Ordination Ceremony in the Buddha Hall, Sunday, October 23

This Sunday, October 23, at 3:00 p.m., Sensei Amala Wrightson will formally ordain Kathryn Argetsinger and Jeanette Prince-Cherry as Zen Buddhist priests. The ordination ceremony will take place in the Buddha Hall, with refreshments to follow. For those attending, wearing a robe is encouraged but not required. Also, a reminder that masks will be required in the Buddha Hall (except for Amala-sensei and the new priests). The ceremony will be broadcast on Zoom. The ceremony will be recorded through Zoom (however, those watching on Zoom will not be recorded).

Center Closed, October 24-25

After the ceremony on October 23, the Center will be closed Monday (10/24) and Tuesday (10/25). The usual schedule of in-person and Zoom sittings will resume at 7 p.m. on Tuesday (10/25).

Roshi Departs, October 25

Now that Sensei Donna Kowal has succeeded Roshi as Spiritual Co-Director of the Center with Sensei John Pulleyn, Roshi will depart for Florida. As a reminder, his teaching career isn’t over. Once he’s settled in, Roshi will resume offering online dokusan to his personal students from Florida. Happy trails to you, Roshi, until we meet again. (Roshi currently plans to lead the July 2023 sesshin at Chapin Mill.)

RZC Is Now on Venmo (@RochesterZenCenter)

Venmo just released a new feature allowing charitable organizations with a verified PayPal Charity account to accept donations and payments. This means that sesshin fees, book and incense payments, and membership contributions can be sent from your Venmo account. For membership donations and donations to the Auckland Zen Centre or the Training Fund (formerly Abbot’s Fund), we still recommend using the PayPal Giving Fund, check or cash, because we pay no fees. However, we hope this change will make giving to or paying the Center much easier.

RZC Non-Violent Communication Group

There’s still time to join a special opportunity for in-depth training with Certified NVC Trainer and widely-respected Buddhist teacher Oren Jay Sofer.

Because we are participating as a group, we may use the lower group rate for Oren’s class of $200 per person. For those needing financial assistance, there are scholarships available. Quoting Oren: “If you want to take this course, I want to find a way to have you there.”

Starting today, October 20, the RZC NVC group will meet online most Thursdays from 5:15 to 6:15 p.m. ET to do course practices. Classes with Oren began on October 19 and are recorded, so they can be viewed at any time. The deadline to register for the course is October 31. To learn more, sign up for the group and register for the course, please see https://www.rzc.org/news/nvc-group/.

Other Upcoming Activities