“It takes time to practice generosity, but being generous is the best use of our time.”
— Thich Nhat Hanh
Hello friends. In the Kingfisher Sangha community meeting held on Saturday, 11/7, we discussed holiday giving opportunities. Given the shutdown of the Order of Interbeing monasteries caused by the pandemic, we agreed to provide a $500 gift to Blue Cliff Monastery from the general Kingfisher Sangha funds. In addition to this, we have several opportunities for the Kingfisher Sangha to give this holiday season:
1. Still Point Interfaith Retreat Center
Still Point Interfaith Retreat Center has provided a home, at no charge, for Kingfisher North’s weekly sits for many years as well as the location for many of the general Kingfisher Days of Mindfulness. This hospitality is in keeping with their mission of offering sanctuary to people of any faith. The Center is not affiliated with any larger religious organization. Sister Anne and Sister Nicole are the dedicated caretakers and administrators of the property. Both over 70 now, they have closed the center to groups until the pandemic is over. They are totally dependent on donations until programming can resume. Their ongoing expenses continue and from time to time there are extraordinary expenses, such as current roof repair needs. Checks may be made out directly to Still Point Interfaith Retreat Center and are tax deductible. Please send checks directly to Brett Bartow at 10 Redfield Park, Clifton Park, NY 12065. Alternatively you can send funds via PayPal to Brett by using his bbartow@nycap.rr.com email address. Be sure to specify sending to a friend to avoid charges. Brett will collect all donations and deliver them to Sisters Anne and Nicole Christmas week. The deadline to receive donations is Sunday, December 20.
2. Ocean State Job Lot Northeast Regional Food Bank Donation Program
Annually, during the Holiday Season, donations made to Ocean State Job Lot are used to purchase truckloads of food for local food banks. All donations are matched dollar for dollar by OSJL, and all food purchased by them is donated to the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York in Latham, which in turn distributes it to food banks in the surrounding counties. This is a good deal because it addresses an urgent need, doubles the value of our donation, and serves our local community. This program is available only through OSJL stores, not online.
If you are interested in donating to this worthy cause, please do one of the following NO LATER THAN DECEMBER 20, 2020:
Write a check payable to DOROTHY VIEIRA and send it to her at 1267 Garner Avenue, Schenectady, NY 12309, OR give her cash.
Dorothy will then deposit all of your donations into her account and donate the total Sangha amount to OSJL in person at the store in Clifton Park. (The reason for this payment method instead of individual checks to OSJL is that the Sangha has objections to the store’s policy requiring donors to write their driver’s license number on checks payable to them.) If you have questions, please email or call Dorothy (dorovie@aol.com or 518 346-1979).
3. Volunteering time for Sangha jobs:
Dana encompasses all forms of giving, not just cash donations. Kingfisher Sangha has a need for volunteers to help facilitate our weekly Sangha sits. We now have weekly Kingfisher Sangha sits on Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday. We are always in need of assistance in facilitating these sits. If you are interested in becoming a facilitator, training will be made available. This gift of your time is a precious gift to help keep our Sangha going. If you are interested in becoming a Sangha facilitator, please contact Dee (spiritbear50@gmail.com) or Starr (starrregan@aol.com).
“There is a kind of vegetable in Vietnam called he (pronounced “hey”). It belongs to the onion family and looks like a scallion, and it is very good in soup. The more you cut the he plants at the base, the more they grow. If you don’t cut them they won’t grow very much. But if you cut them often, right at the base of the stalk, they grow bigger and bigger. This is also true of the practice of Dana. If you give and continue to give, you become richer and richer all the time, richer in terms of happiness and well-being. This may seem strange but it is always true.”