for the Practice of Tibetan Buddhism in the Gelugpa Tradition
Thanks go out this week to Joan Lacey for her happy efforts towards the blood drive for His Holiness, the Dalai Lama's birthday. Joan took care of coordinating, communicating and liasing with the Red Cross to promote a successful blood drive and wonderful offering to His Holiness. Thank you Joan, many lives will benefit from your work!
Thanks go out this week to our moving and painting crew! You guys made our restrooms and office colorful and beautiful. Dwight Clark, Elise and David Strevel, Joan Lacey, Amanda Henry, Link Freedom, Chris and Ben Rinehart, Brian Gilbert, Christine Wiecek, and Chris Baranski did a mixture of moving furniture, patching walls, wiring and painting.
Thanks go out this week to Tim Mulhern. Tim was the sole volunteer on Grounds day to help our Grounds manager Joey Gooch make our circumambulations so rich with beauty. They worked on keeping our flower beds in order, planting and so much more. Thank you Tim for dedicating your time to making our gardens grow and thrive!
Thanks go out this week to Arlene VanRyckeghem. She will be stepping down as bookstore manager and we thank her for her valiant effort in making the bookstore a success! A puja will be held in her honor at Kopan Monestary with this dedication:
"For the dedication and offering of service by Arlene VanRyckeghem as Bookstore Manager at Kadampa Center.
Thanks go out this week to Christine Wiecek for working on the old shed contents by taking items to recycling, the dump and hazardous waste. She works in the heat without complaint and with no asking. Thank you for taking on this difficult task Christine, we appreciate your valiant effort!
Thanks go out this week to Anna and Jean Peppard for their frequent offering of kindness to our Center. They show up during the week to sweep, tidy up, water and trim the plants.
Thanks go out this week to Julie Lewis as our helpful shed transformation captain with her team: Patrick McGinnity, Joey Gooch and Christine Wiecek. They made a good start taking truckloads of old items to the dump and sorting what's to be kept. We'll still need help getting things cleaned, into the new shed and many more truckloads of stuff taken away!
Thanks go out this week to a new visitor Pagan Reid, who ran into our Grounds Manager while visiting our stupa. She was excited to hear about grounds day and she and her friend were the only volunteers to dig and plant in our gardens last Saturday. Thank you guys for beautifying our gardens as your first effort for our Center!
Thanks to out this week to Julie Lewis, Jack Shannon, Michael Flaherty, Tim Mulhern for volunteering to set up/break down our Spring Fling party plus all those who stayed to help at the end. We had a blast and appreciate your efforts in making our party a huge success. Big love to the musicians who made the party so lively and fun too!
Thanks go out this week to Gary Mickey and Diane Meyer who have been Front Desk helpers lately. Answering the phone, greeting visitors and working in the bookstore helps our Center Manager have more solid focused time. Thanks Gary and Diane for being the face of the Center in happy, joyful ways!
If you see Dorothy Robson, Vivian Magarino-Gomez, or Adriana Ortegon, please thank them for happily offering their time, attention, and patience to All for the last several months. Their dedicated service has provided adults time and space to receive teachings without distraction, and children a safe and happy learning space to grow together in the dharma. Thank you Dorothy, Vivian and Adriana!
Thanks go out this week to Steve Hale. If you noticed our front entrance tidy and clean, not only does Steve frequently sweep, this week he brought us new matts for inside and out! Thank you for always making our entrance clean and welcoming by your efforts. It blesses us and our precious teachers.
Thank you Serenity Gardeners! Joey Gooch, Julie Lewis, Tim Mulhern and Monica Schario for spending Saturday morning making our Center vibrant and colorful. The grounds are springing to life with Tulips and flowers coming into full bloom. We appreciate your kind attention to beautifying our grounds. Thank you to Julie for providing flowers for planting!
Thanks go out this week to our new Kitchen Manager, Kristen Jerger. Wow, our kitchen was so clean and tidy Sunday and the volunteers and staff thank you for your effort. Not only was it joyful, it was full of joyful singing. You are an added delight to our Center. Thank you Kristen!
Thanks go out this week to Jim Barnes posthumously. We've had the opportunity to hear such wonderful things about the kindnesses of our friend Jim. As we hold him in our hearts, let's thank him for all the efforts of volunteering in numerous ways always with a wry smile and sense of humor. Thank you for making our Center better by your presence and your joyful effort. You will be missed!
Thanks go out this week to Miranda Benson for volunteering as a new bookstore clerk and helping out the middle schoolers who are making malas for Kadampa Center Prison Project. Thanks Miranda for your joyful effort in working happily for our Center! (BTW, we need one more bookstore clerk. The next merit maker could be about you!)
The Kalachakra section of our altar (to the right of Shakyamuni Buddha’s statue, facing out from the altar) received a nice facelift recently. Patti Pandya created lovely garlands with silk rosebuds and beads to grace the space. Patrick McGinity adjusted and tightened the wire strung in front of the statue, so that it no longer sags.
Thanks go out this week to Scott Miller. For many years now Scott has organized the All Star Mowing Team for the Center. Without a hitch, team members have signed up, mowed, trimmed and groomed our lawn for many years. We all thank you Scott for making this direction of our Center life easy and beautiful. Welcome Scott Dickerson as the new leader!
Thanks go out this week to the Tibetan community for preparing delicious traditional tea, rice and cookies for Losar. And thank you to all our dakas and dakinis who served everyone while we enjoyed song and talks from the Tibetan youth. It was a special holiday, one rich in history replicated for many years at our Center. Thank you to all for making our day wonderful!
Thanks go out this week to David Strevel our photographer extraordinaire! David not only solicits perfect photographs with everyone's eyes open, he brings his camera to all our exciting events from Holiday parties to Sunday skits. David happily edits and uploads all the photos categorized by year for us to use at our leisure.
