Message from the Interim Director + HSC Financials

We’re living in interesting times. Activities are picking up. Some volunteers and donors are stepping up. Continuity of the Halifax Shambhala Centre is still fragile. It really is up to you. My personal wish is for the building and its activities to remain open, responsive and supportive to interests far and wide. This is the place that Trungpa Rinpoche, with great effort during his declining health, managed to open and bless. In that spirit, what can we do to support peoples’ practice and fulfil the wishes of family and youth, newer practitioners and Vajrasangha – hop with energy in the New Year of the Water Rabbit?

Liza Matthews, Practice & Education, and I, Interim Director, are retiring on Shambhala Day. These two paid, part time positions are still open, and there’s not much time left for a smooth transition. The good news is that your participation in the community gathering Free Chocolate and Future of the Halifax Shambhala Centre, January 28, 3-5:30 pm this Saturday, will give you an opportunity to impact the Centre leadership and staffing models. The 2 staff positions could be interim. The salaries are moderate. Know anyone suitable? There are job descriptions available upon request at [email protected].

Centre Activities
The Care and Conduct Policy can be found on the wall near the Main Meditation Hall. Its QR code will take you to the full description online. As the doors continue to open it is evermore important to have a respectful and safe place for everyone. Care and Conduct is our responsibility as individuals and as a community. This is not a thing of the past. We have failed when inappropriate behaviour occurs in the building in a room full of people and help does not arise. It’s simple. Don’t harm others. And if you witness inappropriate behaviour, help or get help. While we don’t always know the right thing to do or say, clearly ignoring a harmful situation is in itself harm. I am quite concerned about mistakes of past harm and misconduct, be it physical, emotional, or sexual. We all need to find better, kinder, more appropriate ways to be with each other in the future.

The Candlelight Celebration on the eve of the Winter Solstice played to a packed audience. All the elements were present: King Garuda Ocean and Queen Heart Jewel, the Colour Party, Tiger, Lion, Garuda, Dragon, poetic narrative, flute and drum, singing, lights….and excited children. With the aid of the MC and behind the scenes coordination, it became a magical event. The children received gifts including a wonderful donation from pubs: Illyana, by Walter Fordham. Thank you all.

The Mahamudra Retreat was cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances and yet more magic arose. Some retreatants seemed to say, what the heck, and joined the Holiday Meditation Retreat.  And, a number of the Mahamudra practitioners donated their registration fee from the cancelled retreat to the Centre totalling $800. And, a request which came from retreatants has resulted in adding an afternoon to nyinthun practice once a month. Thank you so much donors and volunteers.

The Sadhana of Mahamudra monthly practice was kicked off by Larry Mermelstein and Barry Boyce. 155+ attended this intriguing and informative online dialogue. The first of the monthly sadhana practices and socials has also occurred. 80 people joined in online. The 50 in-person practitioners were fortunate that the snow had stopped and the roads were clear. Tea and conversation was enjoyed by the fireside.

The Harvest of Peace and Meg Vigerstad’s goodbye did happen after Hurricane Fiona’s interruption, and I forgot to mention this in the last newsletter.  The goodbye was tender. Ron Renz’s slides of a trip to Mongolia for the Kalachakra Abhisheka were colourful and fun. Meg, thank you for fulfilling your role and aspirations far longer than you had anticipated and through challenging times. $3,500 was raised through donations plus the annual book and art sale. Thank you donors for your generosity.

Chanoyu, the art of tea, is a gem. My husband and I were honoured to be guests at Joyoyama in December. The Yukoan students, under the tutelage of John Soyu McGee Sensei and Alexandre Soro Avdoulov Sensei, served tea, sweets, and noodles and shared some special practices in the beautiful tea room on the lowest floor of the Centre. It’s hard to describe the advancement in depth and maturity of the students’ practice and art over the past 25 years of practice and study…in our building. They adapted to the pandemic: online the first year and strict masking protocols even now. If I could just learn to elegantly tuck my mask into my clothing like the tea students when receiving tea, I would be very happy. The plan is to open the doors to seasonal events like Hatsugama once again as the pandemic subsides.

Financial Reports from Aimee Silver on HSC’s 2022 Year End Financials and 2023 Projections have been prepared. To recap, Aimee says that as of this moment, we will meet all financial obligations for 2023, though we will significantly dig into our cash reserves. It is anticipated that without an increase in program income and donations, we could experience a shortfall in early 2024. Concentrated efforts are already in place to plan for visiting teachers to mitigate this risk. Thank you to those who have recently renewed or increased ongoing donations or given a  one time donation. Please find the reports here: 2022 Financials and 2023 Projections.

Ed Burke’s Passing. A few weeks ago we became aware of  long time member Ed Burke’s passing on September 28. Apparently, when he was young, his nanny told him that “The best way to go is: you go to bed and wake up dead.” Great instructions to a future Buddhist who died peacefully at the age of 80. Ed was a kind and generous person. You can read the full obituary at www.donaldwalker.ca, Mr. Burke, as your journey continues, may you receive the blessings of the lineage.

Halifax Shambhala Centre Advisory Council
Shari Vogler, Julia Sable, Joanne Fordham, Aimee Silver, Bakes Mitchell, Deborah Luscomb, Liza Matthews, Mindy Moore, Ron Renz, and Ron Stubbert.

December was a quieter month for the Advisory Council due to the holidays and travels. Planning for January community gathering on leadership and resources, as well as preparing for the staff turnover were the primary topics. Committee work continued: Practice & Education, Leadership, Building, Communication, Visiting Teachers. If any of these areas tickle your fancy, let the council know your particular interest [email protected]. The future is up to us.

We sadly said goodbye to council members, Richard Pannell and Gordon Kidd. Julia Sable will be retiring from council at the end of January. All three have given wise counsel. Fortunately, they are all still cheerfully and diligently contributing in their own ways when they can. Ricky, between family and business, is sharing his expertise in database management. Gordon, with many years of expertise with Recordings and Archives, will continue on the building committee. Julia, also busy with family and work, will do what she can with family and children activities. She has already been helpful as we look into increasing sustainability in the building.

I’d like to share a bit of Rickey and Julia’s dilemma about participation on the council. They joined the council particularly to see what they could contribute to revisioning public, family, and youth activities. That they are raising a young family as well as working at high powered jobs is what pulls them away.

May we continue to live in interesting times!

Warmly,
Shari Vogler
Interim Director