for the Practice of Tibetan Buddhism in the Gelugpa Tradition
Thanks go out this week to the 'clean up warriors' who muscled through the heat to remove organic debris, old materials from our grounds as well as clean off the roof and gutters. We are so appreciative of: Michael Flaherty, Paul Krebbs, Patrick McGinity, Chtristine Weicek, Joey Gooch, Alex/Sandra Hess, Jason Jenkins, Tim Mulhern, Erin Sloan and Jill Marie.
A beautiful altar arose in the center of our gompa for the Tara mini-retreat, filled with beautiful offerings. Led by Gary Mickey, a wonderful crew of volunteers set the altar up for the retreat. Many thanks to Venerable Lhamo, Christine Wiecek, Patti Pandya, Julie Lewis, Naga Dhoopati and John Lorenzen.
Thanks go out this week to Erin Sloan and Sue Stern for cleaning, moving and tidying up both the nursery and the education building after the renovations. It took a lot of effort to get the spaces back to normal so our Family Program can continue to thrive. We appreciate you both for your time, talents and energy!
Thanks go out this week to an anonymous family for removing the covers from all our long cushions in the gompa, washing, and replacing them back. This was a loving task to keep our gompa fresh and clean. We really appreciate the effort you all made and thank you for offering service to the Center!
Thanks go out to everyone who helped volunteer for Geshe-la's 20th Anniversary party. The evening was delightful with almost 100 attending! We listened to the sounds of Nepalese music and enjoyed Indian and Tibetan finger food. Outside Robbie, our Director, led a lovely program with guest speakers, an offering from the children and many gifts for Geshe-la.
Thanks go out this week to Kathy Kochevar and Karen Beesley for working in the bookstore pricing all our new items. They both spent long hours and diligently labeled new merchandise and jewelry. We are excited as always to have new things to help our practice or to benefit others in gifts. Thanks Kathy and Karen for putting time and effort into our bookstore! You are appreciated.
Our third annual blood drive in honor of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s birthday was a great success, with a total of 22 units of blood donated! This act of lifesaving kindness is our tribute to his wish that we offer acts of compassion for his birthday. Big thanks to Joan Lacey for all her hard work coordinating the drive, to Tim Mulhern for assisting Joan, and to all our amazing blood donors!
Thanks go out this week to Cary Brief, Jason Kim and Bill Bremmer for painting our back garden pergola red. It gives our garden a fresh look and frames the Buddha beautifully. Thank you guys for making this space more inviting as a place to play, meditate or hang out. Thanks also to Cary for fixing the plumbing on the women's toilet.
Thanks go out this week to Mathew Judd, Rose Storms, Sandy Carlson, Paul Krebs, Gity Kazemian, Royden Saah, Patrick McGinity, Barbara Qurollo and Elise Strevel for all their hard work with Habitat for Humanity, Saturday, June 15. Also working with them were Mormons, Lutherans, Baptists, Muslims and Americorps volunteers.
Thanks go out this week to Abbie Adams-Yaffe and Naga Dhoopati for their dedicated efforts during our seasonal clean last Saturday. For Abbie, it was her first time to the Center! Our team cleaned nooks and crannies for 3 hours while Julie Lewis, from the All Star Mowing team, cut the grass. Thanks to all the Dakinis and their amazing efforts to get our Center cleaned.
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!
A lot of work goes into hosting a visiting teacher at Kadampa Center–planning, organizing volunteers, and being on hand in the gompa to help everything run smoothly. Big thanks to our Visiting Teachers team - Linda Saah, Suzy Boehm and Laura Carballo - and to every volunteer who pitched in!
Thanks go out this week to Larry Sleeper for filling in the bookstore to keep things running on Sundays. So many people have benefited from items such as holy objects and Dharma books, to gifts for loved ones. We appreciate you Larry and your happiness to step in! We are in need of more volunteers, so let us know if you are happy to help.
Thanks go out this week to Elise and David Strevel for providing bird feeders for our site. We now have birds flying from one end to the other! Hopefully some will circumambulate the stupa in their travels. We also could use more bird seed now that we have so many feeders! It's takes a whole lot of people to make our Center thrive and we appreciate you Elise and David!
Thanks go out this week to Jason Jenkins and Karen Beesley for kindly offering to greet folks on Sunday mornings. It's nice to walk into the Center and see happy smiling faces. Being a Greeter is a wonderful way to offer service to the Center and all who enter. If you want to be that happy, welcoming face, sign up on our website! Thanks Jason and Karen, you are appreciated!
Thanks go out this week to Larry Sleeper who decided to show his love for the Center and make our garden beds more beautiful by picking the weeds. It's a large task to keep our gardens thriving and anyone is welcome to assist. Thank you Larry for taking care of our grounds with a smile.
Thanks go out this week to David Strevel, Patrick McGinity, Barry Judge and Michael Flaherty for taking their time to finish laying the flooring in the education building. Now the Family Program can fully use the building and have discussions and classes in two rooms again!
Thanks go out this week to Kolleen Mitchell for donating several of her lovely wraps to our collection. It's nice to have something to throw around your shoulders if you get cool in the gompa or to wear for modesty if need be. We love to be able to offer items like wraps and footies to our visitors and members. Anyone is welcome to bring more! Thanks Kolleen for your kind generosity.
Thanks go out this week to Tim Mulhern for offering funds to purchase a new rug for the shoe area by the bench. Our last rug was on it's way out for a long time as many have tried to clean it and trim back the fraying edges to make it last. Thanks to your generosity Tim, we are looking a little spiffier and can let impermanence play it's role. Now what will we put on the wish list next?
Thanks go out this week to Dorothy Robson, David Strevel, Michael Flaherty and Joey Gooch for laying our new flooring in the education building. We will now be able to keep our children's classroom more clean and allergy free. Thank for taking time out on a rainy work day to spend time together making our Center more functional for all! We appreciate you all.
