I'm so happy to be able to share my good friend, Greg Bender, with our community next week. He is spending two weeks in solitary retreat in NE New Mexico before coming here, and he is blogging from retreat. His thoughts can be read here.
The blog is on Ken McLeod's Ning site, which is a great resource to explore. I invite you to explore while you're there, and perhaps sign up. If you do, "friend" me!
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Final Arrangements for Joy, Grace & Awareness Retreat
We've outgrown my living room and our retreat next weekend will now be held at Scarritt Bennett Center. We'll be meeting in a spacious venue, The Raintree Room, located on the second floor of Bennett Hall.
A lunch buffet is available for those who register by next Monday for only $11.50 each including tax. The meal will include meats, vegetarian options, vegetables, salad, desserts, tea and water. If you've already registered and want to opt out, please email me and I'll take you off the lunch list.
Friday night the room will open at 6:15 for registration, meditation, and... yes... shopping! We will have a small amount of dharma items available to benefit Luminous Mind and our ability to host events such as this.
Overnight accommodations are also available at Scarritt Bennett for a very reasonable rate.
Volunteers are needed for easy functions such as setting up and tending a simple shrine, teacher care, etc. If you can help, please email me.
Helpful tips, downloadable pdfs, and complete information are availble at our website. This is going to be a beautiful time. I look forward to seeing you, in a spirit of joy, grace, and awareness.
A lunch buffet is available for those who register by next Monday for only $11.50 each including tax. The meal will include meats, vegetarian options, vegetables, salad, desserts, tea and water. If you've already registered and want to opt out, please email me and I'll take you off the lunch list.
Friday night the room will open at 6:15 for registration, meditation, and... yes... shopping! We will have a small amount of dharma items available to benefit Luminous Mind and our ability to host events such as this.
Overnight accommodations are also available at Scarritt Bennett for a very reasonable rate.
Volunteers are needed for easy functions such as setting up and tending a simple shrine, teacher care, etc. If you can help, please email me.
Helpful tips, downloadable pdfs, and complete information are availble at our website. This is going to be a beautiful time. I look forward to seeing you, in a spirit of joy, grace, and awareness.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Interfaith Prayer Service for the Middle Tennessee Community
One of my brothers in Interfaith Dialogue is organizing this event and asked me to participate. I'd like to invite all our friends to attend.
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The African Methodist Episcopal Church (13th District) will host an Interfaith Prayer Service at Greater Bethel AME Church on Tuesday, May 11, 2010 at 7:00 p.m. In light of the recent devastation brought on by the flood in Middle Tennessee, the purpose of the Prayer Service is to strengthen relationships and foster unity among people of all faiths for the good of the community.
“Middle Tennessee has suffered the effects of a flood of epic proportions. Currently, over 20,000 people are without electricity while countless others are displaced from their homes and unable to return to salvage precious belongings. It is estimated that 90% of persons whose homes have been damaged are without flood insurance. President Obama has approved federal disaster assistance, but it will be communities of faiths that will provide assistance in rebuilding lives and restoring hope,” stated Bishop Vashti McKenzie, presiding Bishop of the 13th Episcopal AME District.
A number of African Methodist Episcopal churches and related organizations immediately became involved in the clean-up effort and in providing resource centers for Middle Tennessee communities. “It is clear, more Middle Tennesseans will have to come together in unity to rebuild homes, businesses, institutions and places of worship and, in so doing, build a greater Nashville,” stated Bishop McKenzie.
The Interfaith Prayer Service has been created - for community leaders, pastors, activist, and citizens - to help bring the community together for healing and restoration. The service will begin at 7:00 p.m. at Greater Bethel AME Church, 1300 South Street, Nashville, TN.
For more information contact Rev. Roderick Belin or Rev. Anica Howard at 615-242-6814.
........................................
The African Methodist Episcopal Church (13th District) will host an Interfaith Prayer Service at Greater Bethel AME Church on Tuesday, May 11, 2010 at 7:00 p.m. In light of the recent devastation brought on by the flood in Middle Tennessee, the purpose of the Prayer Service is to strengthen relationships and foster unity among people of all faiths for the good of the community.
“Middle Tennessee has suffered the effects of a flood of epic proportions. Currently, over 20,000 people are without electricity while countless others are displaced from their homes and unable to return to salvage precious belongings. It is estimated that 90% of persons whose homes have been damaged are without flood insurance. President Obama has approved federal disaster assistance, but it will be communities of faiths that will provide assistance in rebuilding lives and restoring hope,” stated Bishop Vashti McKenzie, presiding Bishop of the 13th Episcopal AME District.
A number of African Methodist Episcopal churches and related organizations immediately became involved in the clean-up effort and in providing resource centers for Middle Tennessee communities. “It is clear, more Middle Tennesseans will have to come together in unity to rebuild homes, businesses, institutions and places of worship and, in so doing, build a greater Nashville,” stated Bishop McKenzie.
The Interfaith Prayer Service has been created - for community leaders, pastors, activist, and citizens - to help bring the community together for healing and restoration. The service will begin at 7:00 p.m. at Greater Bethel AME Church, 1300 South Street, Nashville, TN.
For more information contact Rev. Roderick Belin or Rev. Anica Howard at 615-242-6814.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Join Us for Retreat May 21-22
Registration is now open for our retreat with Greg Bender May 21-22. For full information and to register, click here.
Greg is in solitary retreat in New Mexico for the two weeks prior to his visit, so we will be fortunate to catch the fresh rays of his experience. While in retreat, he is taking the opportunity to blog sparingly at Ken McLeod's ning site. You can get a good sense of where he comes from by reading his musings. Read Greg's retreat blog here.
Greg is one of my two oldest friends in the dharma. We met in 1995 or 6 via the AOL Buddhist Boards and quickly became close friends over many long dharma telephone calls and emails. He has visited Nashville for retreat two times and I have visited Tucson, where he brought me in as graphic designer for a conference with HH the Dalai Lama. We are the holders of each others' life stories and he has helped me in my own spiritual path many times over the years. I am thrilled to be able to share Greg with our small community.
The Great Flood and Great Nashvillians
Middle Tennessee was hit with a devastating flood May 1-3. This is a slideshow of the affected areas in Nashville, from our landmarks to our business district to our biggest tourist spots and the neighborhoods that were underwater.
From The Tennessean: "Nashville Mayor Karl Dean said the cost to residential, commercial and industrial property has soared to around $1.5 billion and would continue to climb. Estimates do not include the unknown cost to rebuild roadways, sidewalks, bridges and government buildings damaged in the flooding. Dean said Friday that Metro inspectors still had about 20 percent of the city to assess.
Initial reports showed flood damaged 9,300 land parcels and about 2,000 residential properties, according to information provided by Metro."
Estimates also don't count loss of tourism, loss of jobs, loss of industry. And the greatest loss, 31 human lives in the region to date.
Throughout this whole experience, Nashvillians have responded with spontaneous kindness and compassion, standing together in this time of great need. No looting or violence. People helping complete strangers. The Buddhist teachings would say this is an expression of our basic good heart, our innate bodhichitta (Sanskrit: "mind of enlightenment"). I say… I'm proud to be a Nashvillian.
To donate to Red Cross flood relief, click here.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Buddha's Birthday Celebration Posponed
The Buddha's Birthday Celebration scheduled this morning at First Unitarian Universalist Nashville has been posponed due to the weather emergency. The surrounding streets and the lower parking lot are flooding and driving conditions are just too dangerous. Please stay home and stay safe. I'll let you know when it's rescheduled.
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