Chapin Mill Workday This Saturday
Join us for our first workday of the season (Saturday, May 1)! We’ll begin work at 9 am and end with a BYO lunch at 1 pm. Everyone is welcome to stick around after and enjoy the property. If you plan on attending, please RSVP (by getting your “free ticket”) by 12 noon this Friday, using this Eventbrite link. Note: no Saturday dokusan, since Roshi will also attend the workday.

In addition to bringing your own lunch, we ask that you bring along a water bottle, face mask, hat, gloves, sunscreen, and bug spray (although, we’ll have extra supplies available in case you don’t have all of these items). Be sure to wear appropriate clothing and footwear for physical work. If you’re working outdoors, we highly recommend that you use some kind of tick prevention.

Here are our COVID-19 guidelines based on the latest CDC recommendations: If you’re fully vaccinated, whether working outside or indoors, masks are optional. If you’re not fully vaccinated, you’ll be working outdoors, and we ask that you wear a mask when in close proximity to someone else. Check in with the people you’re working with if you’re unsure what to do.

In the event of rain, note that there will only be indoor work, which will require folks to be fully vaccinated.

For questions, contact Eryl Kubicka by text at (585) 409-6497 or email eryl@rzc.org.

Also This Weekend: Finding Your Seat & Dharma Talk
Finding Your Seat this Saturday, from 11:00 to noon (note: FYS is cancelled the following Saturday, May 8, because of the 2-day sesshin). This Sunday, May 2, there is a Dharma Talk by Trueman Taylor.

Happy Friday
Join us for Happy Friday this Friday, April 30, at 4:30 EST. We use a round-robin format to share your news of the week and your weekend plans. We use the Sangha Zoom account, and the call lasts a little more than an hour. Join us for some or all of the call! If you need the Zoom codes, contact Dené at dene@rzc.org.

New Sangha Programs Office
For those who were unable to attend the online Sangha meeting last weekend, we’d like to share some big news!

As a follow-up to the feedback we received from a recent survey of local Sangha members, we’re establishing a new office at Arnold Park. The Sangha Programs Office will coordinate a variety of activities such as community service, outdoor recreation, lectures, social events, etc. – a mix of both in-person and online offerings. In addition to providing opportunities for Sangha members to build social connections, the Office will coordinate special events open to the public.

Three staff members have been assigned to work part-time for the Sangha Programs Office: Donna Kowal will serve as Manager and Dené Redding as Sangha Engagement Coordinator, with Mitchell Greenwood providing administrative support. In the weeks ahead, they’ll be recruiting volunteers to serve on a new Sangha Engagement Committee – after all, the success of Sangha programming will hinge on the support of Sangha.

Donna and Dené will be at the Chapin Mill workday this Saturday, so if you’re going to be there feel free to talk to them about your ideas for Sangha engagement. You can also send an email to Dené at dene@rzc.org or Donna at donna@rzc.org.

To Be or Not to Be: In-person, July 7-day Sesshin
Roshi and the monitors are looking into the likely possibility that the July 7-day sesshin can be live, in-person at Chapin Mill for fully vaccinated participants. The dates for the sesshin will be Friday, July 23, to Friday, July 30. Note that sesshin will start on Friday instead of a Saturday, in keeping with the online sesshins. There will still be the option of attending sesshin online, through Zoom, hence the new designation “hybrid sesshin.” This tentative yes for a live, in-person sesshin, is largely dependent on the effectiveness of the vaccine against the new variants (so far, so good), and a decision regarding a “hard yes” will be made at a closer date. Stay tuned.

Help Wanted
Elderly long-time Zen Center member Dwain Wilder needs the help of a couple of strong younger folks with a pickup truck to help get a washer and dryer replaced, and help haul them, along with a recently replaced kitchen stove, to an appliance recycling business. Caution: the washer and dryer reside in a basement. Come look the situation over before committing. Dwain is willing to negotiate pay for the time and labor and will donate receipts from the recycling plant to the Zen Center. Contact Dwain Wilder at 585-288-5031 or email him at dwilder@rochester.rr.com. Please mention “appliance replacement” in the subject line, so he can find it in the jungle of his email inbox!