Caretaking Council (CTC) Minutes - March 17, 2024
Present: Patrice Watson (facilitator), Jim Cox, Dave Watts, Mark Watson, Mike McGann, Gina Matkin (note taker).
Absent: Tina Ray, Juanita Rice, Mike McMahon
We gathered and began our meeting with a brief recitation of the Six Mantras from Plum Village and a short, but nourishing meditation. This was followed by a check-in from all present.
AGENDA ITEMS
The meeting ended early with all members in harmony and wishing each other well!
Respectfully Submitted by Gina S. Matkin, True Transmission of Virtue
Absent: Tina Ray, Juanita Rice, Mike McMahon
We gathered and began our meeting with a brief recitation of the Six Mantras from Plum Village and a short, but nourishing meditation. This was followed by a check-in from all present.
AGENDA ITEMS
- Treasury Report – Our current TOTAL balance is $10,472, which includes PayPal $684 and US Bank $9788. $5960 of this is retreat fees. Taking out the retreat fees leaves us with $4512. For our upcoming Spring retreat, there have been eight requests for financial aid so far.
- Sangha Member Request/Idea for Weekly Events. Gina mentioned that a Sangha member had reached out asking if the basic information and Zoom links that are announced each week could be included in our Weekly Reminder emails. This would put all of the general event information in one email, making it easier to find days, times, and links for those who are interested in these events. The CTC unanimously supported this idea. Gina will include this starting with this week’s Monday night Sangha reminder.
- Sangha Monday Night Meetings. It was generally agreed that we continue to find ways to make our Monday night Hybrid meetings work better. With the exception of the wires and starting a bit late, the process has become less and less intrusive for those at the Yoga Path, and those on Zoom continue to express gratitude for this option for attending Monday night meditation. Dave mentioned that at another meeting he regularly attends, a new speaker/microphone combo was purchased that seems to be more “sensitive” than what we are currently using. He offered to purchase the equipment so we could try it out, perhaps at a “not prime time” Sangha event. Gina asked if this would also allow us to continue to use the microphone/speaker that provides hearing assistance, and it was confirmed that it would. The CTC unanimously agreed that it was a good idea to give this new system a try.
- Update from the Retreat Committee. Jim mentioned that we currently have 44 people registered, with two weeks until the deadline for registering. It was mentioned that if we fill, we will keep a waiting list. Patrice asked if “filling” was related to enough space in the sleeping quarters. Mark said it was not related to that, but rather the space in the dharma hall to accommodate groups larger than 50. Patrice asked if Michael Ciborski, our dharma teacher, would be doing any other events such as speaking at Monday night Sangha, while he was here. Mark said it would depend on his flight schedule and who he was staying with. He has emailed to ask him about this but has not heard back. He will reach out again in the coming week. Jim said the retreat committee would meet next week and that they have accomplished about half of what is on the task list for the retreat. At the upcoming meeting, they will work out details such as who will assist at the retreat with tasks, etc. Mike McGann reminded everyone that he thought it would be beneficial to the Sangha by reaching out beyond the OI/Aspirant group to include more Sangha members as this helps people feel included and builds community. Jim then mentioned that we have Joe Reilly confirmed for 2025, but not any details of his financial requirements, etc. He said that the Creighton Retreat Center had accepted our request to pay half of our deposit for 2025 now and the rest after our upcoming retreat.
- Newcomers Study Group. Mike McGann said that he thought the attendance at these has ebbed and flowed but that was to be expected. Mark said he had attended a few of the meetings, but would reach out to see if/how we could support them better.
- New CTC Members. Patrice asked the group how we felt about our current CTC membership and structure and if there was anyone who no longer wanted to serve. No one requested an exit, so we turned our attention to our current CTC By-Laws to review how the CTC structure and terms for service were described. Gina noted that our By-Laws give guidance, but stop short of creating hard rules about how we operate. The By-Laws suggest a CTC membership of no less than six and no more than nine members consisting of representation from Sanga Members at Large, OIs, and Aspirants. As much as is possible, we seek to balance these three groups. It was noted that this might mean that some OI and/or Aspirant members might rotate off to make room for additional members since our current OI/Aspirant numbers alone are now at eight. We decided that before we cross that bridge, we should reach out to see if there are Sangha members who meet the criteria for the CTC, who are interested in becoming a member. Mark and/or Patrice will make an announcement at Monday Sangha this week and Gina will send out an email with a Google Form link that anyone interested can fill out to let us know of their interest. We will provide a two week period for interest and then at our next meeting, we will discuss membership based on the results.
The meeting ended early with all members in harmony and wishing each other well!
Respectfully Submitted by Gina S. Matkin, True Transmission of Virtue