Honey Locust Sangha
Omaha Community of Mindful Living
  • Home
  • Our Practice
    • Weekly Meditation
    • Monthly Half Day of Mindfulness
    • Days of Mindfulness
    • Annual Retreat >
      • Retreat Sign Up
    • TNH Quarterly Video Series
    • Monthly Calendar
  • Practice Resources
    • Gathas (Mindfulness Verses)
    • Beginning Anew
    • The Five Remembrances >
      • November 2022 CTC Minutes
    • Mindful Breathing (Meditation 101)
    • Touching the Earth
    • 5 Contemplations (Eating Meditation) >
      • August 2022 CTC Minutes
      • CTC Minutes April 24 2022
    • 5 Mindfulness Trainings (Guidance for Mindful Living)
    • Deep Relaxation
    • Meditating with Difficult Feelings
    • Peace Treaty (A Practice for Dealing with Anger)
    • Outdoor Walking Meditation
    • Indoor Walking Meditation
    • Meditation on No Birth, No Death
  • Articles by Thich Nhat Hanh
    • The Heart Sutra
    • Flames of Prayer
    • March 2021 CTC minutes
    • On Reincarnation
    • Mother Earth Is Inside Of Us
    • Walking Meditation
    • The Story of a River
    • Why Do We Have to Die One Day?
    • Impermanence
    • Poem: In Praise of Mother Earth
  • Dharma Talks by Some of Our Teachers
  • Sangha Musings - Poems, Prayers, Reflections
  • Videos
  • Christian/Buddhist Dialogue Articles
    • Richard Rohr- Unitive Consciousness
    • Thich Nhat Hanh- Home is the Way: A Christmas Message
    • Paul Knitter- God/Love: the compassionate energy of the interconnecting spirit.
    • Katherine Fransson- Eyes of Thich Nhat Hanh
    • Mike McMahon- An Introduction to Christian/Buddhist dialogue
    • David Stendl-Rast- A Catholic Monk Practicing Buddhism
    • Thich Nhat Hanh- The Holy Spirit and Mindfulness
    • Thich Nhat Hanh- Going Back to Our Religious Roots
    • Anthony de Mello, SJ.- Conversations with the Master
    • Mike McMahon-A Lotus Blooming in the Catholic Church
    • Mike McMahon- Buddhist Approach to Doctrine (Teachings are relative truth)
    • Joan Chittister- Practice Compassion and You Will Become It
    • August 2022 CTC Minutes
    • Notes from Thomas Merton's Asian Journal
    • Paul Knitter
  • Caretaking Council
    • February 2023 CTC Minutes
    • January 2023 CTC
    • December 2022 minutes
    • November 2022 CTC Minutes
    • October 2022 CTC Minutes
    • August 2022 CTC Minutes
    • July 2022 CTC Miinutes
    • June 2022 CTC minutes
    • April 24 2022 CTC Minutes
    • April 10 2022 CTC Minutes
    • March 2022 CTC minutes
    • February 2022 CTC Minutes
    • January 2022 CTC Minutes
    • December 2021 CTC Minutes
    • November 2021 CTC minutes
    • October 2021 CTC Minutes
    • September 2021 Minutes
    • August 2021 CTC Minutes
    • July 2021 CTC Minutes
    • June 2021 CTC Minutes
    • April 2021 CTC Minutes
    • February 202CTC Minutes
    • January 2021 CTC Minutes
    • November 2020 CTC Minutes
    • October 2020 CTC minutes
    • Sept 2020 CTC minutes
    • January 19, 2020 CTC Minutes >
      • November 2022 CTC Minutes
    • October 2019 CTC minutes
    • September 2019 CTC Minutes
    • August 2019 Caretaking Coucil
    • March 2019 Caretaking Council Minutes
    • October 2018 CTC minutes
    • September 2018 CTC minutes
    • August 2018 CTC Minutes
    • July 2018 CTC minutes
    • April 2018 CTC Minutes
    • January 2018 CTC Minutes
    • November 2017 CTC minutes
    • August 2017 CTC Minutes
    • July 2017 CTC Minutes
    • May 2017 CTC Minutes
    • April 2017 CTC Minutes
    • March 2017 CTC Minutes
    • September 2016 Minutes
  • Adventures in Buddhist/Christian Spirituality
  • Sangha Directory
  • March 2023 CTC Minutes
Honey Locust Sangha
CTC Meeting January 19, 2020
Present: Gina and Colleen at Gina’s house. Mark Watson and Mike McGann via Zoom
Unable to attend: Mike McMahon and Dave Watts (who were greatly missed!)
 
We opened with a meditation and brief check in.
Colleen read Thay’s Meditations before Meetings
 
  1. Treasurer for Sangha
    1. Randy Reinhart joined us for a discussion of the duties of the Sangha treasurer. After having her questions answered regarding the duties and logistics of the role, Randy agreed to be our new Sangha Treasurer to replace Steve Brown. The Caretaking Council voted unanimously to approve Randy Reinhart as the new Treasurer to replace Steve Brown.
    2. Mark and Steve Brown (current Treasurer) will meet with Randy to make the necessary transfers of signatures and check writing authorities and share the current set up for recording and tracking Sangha income and expenses.
    3. The CTC wishes to express our deep gratitude to Steve Brown for serving as Treasurer the past few years. Deep bows to you for your service to the Sangha.
  2. CTC Membership
    1. New Member applications were reviewed. There was a clarification that CTC members serve a two-year term (with the exception of current OIs who may rotate on or off as availability and needs arise). After the two years, another term may be granted depending on the needs of the CTC and the member.
    2. CTC membership and new appointments are reviewed and conducted each year at year’s end in time for our CTC/OI/Aspirant/Treasurer Spring DoM which serves as the first official gathering of the new CTC along with all present and past CTC members.
      • Patrice Watson has applied formally to join the CTC again. She was approved to serve a two-year term.
      • Mike McGann volunteered to extend his term for as long as he is needed to make sure the CTC has adequate Sangha member at large representation.
      • Current Aspirants will be asked if they would like to join the CTC. All were approved as new members pending their interest and willingness.
        1. Aspirants Jim Cox and Juanita Rice have agreed to join the CTC. 
  3. Excess Sangha Funds
    1. With approximately $9000 in our Sangha accounts, it was decided these funds should be used for furthering and supporting the practice and the Plum Village Tradition in alignment with our Financial Statement of Purpose. With that in mind, we discussed that we needed to reserve $2000 for ongoing expenses, and approximately $2000 for upcoming retreat expenses (down payments, airline tickets for teachers, etc.). That left  $5000 for distribution to worthy causes
    2. We discussed two potential places to support: 1) Magnolia Grove Monastery (MGM) for their general fund to be used as needed and 2) MorningSun Mindfulness Center (Michael Ciborski and Fern Dorresteyn’s retreat center) to help with the completion of “the Barn” residential facility for meditation and mindfulness retreat participants.
    3. After much discussion and deep listening about the needs of both of these, it was decided to support MGM with $1000 and MorningSun with $3000. Colleen made an additional suggestion that we reserve $1000 to be placed in a scholarship fund and communicated to Retreat Attendees for our own retreats/events or active Honey Locust Sangha members for our retreats, or other retreats such as Kansas City, Madison, or one of the Plum Village Monasteries. It was also suggested that we consider supporting Aspirants to their ordinations if requested. Gina will create a form that can be filled out to request scholarships and it will be shared with the Sangha and as part of future HLS retreat announcements.
The CTC ended with Gina providing a Poem in memory of our dear friend, Joe Goodding who transitioned from his earthly form recently. The poem is by Ellen Bass, titled “The Thing Is.” https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/151844/the-thing-is

There was harmony in the Sangha.
​

Omaha Community of Mindful Living
Date 501(c)3 Designation Established: 02/22/2018
Officers: Gina Matkin, President; Mike McMahon, Vice-President; Mark Watson, Secretary; Colleen Brown, Treasurer
​Submitted by Gina Matkin  
The Honey Locust Sangha / Omaha Community of Mindful Living is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. All funds donated help to fulfill the mission of practicing and raising awareness of the mindfulness practice in the Thich Nhat Hanh / Plum Village tradition.

​You can donate (provide Dana) using the PayPal link at the left (you do not need a PayPal account) or send via Venmo to @HoneyLocust. Please indicate General Dana or specific event (December DoM, for example) in the text via Venmo.