Hi dear sangha,As Nick hinted last month, members of our friendly sangha will connect on Sunday, July 16, from 10am-2pm, to dream up how we want to continue strengthening our community. Together we'll meditate (obviously!). And do things like:-- Sketching out a calendar of programming and social events to connect us all-- Envisioning what a community-led weekend retreat could look like in Fall 2023-- Creating a shared mission and vision for Downtown DharmaWhether you're new to our sangha, or have been coming for years, we hope you'll join! Nick and I are happy to host at our place in Mt. Pleasant (1613 Harvard St NW, #202). You can also participate by Zoom (link here).For those in person, expect a homemade Thai red curry (vegetarian) for a community lunch. You're welcome to bring something else to share, or simply come as you are.Please RSVP here, so we know how many chairs to pull out of our storage closet. :)Warmly,VinceOn Sun, May 7, 2023 at 1:26 PM 'nick menzies' via IMCW Downtown Dharma social/volunteer listserv <downtowndharma@googlegroups.com> wrote:--Dear fellow sangha members
You may recall that earlier in the year we conducted a survey to gather views on ways to create more community, including through better use of technology.
I'm happy to share the results. In summary:
- People greatly appreciate the variety and quality of our teachers.
- People value the sense of community that already exists in our sangha - and crave even more opportunities to connect and socialize.
- An improved microphone and screen setup would help people online connect with those in the studio on Sunday nights.
The teachers and volunteers met a few weeks back to discuss the survey results and brainstorm ways to help the community flourish even more. Below are two lists of actions we came up with - organized into those that we as a sangha can do right away, and those that could do with a bit more discussion. We agreed to meet again to discuss the second list and will invite everyone from the sangha to attend.
The main message we'd like to share is that this is a community-led sangha – we all have the opportunity to shape the way the Downtown Dharma works. So if you have any ideas – or just general feedback - please feel free to share with the group and look out for an invitation in the next month or so for the next meeting.
May we all be well.
Nick
Right away
What
Who
· Buy two new microphones and a tablet (to enhance the Zoom experience on Sundays)
· Vince
· Greet people as they arrive at the studio on Sundays
· Volunteers (and any existing sangha member who's interested)
· Ensure that at least 10-15 minutes of each Sunday session is devoted to practice that allows sangha members to connect with each other
· Teachers/facilitators
· Have more regular peer-led sessions (say at least once a quarter)
· Josh (who's now in charge of scheduling)
· Inform Sunday night attendees that Downtown Dharma (DD) is a long-standing community that's part of IMCW
· Teachers/facilitators (perhaps when introducing themselves at the beginning of class)
For when we meet again
What
Who
· Host a follow-up gathering to develop our vision/mission/general messaging
· Everyone from sangha welcome
· Create a website with sangha information (and update DD's IMCW page with the same info)
· Josh and friends
· Create a DD calendar and schedule half-day/day-long/weekend retreats/picnics/sports days/BV-inspired lucha libre teams/quarterly check ins/…
· TBD
· Create laminated DD info flyers for the cushions
· TBD
· Discuss whether we want to make further changes to our existing Sunday night "sit-talk-share" format (for example, by including a "meet-and-mingle" period, or a whole-group check in at the start of class, etc.)
· Everyone
· Develop a very short spiel on what DD is, and the different ways folks can engage with the sangha (e.g. it's community-led, with email listserv and FB page, reading group, etc…)
· Volunteers/teachers/ facilitators
Cheers, Nick
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