Next BPF Bay Area Gathering: Sitting/Discussion/Study Group? & Future Potlucks

[Dawn Haney]

Hi folks -

If you are interested in connecting with others who practice socially engaged Buddhism in the Bay Area, we're starting to organize a monthly sitting/study group. We are trying to accommodate as many schedules as possible; if you are interested in joining us, please fill out the doodle to let us know what works for you: http://www.doodle.com/c6wem9g87n42rb99

Also, is anyone planning to participate this Friday January 20th in the Day of Actions in San Francisco? There are several actions going on, including this one to shut down Bechtel Corporation: http://www.facebook.com/events/286668184723082/ . I'd love to know if others will be participating that day!

Dawn

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Jacks McNamara <jack...@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, Jan 17, 2012 at 1:53 PM
Subject: Next BPF Bay Area Gathering: Sitting/Discussion/Study Group? & Future Potlucks
To: Dawn Haney <dawn...@gmail.com>
Cc: iat...@gmail.com, lilan...@gmail.com, rezdog...@hotmail.com, barbaral...@att.net, cam...@hotmail.com, amand...@hotmail.com, jonr...@gmail.com, mca...@comcast.net, silve...@rocketmail.com, Q Quennell <qs...@mac.com>, sages...@gmail.com, trudy...@aol.com, orlon...@gmail.com, jb...@concast.net, tara...@yahoo.com, Mansur Nur <phy...@sbcglobal.net>, rjv...@yahoo.com, Marion Kwan <mario...@gmail.com>, Tina Fossella <tfos...@gmail.com>

Hello there to the people who attended our community potluck gathering last week, and to anyone who is receiving this e-mail as a forward–

It was wonderful to meet or reconnect with all of you last Saturday!  I was deeply moved by the energy in the room– people from so many contemplative traditions coming together to share food and offer our stories, intentions, and and hopes in connecting our spiritual practice with community and social engagement in the coming year.

We are hoping to carry this momentum forward through starting a monthly sitting/discussion/study group, and through having seasonal community potlucks.

I set up a scheduling poll online (through Doodle) where people can take a look at a few different potential dates for a sitting group in February, and check off the ones that work for you. Once we have a sense of which time works for the most people, we will find a venue and send out invitations! You can find the scheduling doodle online here: http://www.doodle.com/c6wem9g87n42rb99

One of the things that struck Dawn and I after the introductions on Saturday night was how many different areas people are interested in working on, from nuclear disarmament and indigenous solidarity to the Occupy movement, war resistance, and beyond. We thought it might help bring a little unity to our gathering if we did a little bit of group study on Buddhism, nonviolent resistance, and transformative activism.  Focusing on how to bring a contemplative/transformative perspective to all of the different areas that we work in. Before the group meets, we would like to send out a couple articles that people can read if they have time, and discuss together in February. if anyone would like to suggest an article, please pass it along.

We are hoping that if the group takes off, people will rotate who organizes and facilitates our gatherings, building leadership within the whole group.

Looking forward to hearing from all of you!

With palms pressed together,

Jacks

PS Feel free to forward this e-mail along to people in your sanghas or networks  who would be interested in our gatherings but could not come to the potluck last week.

~ Jacks McNamara ~

Communications and Outreach Coordinator

Buddhist Peace Fellowship (http://bpf.org)

Turning Wheel Media (http://turningwheelmedia.org)

Jack...@gmail.com

510-282-4553