Springs Mountain Sangha, June 2025
All times listed below are Mountain Time
June Offerings
Sunday, June 1; 9:30AM -12:30 PM, half-day meditation retreat; in person seats are full but plenty of room to join online
Monday, June 2; 6 PM, on Zoom & in person at Shove Chapel, Meditation, Sutra Service, and conversation
Thursday, June 5; 6:15 PM, on Zoom, Steering Committee Meeting, all are welcome
Sunday, June 8, 12 –1 p.m. Mountain time
Our long-time member, Clay Taylor
will be ordained as a priest at Berkeley Zen Center
after a years-long process of training and preparation.
Zoomlink: Berkeleyzencenter.org. On the right side of the webpage, click on the “enter the Zendo now” link and you’re in.
This is an ancient and sacred ceremony full of ritual and chanting.
Here’s the announcement from Berkeley Zen Center:
On Sunday, June 8, at 11:00 a.m., a priest
ordination (Shukke Tokudo) will be held for two
sangha members, Clay Taylor and Joe
Buckner. Clay’s ordination will be given by
Peter Overton and Joe’s will be given by Laurie
Senauke. It is a joyous occasion when a
practitioner chooses this way to deepen their
commitment to the precepts and to Suzuki
Roshi’s way. Clay and Joe will both be giving
way-seeking mind talks in the next few weeks
to share some part of what this means to them.
We look forward to years of practice together
as they make their way with us on this
unknowable path.
Monday, June 9; 6 PM, on Zoom & in person at Shove Chapel, Meditation and Dharma Talk with Sarah Bender, Roshi
Thursday, June 12; 6 PM, on Zoom & in person at Creek Bend Zendo, Precepts Group begins; more information about this series is below
Friday, June 13; 6 PM, monthly dinner at Rico’s; the weather will hopefully be nice so we will sit outside and share a meal; everyone welcome – including families frank.actis@gmail.com
Saturday, June 14; 8:30-noon, Habitat for Humanity Build, please contact Brandy Lancaster to sign up if you are interested, bdl0824@gmail.com; Lunch will be provided by Pho Khai’s community
Thursday, June 19; 6:30 PM, on Zoom, Great Matter Series with Sarah Bender, Roshi
Friday, June 20- Sunday, June 22; Integrative retreat at Creek Bend Zendo, more information below
Monday, June 23; 6 PM, on Zoom & in person at Shove Chapel, Koan Meditation and Conversation with Sarah Bender, Roshi
Thursday, June 26; 6 PM, on Zoom & in person at Creek Bend Zendo, Precepts Group continues
Monday, June 30; 6 PM, on Zoom & in person at Shove Chapel, Meditation and Wayfaring Mind Talk by Tim Sparks
Candlelight Meditation
Every Sunday from 8 to 8:30 PM, you are invited to join candlelight meditation online. Simple and lovely.
Integrative Retreat
(in person, commuter)
with Sarah Bender at Creek Bend
June 20-22
Friday eve through Sunday noon
All are welcome!
suggested donation, $80
As our Northern Hemisphere reaches its full tilt toward the sun and we officially begin summer, we pause to keep company with each other in silence
and meet an old story that touches on the matter and means of our awakening.
It takes a community to make such a thing happen, starting with this:
Please let Frank Actis know by the end of day Wednesday, June 4 if you plan to attend. frank.actis@gmail.com
ALSO COMING UP:
It’s time, friends, to launch our Refuge and Precepts study series:
Refuge in the Bodhisattva Way
which will extend from this month, June, 2025, all the way
to March, 2026 at our Spring retreat, where we will hold
a Refuge Ceremony for any who are ready to formally
take refuge in the Bodhisattva Way.
We’ll be holding two meetings per month, as consistently as we can through the year. We’ll start with meetings on Thursdays, June 12 and 26, at 6 PM Mountain Time.
The meeting of the 12th will be in person and Zoom.
The meeting of the 26th will be on Zoom only.
You are welcome to participate whether or not you are considering formally taking refuge. All of us long for refuge, and wish to offer refuge, and this process of deep inquiry into refuge itself, and vows, and ethical teachings is one we find most powerful when we take it up both individually and in community.
Questions? Feel free to contact Sarah at sembender@gmail.com.
And if you are considering taking refuge, please let her know this, especially if the times listed do not work in your schedule.
6 PM, monthly dinner at Rico’s; the weather will hopefully be nice so we will sit outside and share a meal; everyone welcome – including families frank.actis@gmail.com
The Great Matter of Livingdying
a series of conversations with Sarah Bender
continues Thursday, June 19, 6:30-8 PM MT
Zoom Zendo
suggested dana $10-$15 per session, offered directly to Sarah
If you’d like to join the series and haven’t let Sarah know already please do so, to be added to the email list.
http://sembender@gmail.com
Upcoming Retreats
Save the dates – more information coming
Integrative Retreat
June 20-22
Ullambana Retreat
September 7
Open Source Fall long retreat:
October 13-18th at Bodhi Manda Zen Center
Jemez Springs, New Mexico.
The Open Source is excited to return to Bodhi Manda Zen Center, in the gorgeous Jemez River Valley.
Center staff have been able to make some significant repairs and improvements, and work on the privacy wall is progressing well.
They’ve issued a warm invitation to us to return, and it is such a treat to retreat in this wonderful place, dedicated to awakening.
Bodhi Day Retreat
December 7 hybrid
Ongoing Meditation Schedule
All available via Zoom; Monday Eves available in person as well
Weekly Meditations (all times MDT) on Zoom:
- Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday are 6:30 to 7:30 AM. We sit for two periods and people come and go as they need to, and leave camera off. (Often a poem or koan will drop in at some point.)
- Saturday we sit from 6:30 to 8:00 AM, then someone speaks for a bit about their practice to kick off a deep and lively discussion (til roughly 8:30) These Zen Threads talks are now alternating every other week with “mini-threads” group discussions of practice with multiple paths emerging and joining seamlessly. You can join the meditation at 6:30, 7:00, 7:30 or 8:00.
- Sunday 8:00-8:30 PM Candlelight Meditation
Many Arms of Guanyin
Some of us recently attended a wonderful event with Pike’s Peak Habitat’s Interfaith Build for Unity: Dedication of the fourth IBU house, complete with Mariachi band and ribbon cutting, and Groundbreaking for the 5th house.
The joy of doing something real and close in, witnessing the creation of a neighborhood with so many hands together, was deeply encouraging. SMS members will be participating in the building this June.
Save the date: June 14, an interfaith Habitat Build
We’re forming a team for this!
If you know you’re in, or for more info, please contact Brandy Lancaster
bdl0824@gmail.com
Volunteer with SMS
Are you interested in volunteering to help with a specific project within the sangha? Do you have a particular skill or enthusiasm for something that might be helpful? Would you like to help out, but not sure how? SMS truly values and depends on the many efforts given freely by the sangha to the sangha. This is dana and is so much appreciated. If you have questions or want to help, please contact Kelly McFarland S.Kelly.HLS@gmail.com
Support for Springs Mountain Sangha
You can donate to Springs Mountain Sangha in person at Shove Chapel using the dana bowl at the entrance to the dharma hall. You can also donate through our PayPal account. You can get to the SMS PayPal link on the SMS web site at:
http://www.smszen.org/supportsms/
or by selecting the donate icon
Or you can mail a check to:
Springs Mountain Sangha
P.O. Box 2613
Colorado Springs, CO 80903
*We depend on the generosity of our members to support the work of our sangha*
If you want to make a donation to Sarah Bender specifically, for example, dana for classes, group meetings or work on the phone (suggested donations for these are $10 per class, or $20 for a 20 min. individual meeting) you can do this by sending a check directly to her.
Sarah Bender
7528 Jenkin Place
Colorado Springs, CO 80919
or by Paypal to sembender@gmail.com
Support for Cloud Dragon
The easiest way is to make a donation at the website, here:
https://joansutherlanddharmaworks.org/cgi-bin/dharma/page.cgi?g=Support%2FDonate%2Findex.html;d=1