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Sacramento Dharma Center

We Have Been Busy

Arriving home: Move-in, storage, and first gatherings have taken shape for Valley Streams Zen Sangha and Sacramento Buddhist Meditation Group in October. We look forward to Sacramento Insight Meditation’s first night at SDC on November 3rd.

Work in progress: SBMG and VS are experimenting with set-up, altar location, audio, entryways, storage, all kinds of procedures and systems in our new home. Beginner’s mind is helping us find our way in this new freedom, with patience and enthusiasm.

Maintenance: Bathrooms; walkways; leafy gutters; clean floors; tidying and cleaning; supplies; grass, trees, and shrubs, all need and are receiving attention. In its front office window, SDC has posted Interim Housekeeping and Opening/ Closing Guidelines for everyone. Feedback is invited.

Art and Design: Generous offers of art, questions about décor, colors, entry hall, information tables, and more continue to be explored. SDC’s newest committee will be grappling with creating guidelines and criteria for a harmonious and pleasing environment.

Happy HVAC savings! – after investigation of two HVAC units previously evaluated as inoperable, we’re delighted that SDC saved over $20,000 for replacement units, when Buckley Heating determined that minor electrical repairs were all that was needed for safe and efficient operation. And less landfill!

Access: SDC welcomes your ideas in the new Suggestion Box, located in the breakroom. Recent progress includes completion of our pristine ADA bathrooms; signage at driveway; lightweight sandwich boards to indicate where meetings are; contact info at the front door; maps and contact info on our website and Facebook page; training for sangha boards about the security alarm; and much more.

Volunteers: Your generous hearts have brought our community home to this refuge – thank you! Rain or shine, we invite your energies for the October 30th Workday, 9am-12 noon, for an hour or more, doing outdoor projects and indoor preparation for our Sangha gathering on November 6th. More info: Julia at juliam@surewest.net or Terry at terrywenner@gmail.com. And if you love working with people committed to the dharma, let Helen know at hdhobart@gmail.com, as we’re seeking a co-coordinator for the SDC Volunteer Program.

Your Dharma Center is now fully open!!

The Board of Sacramento Dharma Center is delighted and profoundly grateful to announce, that on October 12th the Center received the City of Sacramento’s Certificate of Occupancy that allows gatherings in excess of fifty (50). Although smaller groups had begun to meet at SDC, now all three Sustaining Sanghas—Sacramento Buddhist Meditation Group (SBMG,) Sacramento Insight Meditation (SIM), and Valley Streams Zen Sangha (VSZS) may hold their regular weekly sittings at the Center, as well as daylong retreats and their full complement of activities. We look forward to experiencing the Center as it manifests a vision of a sanctuary for all who seek wisdom and the end of suffering through the teachings of the Buddha.

We are full of gratitude for the hundreds of people who have contributed time, money, and merit to build this refuge for our Sanghas. Truly, Sacramento Dharma Center comes into being and will continue through dana – the generosity of so many supporters.

We hope to see you at the dedication and celebration, on Sunday, November 6 from 1 til 3. On Sunday, January 29, 2017, SDC will hold a grand opening for the wider community. Watch for details! Please visit the SDC website, sacdharma.org, for up to date information.

We're moving in…soon!

With a flurry of volunteer activity getting the Dharma Center clear and clean, our Founding Sanghas are now arranging for trucking and schlepping their supplies, and setting up house at SDC. There is leave-taking of our familiar Dharma homes at Congregation B’nai Israel, Friends’ Meeting House, and the Yoga Solution.

As summer turns toward fall, we shed our routines
and separate ways of being, to join together
in sharing and creating
Sacramento Dharma Center.

Save Sunday November 6th, 1:00 – 3:00, when all members of SIM, Valley Streams, and SBMG are invited to come together for our SDC Opening Celebration. We will enjoy time to sit together and to celebrate, walk the grounds, ponder possibilities, and enjoy refreshments. Our big Community-wide Grand Opening is scheduled for January 29th 2017 – bring friends and family!

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Daily progress is flowing fast. Check our progress in photos, updated frequently on our facebook page. How about that shiny new sign, with logo by David Angstead, and yards of curtains being cut and sewn by Julie DeHart! Each Sustaining Sangha is receiving new keys and entry/exit guidelines; the ADA restrooms are plumbed and SDC Board members are choosing counter tops, tiling, paint and more; a secure Tuff Shed for tools has been assembled.

Volunteers will paint and garden during SDC Workdays on Sept. 24th and 25th, covering graffiti on the building facing our property, as well as tackling a variety of inside and outside tasks. Please see details on the upcoming events calendar.

Come breathe in the spaciousness of the entry space, now free of the gigantic reception desk. And, amazingly, after months of effort, SDC Building Manager Bob Jenne found someone to haul away the mammoth door to the back vault, taking it to Washington. Our Sanctuary space is blossoming.

Wondering about upcoming events?

Office Manager Linda Dekker has been sorting our many Sustaining Sangha activities – check the updated Calendar and Upcoming events list. Sanghas are collaborating with the SDC Scheduling Committee to establish procedures for reserving rooms and accommodating our diverse needs under this one big roof.

We are hoping that in a few weeks we will all know the dates for SBMG and SIM to begin their Sunday night and Thursday night programs at SDC, in compliance with the much-awaited occupancy permit. Valley Streams will have its first Monday night program at SDC on 9/26,; SIM launched its first retreat on 9/17; and SBMG opens its first class series on 9/21 – please see Calendar for details. Welcome all!!

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Impermanence: Transitions at SDC

We have seen comings and goings over the last few weeks at Sacramento Dharma Center, evidence of both impermanence and progress. The issuance of the City Building Permit on August 10th, the arrival of 80 new chairs, the removal of a large, diseased tree last week, and the beginning of construction this week, are the most recent.

The first work on the building will be the demolition of unsafe concrete walkways to be replaced with level and fully accessible ones. Inside the building a defunct kitchen and a large closet will be demolished to make way for two ADA compliant restrooms. For a few weeks, we will rejoice in dust!

We are because you are! Getting the building and the Dharma Center ready for the Sanghas to move in and start offering sittings, retreats, classes and other programs happens with the help of volunteers, from SDC board members to folks from all three Sustaining Sanghas, and beyond! For instance, board members and volunteers helped to repair the sprinkler system, they are making window coverings, researched and tried out chairs, and they are researching environmentally responsible cleaning supplies.

The Board is developing a “wish list” of items that you will be able to purchase for SDC via our website; items might include everything from a vacuum cleaner to a rake. Look for the “registry” coming soon!

Representatives from each of the Sustaining Sanghas met on August 7th to select offices and to begin the collaborative planning that will result in the shared use of the Center once the Occupancy Permit is in hand.

 Come to August Volunteer Work Day!
  • Sunday, August 28th, from 8:00- 11:00 a.m.
  • Bring your beverage container, and enjoy some refreshments.
  • If you like outdoor work, come spread mulch, dig, mow, weed, sweep, clear the fence line, and rake.
  • If you prefer indoor work, there’s a variety of helpful tasks awaiting amidst the remodeling.
  • Even an hour of your help makes a difference!
  • Contact Terry Wenner at terrywenner@gmail.com, or call 916-212-4806 for more information.

WD July

July Work Day Volunteers

Ailing English Oak Removed & Turned to Mulch

After much investigation, the first of several unhealthy trees on the grounds of Sacramento Dharma Center was felled this week. Visitors will see that the tree is being ground to chips, a procedure that destroys the infestation and transforms the tree into beneficial mulch for other plants. Come to our workday and help spread the mulch! Healthy wood from the trunk will be turned into boards, perhaps for shelves in the Center.
Ailing Oak 1
SDC’s arborist and active volunteer, Terry Wenner, explains:
Climate change and severe drought in California over the past five years are two natural forces showing up around the world, and now right here at Sacramento Dharma Center. All around our region, coast redwoods, various birch trees, tulip trees, and alders, can be seen standing dead or in distress. These species do not grow naturally in our hot, dry valley, and the recent extremes have been culling some of them out.
The Valley Oak is a native which has evolved to survive extremes of heat and aridity found here, so imagine our surprise when we noticed yellowing and then browning of one of the three oaks at the east end of the property. This sign of distress caused us to look at the tree closely to see what the problem might be.
Two things stood out:
1. This oak, though similar in appearance, was not a Valley oak like the other two, and
2. There were white globs of foamy sap here and there on the bark of the trunk and branches.
The California Department of Agriculture helped us identify the tree and its problem. The tree was a Pedunculate oak, also known as English Oak, not suited to this climate. The problem probably was foamy bark canker disease, caused by an infestation of oak bark beetles carrying a virulent fungus. Perhaps Food and Ag will keep the infested samples brought to them in order to ascertain that this is the first incidence of this disease in Sacramento County.
For our purposes, the extensive beetle colony, now in the larval stage, with or without the fungus, dooms the tree to death. Prompt removal, and the process of chipping, is called for in order to prevent a new generation of beetles from emerging to infest other trees. After careful consideration by the Board of Directors, removal was ordered and is now nearly complete.
Ailing Oak

Things are hopping !

May our efforts to create Sacramento Dharma Center be of benefit in countless ways! Many of us have felt rocked by the barrage of events this summer that divide our human family. If ever there was a time to establish a Center, here in the capital of California, that offers a path of compassion and wisdom to the world, isn’t it now? How powerful that we have this opportunity right now to come together from our diverse traditions, working to be the change we want to see in the world!
“When will SDC open?”

Sometime in September is our best estimate. We are waiting for the City’s approval of our building permit for adding ADA bathrooms, and some other ADA changes required for our occupancy permit. As soon as our building permit is approved, our contractor Bill Carter will give us an updated schedule. Bill is committed to helping us get in the building without delay, and we feel supported by everyone involved in this highly detailed process.
“What progress are we making right now?”

Glad you asked! The intricate mysteries of 1980’s security, fire alarm, and sprinkler systems have been yielding to Bob Jenne’s daily efforts, in concert with a very active SDC Building Committee. Each Sangha now has its own access code for the security alarm. Fire alarm options are being weighed, as monthly fees for a separate phone line are required for the alarm to be integrated with our new security system. Access through the gate has been solved. Keys and fobs are ready for Sangha use. Each Sangha will be choosing its office space soon, and room assignments are coming clear.

In breaking news 7/16: We received expert analysis today about our broken sprinkler controllers, and system repairs are at last underway. Lynelle McNeil, Bob Jenne, and Julia Mullen have been persistent sleuths untangling the break-down of the system – solenoids, wiring, and all. For several weeks, Julia stepped up as guardian of our lawn and plants, hauling hoses and using manual sprinklers to keep our greenery alive. Many thanks to all for such teamwork! Dead wood in most of the trees has been pruned away by arborist Terry Wenner.

Research continues on the all-important choice of chairs, window coverings, and other furnishing needs. Finances are in good shape for the move-in expenses, as implemented in a thorough “Year One Cash Flow” budget prepared by Cynthia Embree-Lavoie and the Finance Committee.

Scheduling for our vibrant community activities is receiving careful consideration with a wide range of input. Decisions made will be open to change, as we see how sound travels in the building, parking needs, etc. The Sangha boards and SDC are in consensus that our task is to observe and adapt to what works, what needs adjusting, in this first year of becoming a Center.

With Gratitude

We bow deeply to Bruce Baccei who recently resigned from the Board. Bruce brings great expertise in energy systems and how SDC might become a truly green center. Bruce has been an upbeat and thoughtful Board member and will be much missed. We are grateful that he will continue to advise us about wise heating and air conditioning solutions.

You can help! 
Volunteer Workday Sunday, July 31st — Come push brooms, mowers, and more with good company: contact terrywenner@gmail.com. Stay posted on the website for details about the workday and more ways volunteers can pitch in this summer, including two board openings. We’ll also share some happy feedback from our Dharma sisters and brothers at Plum Village in France.
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