Volunteer Community at the Center for Spiritual Living, Santa Rosa

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.

The things that I volunteer to do at the Center are things that I like to do and which make use of my God-given talents. Since arriving 5 years ago from being very active at a CSL in Morristown, New Jersey, I’ve helped out with publicity and graphic design needs in various ways, but most especially for the Nurturing Our Community program and silent auction, and all that goes into that.  Most especially I enjoyed being a part of the devoted volunteer group that makes up the NOC Committee. I also used to do Sunday announcements from the stage; once I had crossed my fear the first heart-pounding time, I thought it was fun! A new perspective. My current available time is irregular since I take care of my dear granddaughter a couple of times a week, so it is hard to commit to a team effort. I was happy to see “paint electric box” on Evan’s ToDo list and step forward.  Perfect conditions: sun in your eye and leaves falling on wet paint. It was great!

Volunteering is like tapping into an immense reservoir of goodness.  It is a great feeling and helps me feel worthwhile...it is such a positive way of being and has a magical quality.  Jim Morton

  We enjoy volunteering at the Center for Spiritual Living, Santa Rosa, workingoutside. It is another way we can support the Center that gives us so much! Blessings, David and Donna

I have been attending CSL Santa Rosa for about 12 years and quickly got on the "member track."  I take classes regularly, just finished an exceptional Life Visioning class with Rev. Tara Steele, based on Michael Beckwith's work - it was life-changing.  I've just enrolled in the Holmes Institute's Master's Program in Consciousness Studies, classes begin in January.  All this from a devout agnostic 20 years ago  ; - )   I love being of service to our Center and have participated in several capacities over the years, cooking for the unhoused with Kathryn Jurik and the Homeless Action Network;  Wednesday night ushering;  greening up our Thanksgiving meals, whenever and however I am able. Now I'm looking forward to assisting Evan with property maintenance, LOVE being able to help out, especially now, a way to be in community, albeit COVID-ly.    Hoping everyone is thriving in being at home, more time for our spiritual development!

When I imagined being on the Board, I certainly had a different idea of what that would be like way back in the “old days” of February. I am deeply touched by the depth of connection and commitment that I witness and experience as a new board member, in these socially distanced times. It is a blessing to be so involved with staff and board, pouring our love, creativity and effort into making both practical and visionary plans for the Center that we love so much. Grateful me. If you feel a twinge of curiosity, take the first step, request the information and application packet.

When my firstborn grandson turned 18, he decided to live outside, creating beautiful meditation camps high above big River in Mendocino. He is a beautiful soul, Wise beyond his years, kind, generous, compassionate, fun. Last summer when he was 21, while riding his skateboard, he was hit and killed by a hit-and-run driver. While I was on the coast for his funeral, his unSheltered friends reverently escorted me to one of his camps. After our visit, we were crossing the highway where he was killed. a car stopped us, A bedraggled group of perhaps 11. The people rolled down the window of the car. They handed us takeout boxes of hot gourmet Mendocino food… Quiche, bagels, quesadillas, scones! Receiving it with gratitude, we stood together on the side of the street,sharing it with one another, eating with our hands passing it back-and-forth ( pre-Covid) it was true communion. Before his death I had been somewhat uncomfortable hanging out with his homeless friends, probably concerned what othe

I joined the group of earnest, big-hearted souls at CSLSR committed to addressing the issue of hunger for our neighbors across the way on the Joe Rodoto Trail. There was such a blatant need, I couldn't turn my back on it. After all, I was a child of the Kennedy era where we were asked what we can do for our country. It was a lively meeting with ideas flying like meteors through the air. Not being a real group-person, I almost left. But this was bigger than my little introverted self. We all wanted to do something but needed leadership. I think we sort of volunteered Kathryn to organize us into what became a streamlined assemblage of food (donated and homemade) in the Social Hall to be carried and distributed across the highway to the trail-dwellers. Then the trail was closed and the residents were dispersed throughout the county. People still need to eat. We were able to continue cooking, gathering, preparing food for those newly sheltered at Los Guillicos where we were able to int

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'm sitting outside right now doing my Beyond Limits homework. So I am in The Zone. I want to answer the question about WHY I do this. "Why" questions work for me. They make me think deeper. My life word is "significance." I can't live without it. Since I retired from being an ED nurse after 43 years (actually, it is precisely two years ago today!), I have searched for my significance. I did some volunteering with Acts of Kindness on the Joe Rodota trail and saw firsthand what it is like for homeless people to survive in their plastic tarp hovels. As a triage nurse in the hospital, I never had gotten to witness their situations. I only heard about their problems. Part of me didn't believe it could be that bad. Walking on the trail after a rainstorm where everyone's belongings got soaked, I saw what it was like to be out there in the cold and rain and wind. It was horrible. Just horrible. That's why I do what I do. A friend and I use

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

Hi, I'm Jim Strand, and when I first heard of this project, I felt called to participate because Los Guilicos Village is about 5 minutes from my house. I thought we'd be cooking there. How could I pass up an opportunity to be of service to some of the folks recently, and rudely, evicted from the Joe Rodota trail encampment, AND have it be so convenient? St. Vincent de Paul Well, it turned out we would cook at the St. Vincent de Paul kitchen in SR, but I was already hooked. The idea that, even though these tiny cabins didn't solve the problem of shelterlessness in SoCo, I could be a part of an effort to provide a substantial, healthy, hot meal for 60-70 people on Tuesdays. I've worked with Kathryn Jurik for over 25 years on the altars for the annual world peace meditations at the Center and know her to be a creative and capable leader. She was also already actively involved with this same community, so when she put out a request, it was easy to jump in. I missed the fir

My feelings about cooking for the Center for Spiritual Living, Santa Rosa food for the shelterless group run deep and with a lot of gratitude. Having to back away due to the Coronavirus has been very difficult for me as I get so much joy from the service we do. Cooking is fun for me, and I know that I can do a lot to help out.  Taking the time to go to the food bank and pick up food because I have a truck is just another opportunity to be in service. The place is just a mass of human movement, striving together to get food to all those in need in our community! Our little group when it started and the St. Vincent kitchen was so much fun. With all the wonderful donations we received through the community during the Joe Rodota trail time, it was simply amazing what great meals we were able to provide for the people. We all came together every week to work, to make a ton of good food in high spirits. When the virus hit, we all hung in there and kept it going, and so many of you are still

Having been an occasional visitor to our center, I finally joined in 2017 and began volunteering as an usher and greeter in 2018. My volunteering then extended to serving as grief support once a month and joining the Heart-in-Hand team. In January this year I attended the Welcoming Committee Workshop and would have begun serving in late March, but, well, we all know why that didn't happen. With not being able to do welcoming, grief support, or ushering and greeting, I have been able to continue with Heart-in-Hand support, which is very rewarding to me, as well as to our clients. But wanting to do more, I am now staffing the Telephone Prayer Ministry line two nights a week and this is a tremendous honor. I am grateful for the opportunities we have for connecting through service.  Namaste!   Sheri Pool

I’ve been attending the Center since 2008 and have been a Practitioner since 2015. My full-time day job is as an Information Techology Coordinator with the County of Sonoma. When the Center was closed to the public due to the pandemic in March, I was called into service combining my professional and spiritual worlds. Within a couple of weeks of transitioning to a completely online service, Rev. Tara Steele approached me with an idea—can we find a way to create a virtual prayer chapel modeled after our After-Service Prayer offering in Grinton Chapel in person.  I went to work exploring the features of Zoom and within a matter of days, Tara and I had a draft concept plan, conducted a few tests, and determined our concept was viable. After a few training sessions teaching the Practitioner Body to use Zoom, we launched our After-Service Prayer Online Room in mid-April.  Each Sunday one of the ASP Hosts facilitates those seeking prayer to connect in a one-on-one confidential online 5-mi

I had been attending our Center for about 7 years and felt like I was getting to know a few people from attending classes and the Women in Spirit monthly group. Being sort of an introvert, I still didn’t hang out in the Social Hall, preferring to meet with my own little group. That all changed when I was asked to participate in the Welcoming Team. I donned a red lanyard and started welcoming people at the back door, in the Social Hall, and helped facilitate Welcoming Team orientations. My feeling of being a part of this Center exploded. I was immersed and when my mother passed away in January 2020, I was embraced by a sweet love. I experienced belonging at the Center, something I cherish. And then the pandemic came… I was suddenly disconnected from my Center, so I began to welcome folks on Facebook and then started to meet with the “Virtual Welcoming Team Core Group.” Lots of meetings and learnings about what it takes to support the Sunday services. Eventually I was brought in to hel

I found the Center for Spiritual Living in 2007 on a blustery Thanksgiving eve. It was exactly what I had been looking for. Over the years I’ve grown to know many of our congregants and traveled through all the classes. I became a practitioner in 2015. I am active With the CSL jail ministry team where we create a weekly class for those people with whom we cannot sit at present due to COVID. That work keeps my heart open and my mind elevated. I have been with the Heart and Hand Ministry since 2009. Besides the joy visiting people weekly, I am a monthly Coordinator. I love how it makes me feel as it keeps me involved and connected. And the wonderful people that I get to pray with is such a gift. Presently, that is just phone visits and phone prayer. But there still is a wonderful connection.  

"Being a member of the Heart in Hand Ministry is a joy in my life. I have been to homes, hospitals and so many different environments for visits. Some people I have visited for many years and others a single time. Each visit brings a new opportunity for me and for the person I am visiting. It is always a treasured time to listen and pray with someone and this ministry offers that to me." Thank you, Rosalie, for your many years of pastoral service to our community. Heart in Hand Spiritual Care – Visits and Calls – (707) 546-4543 x 370 The Mission of the Heart in Hand Spiritual Care Ministry is to bring a presence and message of love to congregants during times of health challenges, transition, and grieving. If you would like spiritual support during a time of health challenge, please contact us. We are happy to visit you in person or speak with you over the phone, to provide loving listening and prayer (spiritual mind treatment). Your requests and conversations are held in sa

After spending some months on the Welcoming Team, I had the joy of greeting at the front door on Sundays, helping with orientations, and getting to know members of the team. Then along came the Coronavirus and no more in-person services. I sat on Zoom watching the first Virtual Service and realized, “I am a Welcomer, I can bring that same love and spirit to this Service and respond to people reaching out for connection on Zoom chat.” And so it began…. I thought it would be a month or so, and here we are more than four months in. We pretty quickly morphed into Virtual Service Team which includes the behind the scenes support for Edward getting the services up and running on Sundays. It is kind of comical that I serve in a technical capacity. My son gets a giggle out of that. Not my comfort zone, but I was committed to serve and saw the need. For three months, I was there every Sunday, every service supporting people in Chat and Q&A. I looked forward to them all. Thanks to our now ex

The Stewardship Team at CSLSR serves to oversee, protect, and preserve the finances of our Center. Two of its members have given their time and talents for the past 6 years and are now retiring as Ron Abler steps into a new term. Sherry Lester has given quiet devotion and love to her role as Steward. She has the perfect balance of groundedness and a sense of fun as she contributed her mindful thoughts and organizational skills to the Team. Jeff Basham brought intellect and curiosity to the Team, along with masterful technological expertise. He offered wonderful invocations and benedictions to the meetings in his role as Prayer Practitioner as well. As we all hold gratitude in our hearts for the selfless service of this entire Team, we wish Sherry and Jeff the best and welcome Ron to his new beginnings as Steward.

David is a tech genius and a warm presence who loves everything IT and CSLSR. He has been lucky to do work he loves in the world, installing and maintaining computers, computer networks, Wi-Fi, security systems, etc. And he has found a critical niche at the Center using those skills to help the Center share its message with the world. David has a big heart and cares deeply that everyone attending the services feels welcome and appreciated. He helped establish the Welcoming Team—now the Virtual Welcoming Team—and continues to assist with its evolution. David says he is actually a shy introvert but greeting everyone in the Social Hall that looked lonely, new, or just ready to chat expanded his inner extrovert so that now he greets people easily wherever he goes, not just at the Center. Pre-pandemic, he worked behind the scenes doing tech support during Sunday Services but he shifted immediately when our services went virtual. From day one of our virtual services, David and the V

Fluent Spanish speaker Krista McAtee is currently enrolled in Advanced Conscious Studies online with global Spanish-speaking teachers and students in our movement.  In addition, she serves as a spiritual counselor in the Center's jail ministry, is on the leadership team of our Diversity Discussion Group, supports our Heart in Hand ministry, and is facilitating six Sunday evening conversations this year.  Krista enjoys the practice of visioning as a way of manifesting deeper spiritual living in her many communities. Gracias, Krista. We are profoundly grateful for your selfless service.

Brenda is a powerful light in the leadership of the Practitioner Body. She gives of herself generously by being on the Core Council and Retreat Planning committee, Grinton Chapel host, typing prayer requests monthly and praying weekly with the Healing Circle. In addition she serves in the Education Department assisting in classes and staffing the registration table. She is the founder of Project Sleep Warm and Days for Girls project, which extend to local and global communities. “I love serving my beloved CSLSR community wherever and whenever I can. I opens my heart and fills me with a sense of purpose and the satisfaction of knowing that I am making a difference.”

This is how Sherry views volunteerism: “I love being in service to the Center. It allows me to give back for all the wonderful ways the Center has helped to enrich my life and live positively and with compassion.” In her 10 years at CSLSR she has put in time serving as the Alto section Leader and Co-Treasurer of the One Heart Choir, serving on the Stewardship Committee, providing bank and payroll reconciliation, as well as monthly money counting. Her love of service has taken her further out into the community where she volunteers at the Ceres Community Project and sings with a band called Jam Nation that tours to care facilities and farmers markets county wide to give the gift of music.

The Sunday Morning Usher Leads   Over 100 years of collective ushering experience with CSLSR!   These wonderful volunteers practice selfless service that keeps our services flowing with grace and ease. Their dedication and commitment are profound. We are all deeply grateful for their gift of love.   Pictured here are Georgia Davis, Sharon Hawthorn, Chandra Farnsworth, Janet Depree, Lynn Ruebush, Patrick Muldoon, Barbara Alois, Connie  Bertlshofer , And Juanita Ortegon. (Not pictured are Sue Adams, Scott Butler, and  Tamarya   Hulme )