Center for Spiritual Living, Santa Rosa

When CSLSR closed down in 2020, my heart sank. I moved to Santa Rosa to be active at the center, and I was! I became a member, an usher, a Welcome Team member; I attended many classes. Then BOOM - Pandemic.   I LANGUISHED. That’s another word for joyless, aimless, stagnated, and empty. That was I. The dictionary also defines it as being forced into an unpleasant situation. That was all of us! I became a Zoom Welcomer for (is that a word?) for Sunday services, then a Facebook Welcomer too. For the hybrid service preparation Evan, Mr. Maintenance and I mopped the social hall- that is a lot of mopping! Talley, another volunteer, and I dusted everywhere, especially the sanctuary. We cleaned the restrooms. Evan, who does a fantastic job as maintenance + more, put out an email calling for yard workers. Pleasant weather outdoors, I can help. You can help. A handful of people answered the call; we can always have more help! Weeds are forever. So many volunteers behind the scenes working

From Kathryn Jurik regarding our Eat for the Street fundraiser: We had so much fun and I took more pictures than I should have. I have struggled to meet the challenge to send you only 3 pictures. In these pictures, you will see the end of the day and a group of volunteers cheerfully waving from the Center parking lot. Another picture shows Allan Yeager with a thumbs up. I have so much gratitude to the staff of the Center who did all the behind-the-scenes set up for this event. Allan's thumbs-up is another happy summary of the day.  There is also a picture of the vegan dish. This is where I just couldn't decide what to send...vegan? stroganoff? chocolate cake? The event came about when we were in the kitchen at the Grange cooking and I said to Brenda and the rest of the Tuesday team that we should cook for the snack table in the social hall after the pandemic is over. So many people at the Center have supported our efforts and I thought it would be fun to give back.  Then Brenda

  Evan Dow-Williamson, our facility manager, posted this appeal on Facebook.  It's an invitation to help rearrange the Center sanctuary in preparation for our hybrid virtual-and-in-person services.  So exciting.  Contact Evan at evan.dw@cslsr.org for more information about how you can be involved in volunteering.   It's happening!

Why I assist with Science of Mind Classes I assist in class because I love learning and watching others get excited about the Science of Mind teaching. I’m always amazed at some new nugget of this teaching that catches my eye or the realization of “oh that’s what this is about”! Each class is unique like we are and yet we are all one. To see and experience the inquisitiveness of a student, the engagement of a class, and the deepening of their spiritual awareness is a gift. I feel blessed to be a part of that and the Center. Lorena Fisher, RScP

Why I Serve? by Maggie Cole I’ve been in service to this community for over 30 years. Many many times, I went over board via a belief that in order to be allowed on the planet and set my feet on this earth, I am supposed to work hard. Needless to say, this is a false belief. In assisting in a class decades ago, a student shared something with me after I had told a story of my hard work belief. She said, “you could sit on a rock for the rest of your life and you would be essential to this universe.” This statement changed my life. I continue to serve and I have learned to ask myself, is this mine to do? For decades, I have participated on Sunday Evenings, from drumming with Tom McCurry and Ron Atchison when Ruth Barnhart facilitated her prayer service. I spoke there for many years when other people had taken over. About 10 years ago, Rev. Joyce asked me if I would like to do a Sunday Evening, as everybody else had moved on. I said yes, as I had spoken in many churches in years past, ev

I have been a member of the One Heart Choir since 2006. I love being part of the music ministry at the center. This year has been quite different as the center is closed and the choir has not been able to serve in the usual way. When given the opportunity to participate in making music video's for the Sunday services I jumped at the chance to once again share the joy of singing with the choir. It has been an honor and a blessing to be a part of the virtual music ministry, and I look forward to the day we will sing our hearts out at the center once again.