March 10, 2007

Early Start to Daylight Saving Time
Starting this year Daylight Saving Time begins a month earlier than in past years. Be sure to set your clocks ahead by one hour before retiring on the evening of this Saturday, March 10!

Roshi in Madison March 15-18
Roshi will be in Madison, Wisconsin from March 15-18 leading a 2-day sesshin. This sesshin was scheduled after the quarterly calendar went out, so the dokusan scheduled on the calendar for Saturday, March 17 and the Teisho on Sunday, March 18 are canceled.

Calendar Notes
• The Teisho scheduled for Sunday, March 18 will be replaced by a Dharma Talk. Roshi will be giving Teisho on Sunday, March 11 and Sunday, March 25.
• There will be dokusan on Saturday, March 24.
• Upcoming Youth Sundays will be on March 11 and April 15.
• There will be a Sangha Meeting on Sunday, March 11, during brunch.
• There will be a repentance ceremony during the evening sitting on Thursday, March 29.
• The next all day sitting will be on Sunday, April 22.

Rakusu Sewing Workshop
Are you ready to make a rakusu? Vesak is closer than you may realize! No sewing experience is necessary. Working with others can help to get you started. Paula Schank is again offering classes and the first meeting is on Wednesday, March 28 at 5:30 pm in the sewing room (located by the donations rack in the basement of 7AP). To join the group, call Paula at 509-5082. Kits are available from the receptionist for $30 plus 4% tax. Please remember to wash the brown fabric before cutting.

Correction to July Sesshin Deadline
Please note that the correct deadline for the July sesshin is Thursday, June 7, which is one month before the sesshin starts.

Workshop April 21-22 at Chapin Mill: “Taking Heart in Tough Times”
The Buddhist Peace Fellowship is sponsoring this 2-day workshop led by distinguished Buddhist scholar and peace activist Joanna Macey. In addition to her scholarly offerings to Buddhist teachings through her many books, Joanna has contributed in bringing the teachings into action in the world. She was one of the original members of the Buddhist Peace Fellowship, which was founded in 1978 around concerns for peace, social justice and the environment.

Much of Joanna’s life has been deeply involved in addressing the suffering created on a social and systems level. For at least three decades she has traveled the world addressing the issue of the destructive forces of nuclear energy, including the lack of adequate protection for its radioactive waste products. She has assisted people who have suffered from exposure to radioactivity from nuclear plant accidents, helping them face their despair and move through this to experience a renewal of meaning in their lives.

She has worked with groups in naming and addressing the numbing and avoidance of the cumulative despair stemming from what we are doing to each other and to our world on so many levels. Informed by her understanding of Buddhist teachings and her study of western systems theory, Joanna has led gatherings throughout the world for people who share these concerns. She has seen the strength that rises from facing despair, seen the creativity that is generated in communal facing and sharing of pain.

Joanna’s workshops provide experiential understanding of our interdependence and mutually influencing interaction with all life. Her most recent work involves helping people face the deterioration of the industrial growth society and become involved in the creation of a life-sustaining society. For more information about the workshop, contact Martha Howden at 585-381-5083 or email mhowden@rochester.rr.com.

Youth and Family Program: It Takes a Village to Raise a Child
• In addition to Youth Sundays, there are several youth and family program potlucks scheduled for this year. The dates are March 4, May 6, September 16 & November 4. Kids, parents and caregivers are encouraged to come and meet together in the Center’s dining room to share a simple meal and enjoy each other’s company. Please bring an easy to prepare simple vegetarian dish or appetizer.
• Fun community outings are also planned: bowling on Sunday, April 29, hiking on Saturday, May 12 and kayaking on Sunday, June 3.

Sangha members without children are invited and most welcome to attend any of the above happenings. For more information or to sign up, call Katie McDonald at 271-8756 to sign up, or email her at dare2bu@rochester.rr.com
Relocation of the Women’s Changing Room
Sometime in the next couple of weeks we’ll be moving the sewing room from the basement of 7ap to Room 1 on the second floor of 5ap. This move will provide better light and space for sewing projects and accommodate more sewers. The women’s changing room will then be relocated to the former sewing room. This will provide significantly more changing space and room for robes and rakusus. The move date will be announced in the Zendo once we have the sewing room set-up.

House For Sale
Single family home in Brighton. Three bedrooms, family room, eat in kitchen, 1 ½ bath, one car attached garage, nicely landscaped back yard. Located off Monroe Avenue east of 12 Corners. Call Steve Davis at 615-5073.



Kannon Committee
The Kannon Committee provides help with meals, errands, or transportation for Sangha members who are ill or temporarily disabled. If you or someone you know can use some help, please let the Committee know by contacting Martha Howden at 381-5083 or by e-mail at mhowden@rochester.rr.com. If you are available to offer help in the future by making a meal or helping with errands or other things, please let Martha know this as well.