast of Sacramento Insight Meditation’s late breaking news and audio dharma posts, you can subscribe to this blog. We post approximately 2 to 8 times per month depending on what’s happening. This subscription will not change or affect any subscription you may already have to our weekly eNews.
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Everyone planning to attend SIM (at the SDC) this evening, December 8, for meditation and Rich Howard’s dharma talk: there is no heat in the sanctuary. There are a few space heaters that will warm limited spaces. Please dress warmly, bring extra shawls or blankets, and plan to keep on coats, jackets, etc.
The Davis Insight Group has an upcoming Winter Daylong Retreat with John Travis, a facility member of Sacramento Insight Meditation. The retreat is in Davis, CA on Saturday Dec 10, 2016. For event details, click here.
Our friends at the Aloka Vihara Monastery, located in Placerville, CA, are inviting folks to join in their last Community Work Day of the year on Saturday, December 10th. Work from 8:30 AM to 3:30 PM with a break for lunch at 11:00 AM. For more information visit their event page at http://saranaloka.org/7877-2/.
A Special Message from the SIM Board of Directors
Contributions to the Sacramento Dharma Center do not reduce SIM’s operating expenses. Those SIM expenses, including rent and insurance, have increased by more than $10,000 for the coming year as a result of our move to the SDC. Contributions to the SDC are not shared with SIM.
The SIM Board of Directors encourages you to support SIM through a year-end contribution. In addition, we will be urging members to enroll in a new SIM monthly contribution program beginning January 2017. This monthly contribution program will be designed to create a stable financial foundation to cover SIM’s fixed, on-going expenses and to support plans for new SIM projects and programs.
Details on options for making year-end contributions, or for participating in the monthly contribution program, through a new Bank of America on-line service on SIM’s website, will be available by Monday, December 19. In the meantime, if you prefer to donate via check (payable to Sacramento Insight Meditation), please send to:
Sacramento Insight Meditation 3111 Wissemann Drive Sacramento, California, 95826.
If you have questions or would like to discuss these two tax deductible opportunities for generosity, please contact SIM’s President and Founding Teacher, Dennis Warren.
eNews Update – Nov 28, 2016 – News and Upcoming Events for SIM and the Wider Community