Volunteer Community at the Center for Spiritual Living, Santa Rosa

In 2012 Cindy signed up as a volunteer for a one-year commitment in our Youth and Family Ministry, and she has been serving with our youngest members in the nursery ever since. Cindy brings her cheerful, loving presence to every child and volunteer with whom she works. As a member of the One Heart Choir, Cindy is the music librarian, creating the choir's music books for Sunday services. She also organizes and files the music for each season. Cindy embodies the Center's teaching by being a loving, light-hearted presence wherever she serves. Cindy, we are grateful for your ongoing support and the light you bring to everyone. Thank you!

Learning about how serving the world can be a spiritual practice was made easier when I encountered these four helpful shifts in awareness: From Doing To Being From Attachment to Nonattachment From Obligation to Love From Duality to Oneness The first, the shift from doing to being, represents a change in focus from being task oriented towards being mindful of the attitude with which I approach my service. Someone coined the phrase “never move faster than the speed of love,” which to me describes the attitude I aspire to when service. When I am tasked oriented, I can sometimes be rough with people, and leave an unpleasant emotional wake behind me. I’m learning to focus on how I am being while I am doing what I am doing. The second, the shift from attachment to nonattachment, reminds me that I want to get to a place in mind where I don’t let disappointment degrade my engagement. A paraphrase of what Krisha said to Arjuna when asked what kind of people he favored might be

Michael Seymour is one of those behind the scenes volunteers that make our Center shine. He visits our offices during business hours and makes sure the garbage and recycling bins are properly emptied so that staff can concentrate on their work. On Wednesday afternoons, he removes the chairs and mops the floors in rooms 1 & 2 so that Natalie’s yoga class has a clean space to practice. And he is happy to tend to “other tasks” as assigned, completing them with skill and a warm heart. Thank you, Michael, for the generous gifts you give to all at the Center.

It takes a village of volunteers to record and edit our Sunday morning messages so that they can be seen and heard far and wide. Cindy Richards, top left, heads up the video recording crew; Naava Dewey, top row, middle, manages the editing team. Other video volunteers currently include Richard Cullinen, Steve DeLap, Rebecca Graves, Karl Kowalski, Rob Mayfield, David Reichard, and Jean-Pierre Swennen. Thanks to all of you! Our gratitude abounds!

Deborah Taylor-French and Marc Hoffman formed a delightful team assisting in Youth Church classes 9 years ago. Deborah had been assisting for 11 years before that and met Marc while offering her SEVA. They enjoy bringing their musical instruments to classes and watching their young students become young adults. “The joy we feel from being with these students can never be measured. They give us a grand sense of the wealth of the human spirit.” Thank you, Deborah and Marc, for tending to the Center’s Youth Church members!