NEWS

Community, Board Newsletter #2

Today SIM’s Board of Directors is sending out a Newsletter #2 communication “GETTING TO KNOW US…Up Close and Personal with SIM Board.” This month, they are featuring Margaret Buss and the SIM Set-up Crew. —– Excerpt follows —–

Next time you walk into the dharma hall, take a minute and look around. You may notice that the chairs are all in order, cushions laid out, colorful flowers in vases on the altar and around the room; that there is a sense of welcome, calm, and peace. Margaret has been the head of the SIM set-up crew since SIM moved to the Sacramento Dharma Center several years ago. Asked why she chose to volunteer for this position, she says [More details here…]

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An Invitation – Being Together

A message from our founding teacher, Dennis Warren.

Good afternoon and hope everything is good with you. I want to extend an invitation to you.

In person attendance at SIM on Thursday evenings is still much lower than pre-pandemic numbers. This is a loss for each of us individually as well as the organization. There is an added dimension to our practice and experience when we are in each other’s presence and practice together. Not that we need to do it all the time, but experiencing the truly unique human element of companionship in spiritual practice from time to time is something special.

I’m inviting you to consider attending SIM this Thursday, the 30th – in person. It would be great to be able to be together and practice in person for an evening.

My presentation that evening will be on Seeing Clearly and Thinking Clearly. Thinking as an object of meditation and focus of practice isn’t something that is discussed very much. This is surprising given how thinking tends to play such a significant role in our lives. A description follows below.

Hope you can make it. Take care.

Dennis

https://sactoinsight.org/06-30-2022-revisiting-fundamentals-thinking-with-dennis-warren/

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Up Close and Personal with our Board of Directors

Today SIM’s Board of Directors emailed a “Newsletter” to our current subscribers. Click on the image below to view the entire message. Below the image we’ve also included an excerpt of the Newsletter.

GETTING TO KNOW US…Up Close and Personal with SIM Board

This is the first of what we hope will become a monthly offering to the SIM community, featuring a profile of one of the sangha’s leaders or volunteers each time. In this age of virtual (or hybrid) gatherings, it is easy for us to feel disconnected from one another. More than ever, we need to share our stories and appreciate the diversity of people and their life experiences that make up this thriving sangha. More…

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SIM 2022 Residential Retreat

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Join us for our Residential Retreat at the beautiful Mercy Center in Auburn, CA from Sunday, August 28 through Sunday, September 4, 2022. We are fortunate to have Senior Teacher Greg Scharf (who is a Guiding Teacher at the Insight Meditation Society) and local Teacher Neesha Patel leading our retreat this year. The theme will be Awareness, Wisdom & Love. For more information about the retreat and the teachers, and to secure your spot, visit the registration page (link shown below) …

2022 SIM Residential Retreat with Senior Teacher Greg Scharf and Teacher Neesha Patel
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Volunteer

Volunteers Needed at St. John’s

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We are currently scheduling shifts for May 18 and June 15.  Volunteer opportunities include cooks, who prepare the meal from 2:30-4:15 pm, and servers, who work from 4:15-6:00pm. You are not expected to work all three dates, just whatever works for you.  We are welcoming new volunteers as we bolster our volunteer pool.  Come join us as we practice generosity and compassion in the greater community.  If you are not already on the email list and wish to volunteer or have questions, please contact SIM Community member Mary Howard at mary@sactoinsight.org.

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Listening Council Announcement

Sacramento Insight Meditation recently created a Listening Council to hear concerns from members of our sangha, recognizing that in any community difficulties, misunderstandings and conflict may sometimes arise. Items for the Listening Council might include, for example, conflicts or communication difficulties between sangha members; concerns about behavior by a sangha member that might prove harmful to others; or concerns about inappropriate behavior or ethical breaches by a Board or Faculty member.

Our aspiration is to support the resolution of such problems through effective, responsible means based on Buddhist principles of wisdom, compassion, and right action.

Members of our community seeking support in resolving their concerns should feel free to reach out to one of our Listening Council members:

  • Jerry Simkins (jerrys@sactoinsight.org)
  • Robin Primavera (robinp@sactoinsight.org)
  • Tom Vigran (tom@sactoinsight.org)
  • Barb Briscoe (barbb@sactoinsight.org)

Further details about procedures that will guide the work of the Listening Council are available on our Listening Council webpage (shown below).

Listening Council
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Volunteer

A Few Volunteers Needed

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With SIM returning to in-person programs, we need a few more volunteers to help with set-up – specifically, one person for the third Thursday and another on the fourth Thursday. We could also use some people willing to be called on to set-up for daylong retreats. The volunteer would need to arrive about an hour before the meeting (Thursday dharma talk or Saturday retreat) and would work as part of a three-person team to set up chairs, set up the altar, put out the dana bowl, and other tasks as needed. The team also helps close down after the meeting, putting away items, emptying trash and recycle cans, cleaning break room and kitchen counters if needed, and ensuring all doors and gates are closed and locked. Closing tasks typically take 15-20 minutes.

Volunteering for set-up is both a gratifying way of giving dana to the sangha and an opportunity to get to know fellow sangha members on your team, as well as to care for the Dharma Center itself. If you are interested in helping, please contact Margaret Buss at volunteer-coordinator@sactoinsight.org

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In-Person Events Resume

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After careful consideration of the current trends in the number of new case reports of Covid-19, mostly due to the omicron variant, the SIM Board of Directors has passed a motion to reopen in-person attendance for all SIM-sponsored events effective 2/22/2022. On behalf of the Board, I thank the SIM community for your patience and understanding during this hiatus. For the comfort and safety of all, we encourage you to continue to wear high-quality masks while indoors, maintain social distancing, and receive all SARS-Cov-19 vaccinations as recommended by the California Department of Public Health.
Looking forward to seeing everyone in person again!

Jon Siiteri, on behalf of the SIM Board of Directors

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Online Only Events Extended to Feb 24

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Because of the changing nature of COVID and in keeping with our practice of trying to do no harm, in-person attendance at SIM will continue to be on hold until February 24.  The board will continue to monitor COVID on a daily basis.  Notification of a change in this policy will be made as soon as possible.

Please continue to check this website prior to coming to a particular event in-person.

Thank you for your understanding and your patience.

Jon Siiteri, on behalf of the SIM Board of Directors

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