Reminder: Esther Gokhale Workshop, Thursday, September 14, 7:00 pm

Zazen and Teisho by Dhara-sensei, Sunday, September 17, 8:30 am

In the zendo at Arnold Park, we’ll have one extended round of sitting with a bell at the half-way point for a posture change, followed by kinhin, a short chanting service, and then teisho. All will be broadcast on Zoom. Note that this teisho will be shorter than usual to allow time for people to return home from Arnold Park to participate in the Sangha meeting that follows.

Sangha Conversation on Social Justice Engagement: Sunday, September 17, 11:00 am

Join us for this Zoom meeting to discuss and learn about differing needs related to the Center’s engagement with anti-racism and social justice issues in general. Members of the Board of Trustees will be among the participants, and longtime Sangha member and Director Emeritus of Rochester’s M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence, Kit Miller, will serve as the meeting facilitator.

This will not be a hybrid meeting, so please sign into Zoom as an individual, on your own device, rather than with others, if possible. The meeting will take place in our usual Zoom room. If you need sign-in information, please contact Jissai Prince-Cherry.

Lastly, in preparation for the meeting, for those who have the time, please complete the following two exercises from The Way Out: How to Overcome Toxic Polarization:

  • 5-minute Reflection #1: Free-write a reflection based on this question: What is the nature of conflict?
  • 5-minute Reflection #2: Then do it again for this question: How are conflict and change related?

Trustees’ Meeting and Annual Meeting Minutes Available

Minutes of the June 2-3 Trustees’ meeting are posted on the Center’s website here. And minutes of the June 25 Annual Meeting of Members are posted here. (Note: Discussion regarding display of the Black Lives Matter flag can be found on pages 8-9 of the former and on page 4 of the latter minutes.)

Cultivate New Skills with Nonviolent Communication: Begins Thursday, September 21

The Center’s weekly Nonviolent Communication (NVC) practice group is reopening to all interested Sangha members. No experience is necessary. The Zoom meetings will resume on Thursday, September 21, and continue until November 30. We meet on non-sesshin Thursdays from 1:01-2:00 pm Eastern time – with a simple, beginner-friendly curriculum that requires no homework. For Zen practitioners, NVC offers a practical approach to Right Speech, strengthening our ability to respond more effectively to others and to ourselves, while developing the skill of compassion.

The Center’s NVC group is led by longtime Sangha members and NVC practitioners Anna Belle and Alan Leiserson, alongside skilled NVC facilitator and Friend of the RZC, Fifi Johnson. You don’t have to participate in all the meetings, although for beginners, it’s helpful to attend as many as possible.

Please RSVP for the NVC group here https://www.rzc.org/news/nvc-group/, or email nvc@rzc.org with any questions. We look forward to practicing with you!

Fringe Festival Performance, Thursday, September 21, 7:30 pm

Center member Jennifer Kyker will be performing at the Rochester Fringe Festival in Hatch Hall at the Eastman School of Music with two mbira artists from Zimbabwe, Moyo Mutamba and Memory Makuri. Tickets cost $10 and are available at the door, or can be purchased online.

Other Upcoming Sangha Activities