MINUTES FROM TUESDAY ALL SANGHA MEETING OF THE HEART OF THE VALLEY MINDFULNESS PRACTICE CENTER 

March 11, 2025, 9-11 AM 

• Reading of the Mindful Meeting Vow 

• Joyce offered an overview of the purpose of the meeting: to give sangha members the opportunity to provide feedback to the sangha’s three governing bodies, the Facilitators, the Board, and the Care Council as they develop practice opportunities and new ideas for deepening the spiritual growth of members, consistent with the Plum Village Tradition. 

• Those in attendance introduced themselves with their name, where they’re from, which sit(s) they attend, and if they serve on any of the governing bodies.  A total of 22 were in attendance. 18 in person and 4 on-line.

• Wayne and Sami presented an overview of the survey findings (summary and details attached). The Care Council recommended having a 3^rd sit at a time suitable for people who work. They plan to send another survey to determine a day and time.

• Those in attendance supported having a sit at a time to accommodate those who work. Preferences for Saturday or Sunday were given, with a preference for Saturday because some people attend church on Sunday. Those preferring Sunday cited ongoing family commitments on Saturday, as well as the Norwich Farmers’ Market, in season. A show of hands indicated 10 in favor of either Saturday or Sunday, 6 for Saturday and 3 for Sun One suggestion was to experiment to determine whether Saturday or Sunday works best for most people.

• There were suggestions to:
• Invite children and families to a Saturday or Sunday sit
• Meet Sundays 5:30-7 PM
• Meet 1 Saturday a month 10:30-1:30. 
• Have a daily on-line 30 minute morning meditation
• Engage Dartmouth students in plans for launching an additional
• Start a Wake-Up group at Dartmouth

• In discussion about finding a venue for a weekend sit, Rollins Chappel was suggested, as was finding a venue closer to Lebanon. St. Barnabas is not available on Saturdays or Sundays. Sami, Lisa, Wayne, Dianne and Gail volunteered to be a team to follow up on finding a venue for a weekend sit.  

• There was discussion about modifying the format of the existing Tuesday sit, which will be discussed by the Facilitators at their march . Among the topics discussed were:
• Having movement practice instead of indoor walking meditation which is difficult for those with balance issues, especially when outdoor walking is not possible due to weather.
• Having the Tuesday session 9-10:30, instead of 9-11 and moving the informal sharing time to the end at 10:30.
• Making the clean up at the end a Mindful Working M
• Offering Metta on a more regular basis.

• There was discussion and interest in forming a social action and engagement group. Creating a Beloved Community Circle with the guidance of dharma teacher John Bell was mentioned. The Care Council will organize a meeting of people interested in participating in or helping to organize a Social Action group.

• There was a discussion of activities and Dharma study of interest to sangha members based on survey responses.  Individuals or “teams” who might facilitate these activities with help of the CC can be formed. The committees might organize the following: 
• Guest teachers
• Weekend retreat at Morning Sun
• Weekend retreat at Blue Cliff
• Mindful Hikes
• Study Groups: Anyone interested in 3-to-6-week study groups focusing on areas of our practice that we don’t usually get into during sangha gatherings, g. 4 Noble Truths and Eightfold Path, 4/6 Paramita, the 8 Realizations of Enlightened Beings; etc.

• To help contact and organize “team” participants, Matt will set up a google document with names of sangha members who give permission to be contacted regarding committee activities, or general communications.

• Wayne, Matt and Sami will identify issues to include in a follow-up survey of the entire sangha.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The following is a summary of the findings from the survey developed by the Care Council sent to all on the Heart of the Valley Mindfulness Practice Center mailing list in early 2025. The complete survey results can be found HERE.

Analysis of Heart of the Valley Sangha Survey

The Care Council developed and published a survey that was sent out as a separate email to the 242 recipients of our weekly mailing and with a link incorporated in two successive weekly mailings. The purpose of the survey was to identify ways our sangha members could collectively deepen their practice and ways we might change our format and to better meet sangha members’ needs.

WHO RESPONDED?

We received 29 responses to the survey, an 13% response rate from the entire list and an 21% response rate based on those who opened the emails. 55% of the respondents attend the in-person sit and 31% attend the virtual sit. Most respondents (69%) were regular weekly attendees with 17% attending “a few times per year”.

HOW LONG AND WHEN SHOULD OUR IN-PERSON SITS BE?

• 70% of the respondents were in favor or indifferent to reducing the length of the sits from 2 hours to 90 minutes with 30% expressing disagreement to change.
• 56% were in favor of or indifferent to beginning earlier while 44% disagreed or strongly disagreed with changing the current start time.
• 63% were in favor of or indifferent to moving the sit to the weekend, 37% disagreed or strongly disagreed with such a move.

RECOMMENDATION: Given the high percentage of those in support of or indifferent to changing the length of the sits and the comments offering other ideas and expressing an openness to further dialogue on these issues, the Care Council might identify some viable alternatives to explore further at our all-sangha meeting.  

DESIREABLE SANGHA ACTIVITIES

• Just under 2/3 of the sangha members who responded to this question supported having guest teachers offer programs, by far the largest positive reaction. The other activities that garnered support from more than 1/3 of the respondents were deep relaxation and “potlucks and social gatherings” (35%). In response to a separate question, 85% expressed interest in an organized hike or other outdoor activity.
• The sangha members with three exceptions would like to engage more frequently with monastics. This could be done in conjunction with Dartmouth College or as a group activity (see next bullet).
• Sangha members expressed strong support for three group activities: an organized annual visit to Blue Cliff (80%); a weekend day of Mindfulness led by a Dharma teacher or monastic (92%); or a weekend retreat at Morning Sun (80%)

RECOMMENDATION: The Care Council in conjunction with the Facilitators, explore the possibility of scheduling a visit from a guest teacher for either our in-person or virtual weekly session(s). They should also explore the feasibility of an organized annual visit to Blue Cliff; a weekend day of Mindfulness led by a Dharma teacher or monastic; or a weekend retreat at Morning Sun. In terms of social activities, it is evident that a group hike elicited the strongest level of interest among members

 

 

AGENDA FOR ALL SANGHA MEETINGS

March 11 and 12, 2025

1. Meeting Protocol: Joyce (5 minutes)
   1. Mindful Meeting Vow: We vow to go through this meeting in a spirit of togetherness as we review all ideas and consolidate them to reach a harmonious understanding or consensus.  We vow to use the methods of loving speech and deep listening in order to bring about the success of this meeting as an offering to all beings.  We vow not to hesitate to share our ideas and insights but also vow not to say anything when the feeling of irritation is present in us.  We are resolutely determined not to let tension build up in this meeting.  If any one of us senses the start of tension, we will stop immediately and ask themindfulness holder to invite the bell so that we may stop, take at least three long mindful breaths, and re-establish an atmosphere of togetherness and harmony.
   2. Meeting Bell Holder = Bineke
   3. Timekeeper = Matt
   4. Note Taker = Gail
   5. Overview of timing
2. Purpose of Meeting: Joyce (5 minutes)
   1. Diagram of Sangha
3. Introduction of those in attendance (name, where from, which sit): (5 minutes)
4. Overview of survey findings (summary and details attached): Wayne (10 minutes)
   1. Reactions, feedback from those in attendance
   2. Questions we may have missed
5. Additional Sit? (Discussion, not decision): Sami (30 minutes)
   1. Our challenge based on survey findings.
   2. Care Council recommendation: the sangha give serious consideration to accommodating people with traditional work schedules by launching an additional sit.
   3. Considerations in launching an additional sit
6. Modifying format of Tuesday or Wed sit: Joyce (5 minutes)
7. Determining how to organize activities of interest to the sangha: Wayne (10 minutes)
   1. Social action and engagement: brief introduction by Sami who will offer words from Thu Nguyen, seek input from sangha, get a sense of those who might be interested in participating/organizing with the CC.
   2. Activities of interest to sangha based on survey response.
      1. Guest teachers
      2. Weekend retreat at Morning Sun
      3. Weekend retreat at Blue Cliff
      4. Mindful Hikes
      5. Identifying individuals or “teams” who might facilitate these activities with help of the CC
      6. 1. 1. 4 Noble Truths and Eightfold Path
            2. 4/6 Paramitas
            3. 8 Realizations of Enlightened Beings; etc.Study Groups: Anyone interested in 3-to-6-week study groups – outside the regular sangha schedule – focusing on areas of our practice that we don’t usually get into during sangha gatherings, e.g.
            4. Identifying other activities to consider

8. Identifying issues to include in follow-up survey of entire sangha: (5 minutes)

The link below will connect you to a pdf that describes two events being led by monastics from Deer Park and Magnolia Grove monasteries on April 5-7: a retreats at Dartmouth College’s Rollins Chapel on April 5-6 and a science symposium at the Hanover Inn on April 7.

Zen and the Art of Mindful Living Retreat

From April 1 through April 7 Dartmouth College will be hosting ten monastics from the Deer Park and Magnolia Grove Plum Village monasteries. The link below will take you the schedule for the week which includes listings for public events and links to registration for the retreats that will be held on April 5-6 and April 7.

Plum Village Scheduled Events

On September 24, 2024, the Heart of the Valley MPC hosted a Day of Mindfulness attended by over 50 practitioners from 8 sanghas. Many thanks to Sangha Sister Joyce Solomon for organizing the event with Eileen Mahoney, who served as the lay liaison for the Blue Cliff Monastics NE Tour.

Our webpage now offers an opportunity for you to make an online donation to the Heart of the Valley sangha. By clicking HERE you can make a one-time, monthly, or annual donation. This will take you to our PayPal account icon where you can use your own credit card or PayPal.

 

Here are the materials for the meeting of the Heart of the Valley Mindfulness Practice Center to be held on Tuesday, March  12 at 11:15 following the Tuesday morning sit:

MPC Bd Agenda for 2023 (Mar ’24)Annual Board Report 2023Sangha Treasurer’s Report FY23

In attendance:  Linda Clark, Wayne Gersen, Corlan Johnson, Karen Wynkoop, Gail Kuhl, Pat Maher, Richard Neugass, Bineke Oort, Bram Oort, Sami Saydjari, Joyce Solomon. 

Mindful Meeting Vow: read by Bineke

Joyce went over the guidelines of the meeting, and introduced the time-keeper (Karen) and note taker (Linda). 

Governance of the Sangha, overview: Board of Directors, Facilitator Committee, and Care Council.   Joyce reviewed the hand out on our sangha’s governance.  She emphasized that all three governing bodies are responsible for ensuring that we follow the Plum Village tradition and for keeping the sangha informed of practice opportunities and new ideas for deepening the spiritual growth of members.

The Board usually meets once a year in an open meeting, and focuses primarily on finances and major decisions such as moving our meeting place. The Facilitators meet quarterly. The Care Council has not met since Covid but will be re-activated. We read the mission statement on our own. 

See governance diagram attached for more details.  Further info is available upon request.

2. Details on the Care Council. New members? Wayne explained the Care Council began quite a few years ago. (Actually, in 2014) This Council addresses the “health of this organization.” Examples of the events the Council organized: New Years Eve gatherings; a guided walk (led by Ginger); a writing group (led by Jeff); picnics. The plan is to reconvene the group by the end of the calendar year or close to it. Ideas and members are welcomed; contact Wayne. 

3. Facilitator interest? Gail offered if anyone is interested in being a facilitator to please contact her or Joyce. 

4. Alternatives to Walking Meditation: mindful movements, qigong, yoga stretches. Any preferences? Ideas were presented to fit into this 20 minute time frame including singing. There seemed to be a preference for “mindful movements” as developed by Plum Village. Good advice to the facilitators. 

5. Optional activities on 5th Tuesday of the month meetings: Deep Relaxation; Touching the Earth; Sutra readings; other? Many activities are available. The Plum Village app yes a great resource. Lots of discussion about Deep Relaxation and how to make it work followed. A 5th Tuesday only happens about 3 times a year. A count of 7 out of 11 attendees would like to pursue optional activities. 

6. Feedback on Mail Chimps—what do you read? Want more or less? Videos? The majority attending really enjoy these weekly mailings. If the video is short, it is more likely watched. It was decided that the video should remain in this one mailing and not sent separately. Wayne shared a formatting idea from ListServe. 

7. Shorter readings so everyone will have the opportunity to read? No one minded not reading. A helpful idea was to start the reading at different parts of the circle. 

8. Time before/after the sit for new member orientation, other? A good discussion followed. The idea settled on: a facilitator to talk with the “newbie” at mindful chatting time, to offer a booklet to provide more information, and to answer questions. The process is often started via correspondence with Joyce when people first express an interest in attending and being put on the mailing list. (FYI, we have 244 people on the mailing list.)

9. Tutoring English with monastics. Gail explained their involvement with a nun from Blue Cliff. They converse with her about once a week, and explained it is a conversation or a chat. It’s casual, and a way for the monastic and lay person to get to know one another and, of course, to help the nun learn English. See Gail if you’re interested. 

10. How are we doing? Anything we’ve forgotten? Misc. comments? A lengthy discussion followed. A question asked was how did people find out about the Heart of the Valley Mindfulness Practice Center? How can we get the word out more so that people know about our sangha and that we welcome new people? 

Currently, we are listed weekly in the “Valley News,” and we are included on the Plum Village international sangha directory and a special directory for on-line sanghas.  Also, our MPC web site comes up when people do a google search for words like “mindfulness” and “meditation” in and around the UV. All listings note where and when the Sangha meets. 

It was noted that students are struggling with mental health issues, and the Plum Village tradition may be helpful to them. Sami is going to look into the meditation offerings at Dartmouth, and contact Nancy Vogel.

A suggestion was made to dedicate a week once or twice a year to putting out more info than usual, and to offer several educational sessions. Our expectation is that people will feel less intimidated attending an educational session before coming to a regular sangha sit.  These are questions, discussions and decisions that the Care Council can explore. 

The meeting ended at 11am with 11 people attending. We bowed to each other, our ancestors and Mother Earth. 

Heart of the Valley Mindfulness Practice Center 2022 Financial Overview

CURRENT YEAR EXPENDITURES AND REVENUES: An overview of the spending and revenue for for the Heart of the Valley Mindfulness Practice Center (MPC) for 2022 is provided in chart form below and in pie charts on the next page. As you can see, the MPC spent roughly $100 less than it took in, an improvement over last year when we spent roughly $2,700 more than we received in donations. Two factors contributed to this improvement in our cash flow for the past year: donations TO the sangha increased from $5,204 to $6,583 and donations FROM our sangha dropped from $3,500 to $2,133. This past year our donations included $925 to seed the sangha discretionary fund, $538 for trees to be planted at Blue Cliff Monastery, $550 for Loving Work, and $120 for Morning Sun. We also realized savings in our rental rates since we pay only St. Barnabas $250/month for rent the use of their facility, their internet if we need it, and space for storage, the same amount we previously paid St. Francis. This resulted in a net savings of $480 for 2021. Our operating expenses include monthly zoom fees, annual post office and web page fees, and a fee to renew our non-profit status. 

CHANGE IN BANK ACCOUNT – DECEMBER 31, 2021 VS. DECEMBER 31, 2022: At the conclusion of 2021 the MPC had a balance of $9,239. At the conclusion of 2022 the MPC checking account balance was $9,320 and the balance of the MPC Sangha Discretionary Fund is $415. The MPC also has a CD valued at $4,670 that has not been drawn against for over a decade giving the organization a net balance of $14,405. Here is the summary for the expenditures and revenues for 2022: 

EXPENDITURES
Category	Amount
Rent – St. Barnabas	$3,000.00
Donations by MPC	$2,133.00
Insurance	$492.00
Operating Expenses	$743.35
Dana for Kirtan	$50.00
Scholarships, Books	$67.55
	$6,485.90

REVENUES
Category	Amount
Check, Bank Contributions	$ 5,355.00
Cash Donations from Sits	$ 1,228.00
Sangha Fund Seed Donation	$   640.00
	$6,583.00

NOTE: Contributions are lump sum donations made by check or monthly bank deductions that are placed in our bank account. The Cash Donations are those funds collected at the sits in donation baskets in the form of cash or checks made out to MPC. Counting the collection of seed money for the Sangha Discretionary Fund These donations increased by $1,324 in 2022, in large measure because of the increase in the number of in-person meetings where much of the cash donations were received. 

RECOMMENDATION: Assuming the increase in donations in 2022 is sustained and not expecting any increase in expenditures in 2023, MPC will consider higher donation levels in September, 2023.