Honey Locust Sangha
Omaha Community of Mindful Living
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Minutes 
Caretaking Council meeting, Honey Locust Sangha
January 17, 2021

Present: Facilitator Patrice Watson, and Dave Watts, Gina Matkin, Jim Cox, Juanita Rice (note-taker) and Mark Watson. Mike McMahon was called to work this afternoon.

Agenda Item 1:  Present for the first agenda item, Financial Report: Randy Reinhart, Sangha Treasurer.
Sangha accounts on-hand ($1835.40 plus $1432.95= $3268.35). Randy also reported that Mark Watson had negotiated with Creighton Retreat Center the refund of 2020 retreat deposit of $1140 since we have already made a deposit for the 2021 spring retreat. These totals are calculated after the dispensing of checks for $655 sent as Dana to Sister Terry and BK for the Winter Retreat in December.
Randy also reported that although Venmo was used for the Winter Retreat, it has not been used for regular Dana contributions to the Sangha, and that we still do not have as much income as was regularly donated via the basket at the Yoga Path while we met in person. We agreed to remind the sangha through announcements at the end of Monday night meetings but specifically to avoid giving the impression that such Dana is urgently needed.
The Council embraced the Financial Report and thank Randy for her time and meticulous attention.  We then resumed the normal form of Council Meeting: a brief sitting meditation, followed by check-ins that brought smiles at being "kerfluffled," and Patrice's meditative reading of the Buddha prayer for meetings. You can find this prayer in Joyfully on the Path Together. 

Agenda Item 2: Reflections on the Winter Retreat.
There were 25 retreatants (+4 no-shows).
All comments were positive, generally indicating we thought the experience better than we expected even after the earlier Plum Blossom Sangha retreat some of us attended.  An issue discussed was "continuity" of experience: i.e., the extent to which the sense of being on retreat persisted during scheduled breaks, both overnight, and for mid-day lunch.  We all appreciated the surprisingly positive effect of the overnight vigil plan; some of those who meditated felt an urge to stay on after their scheduled hour, for instance.  We agreed we valued the sense of continuity between the zoom-carried sessions, although there were different extents and experiences.  


Agenda Item 3: Considerations for a Spring Retreat with Michael Ciborski as Dharma Teacher.
We affirmed our support for a spring Zoom-carried retreat, for the third weekend of May (specifically 3 "days": Fri. p.m., May 14 through Sun. p.m., May 16 ) and asked Mark Watson to talk with Michael Ciborski about arrangements.  We will further discuss it at our next meeting, February 21. Some of our discussion weighed ways of financing the retreat that will support Brother Michael and his new (still-being-constructed) Retreat Center at Morning Sun in New Hampshire and yet enable all practitioners to benefit from it without financial strain.  Juanita spoke of a 5-day retreat this year with the monastics from Magnolia Grove Monastery in Mississippi that happily held 420 retreatants and we decided to support the idea of welcoming sanghas from a broad circle in the Midwest, Texas to Wisconsin, etc.


Agenda Item 4: Gina and Juanita reported on the project they volunteered for, i.e., setting up "Inclusiveness Resources" on the Honey Locust website, ideas for reading, listening, watching and attending (online) events that can increase understanding and empathy for our complex society, its voices, histories, personalities  They ruefully reported that they had been unable to set aside meeting times so far although the interest and intention remain alive.  The facilitator endorsed the "eager impulses," like a Lincoln Library Project entitled "Read Woke."  Further report is deferred.


Agenda Item 5:  Shall we add 1 or 2 members "at large" to the Caretaking Council? The By-Laws specify that we may/should have from 6-9 members including Order of Interbeing members, Aspirants (to the OI), and members from "the Sangha at-large." We currently have 3 OIs, 3 Aspirants and 1 "at-large."  
The foundations for the CTC (our fond term for Care Taking Council) are that a member should have taken the 5 Mindfulness Trainings*, have regularly attended sangha gatherings for a year, and should have a meaningful home practice.  (*Please ask any one of the CTC what, why, how.)  We believe the addition of at-large sangha members would be salutary, plus our experience is that the practice at CTC meetings is rich and rewarding.  And it is our intention that our meetings continue to be pleasant, steps on the path.  We delegate Gina to so announce at the next meeting or two and she will also look up a previous email to send out soliciting volunteers. 


Agenda Item 6: Sponsorship for MeetUp (meetup.com).  Mark Watson has been Honey Locust's Meetup account sponsor almost by default since Jonathan Rothe first began it.  It requires his credit card and costs @$200/year, reimbursed by the sangha. A large percentage of new people coming to Honey Locust Sangha begin with an inquiry through Meetup so it is an asset. The CTC affirmed our membership last year reviewing sangha expenses and incomes. Mark, however, reported that the time and attention required to follow up persistently and in a timely way are not strong suits for him; thus he asked if someone else might like to volunteer.  We might have put out a request to the whole sangha but a volunteer lurked on the CTC: Jim Cox.  Attentiveness to messages and timely response plus a real interest and ability in positive communications are all "right down his awards ability."  We could not do better than to accept his kind offer.  Plus, in the offing is a debit card for the sangha when the treasurer can find a way to get one without an in-person bank visit while we are on pandemic stay-home status. 
On another note, the CTC affirmed that it is better for anyone who spends money for the sangha to render a bill or receipt for repayment; if the person wants to then re-donate the money, that is a better path to take than just swallowing expenses that sometimes no one knows about.   


Added Agenda Item 7.  A minor housekeeping item- our By-Laws state that the CTC meets on the second Sunday of the month.  We endorsed a correction to say the "third."

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.