Volunteer Community at the Center for Spiritual Living, Santa Rosa

I've been cooking on Fridays with our Center for Spiritual Living, Santa Rosa group. The joy I get from this community participation is beyond measure. We all show up and start chopping, peeling, mixing, baking, roasting---whatever is available from the generous donations of food and supplies which keep appearing at the Grange in Sebastopol!  Miraculously, at the end of several hours, 140+ meals miraculously appear to be distributed to those who are in need of a healthy home cooked meal. The colors and textures are a feast for the eyes and the abundance is joyous to behold. And though we are masked and keeping our distance from one another, the camaraderie and sense of community is so palpable. It's just a great feeling-- doing a little piece of Good in the world which at this time is so needed. I feel so blessed to be able to participate with this group.

I cook because my mom one day brought me to one of the cooking days, and after being there one time, I wanted to come back and continue to cook with the group from the Center. The first time I cooked was at St. Vincent's. That day we were making a meat dish with mashed potatoes, and I helped make the potatoes, which was really satisfying. I also helped with icing cupcakes, which I also found to be very calming, almost like meditation. When I cook, I do whatever is needed, squishing garlic to chopping carrots. I find that when the group I cook in works, we work together very well, and we make it fun for each other, which makes it even more fun to be with them. The people I cook for are the homeless that live in LGV and on the streets. I work with a group that is organized through the Center for Spiritual Living. I've learned that cooking can be a great stress reliever.

I have been a part of the team cooking/ preparing food since April 2020. Before training and joining this team, I was doing what I could to get snacks, sandwiches, fruit, and love to the hundreds of the unsheltered community through grassroots connections. Our PB&J sandwiches were legendary, and we can do better! And DO. We do better! With hot meals, nutritional sides and salads, And deserts. All determined by donations from farmers, backyard gardeners, gleaners foods, farm to table growers with a shrunken restaurant clientele, Redwood Empire food bank, and private donations. Each cooking day and menu is determined by what is available and donated—or even purchased at Safeway! I love doing this service with my spiritual community. It is the Center of my social life during this time of COVID. Outside of Zoom! It is a sacred service anchored in prayer and love. We will likely never meet the people we cook for, yet their lives and well being are very present in my awareness. We a...

Keith, our volunteer light technician, installing our new and amazing stage lighting. Thank you Keith!!!

How do you run a fine bookstore for The Center for Spiritual Living? You gather excellent volunteers, that's how! Here are some of the amazing crew that make the bookstore work smoothly for your spiritual reading and gifts shopping pleasure. Thank you volunteers! Jennifer Mann Julie McCLung Jeff Basham, Linda Thomason and Anne Galbraith

This is Beverly Wells from PianoCraft with our Yamaha Grand keyboard and action that she has completely rebuilt, new hammers, knuckles, shanks - basically a new piano!! She's installing today - can't wait to hear it!! The instrument will have more dynamic range and a more full bodied less brittle sound throughout. Plus it's much more "playable". Can't wait to hear it and put it to use!! Christopher Fritzsche, Music Director

Love roses? Nancy Moorhead has been taking care of our roses and they are beautiful! Thank you Nancy for all your hard work on our property grounds! Location: Occidental Rd,Santa Rosa,United States

This blast from the past is a reminder of how important it is to keep on renovating and upgrading our facility.  Not only do we conduct monthly clean up projects (we call it Temple Maintenance Day) but we also have an ongoing plan to keep our equipment and building in top functional form, and clean too! This photo is from about 15 years ago when we were working on our stage build out and at the same time provide spiritual services!  Memories. Do you recognize any of the people in the photo? In the right hand column of this blog you will see an updated Facility Renovation Plan for this year and beyond.

Nonprofit Partner Program Expressions of Gratitude from Edward Viljoen Slideshow by Jerry and Pat Huffaker

Continuing Renovation It’s truly heartwarming to walk around our Center and see the amazing amount of beauty and improvements that we’ve completed over the past few years. While we’re still catching up on some long-time deferred maintenance, your ideas, love, talents, time, energy, and donations are transforming our spiritual home. We have drafted a plan for 2013. We think this is a great plan, and we have learned that we need to be flexible and open to the next-right-idea.   Bookstore flooring $12,000 Will need crew to empty & restock bookstore Renovate kitchen & plumbing $10,000 Team has started planning Tree removal / trimming $4,000 Landscaping Team project Facility office floor $2,000 Need champions for this project Sliding wall in rooms 1&2 $6,000 Need champions for this project Sound/electrical improvement...