NEWS

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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Registration is open for OSOS Course

Starting April 6th, “Living on the Other Side of Suffering: An Experiment In Balancing Practice and Becoming More Fully Human” begins. This is an eleven-week course facilitated by SIM Founding teacher Dennis Warren. Through March 23rd, registration is open to anyone enrolling for the first time. If space is available after this date, folks who’ve previously taken the course should first contact the teacher to get permission to enroll in this Spring session.

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Online Only Events Extended to Mid-February

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In-person attendance at SIM will continue to be on hold until at least February 16th. Notification of a change in this policy will be made as soon as possible.

Thank you for your understanding and your patience.

Jon Siiteri, on behalf of the SIM Board of Directors

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Special 2021-Tax Note

SIM is grateful for all our donors and we’ve already emailed tax letters to those who’ve donated $250 or more in 2021. If you have not received the tax letter (dated Jan 25, 2022) and you think you should have, please check your email Inbox, as well as your Spam or Junk folders. If you still don’t find it, please contact SaraD@sactoinsight.org.

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Online Only Events Until Feb 8

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Due to the current widespread and worsening outbreak of the Covid omicron variant the SIM Board of Directors unanimously passed a new policy effective immediately suspending all in-person activitiesat Sacramento Dharma Center until February 8th, 2022. Our regular Thursday evening meditation and dharma talks, the ongoing faculty-led courses and end-of the-month daylong retreat will be presented online only. Please find links for those events on our calendar. 

This decision was made after careful consideration by the Board of all the relevant factors needed to ensure for the health of the sangha, faculty and visiting teachers during the current pandemic. 

We appreciate your acceptance and understanding of this decision and look forward to meeting you in-person soon.

On behalf of the SIM Board of Directors,

Jon Siiteri

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