The North Carolina Zen Center will host a traditional New Year’s celebration on New Years Eve at the Zendo.  We’ll start with a pot luck dinner at 7:00pm.  You are welcome to arrive anytime after that and bring a dish if you like.  We’ll enjoy an informal meal and afterwards those who choose to will begin sitting in the zendo, without any bells or gongs.  Sit as long as you want, walk or take a break whenever you want, go home whenever you want.  And for those who have stayed to midnight, in accordance with tradition the big gong will be struck 108 times.  So come and join us for an evening of quiet sitting and socializing.  We hope to see you then!

Other than the New Years Eve celebration, the North Carolina Zen Center will be officially closed for the holidays on Thursday, December 22 and will re-open on Monday, January 2.  During this time there will be no formal scheduled services.  However, the Center is always open for those wishing to sit quietly in the zendo.  From all of the community of the NC Zen Center we wish all a holiday of peace and happiness.

The NC Zen Center is pleased to announce that it will officially begin its search for a new teacher/abbess/abbott on December 1, 2016.  The Search Committee, senior members, and Board members have put many hours into preparing for the process.  We have conducted several meetings of the general membership in order to refine what the engaged community members look for and hope for in a teacher, explored the many avenues available for guidance, sought assistance from a variety or skilled and experience people, and outlined a process and schedule.  The application process officially opens on December 1, 2016, and will continue through Feb 28, 2017.  After that there are several stages of review scheduled which we hope will result in bringing a new teacher to the Center, ideally before the end of 2017.  This is an exciting time for the Center, and one toward which many people have worked very hard for these past two years.  We will be doing our best to keep the membership informed of the progress over the next few months.  Please check back occasionally for updates!

Dear Sangha,

The NCZC Winter Zazen-kai will be held from Friday, January 13, through Monday, January 16, 2017.  Orientation begins at 6:30 pm Friday evening, January 13; formal opening starts at 8:00 pm. The retreat ends at noon on Monday, January 16.

The retreat will be conducted as a formal Zen retreat, in a manner similar to formal retreats and sesshins at other Zen centers. The retreat is open to beginners and long-term practitioners alike.

The schedule will consist of zazen, kinhin, formal meals, work practice, and Dharma discussion. Lodging is available. Please visit the Retreats Page of the website for more information.

Cost for the retreat is $55 per night up to January 6.  After that date the cost is $60 per night. Part-time participation is available, however full-time is strongly encouraged.

If you are interested in attending or have questions about the retreat, please contact the Center at info@nczencenter.org

 

The Board of Directors have been working over the course of the last year to produce and finalize a set of policy documents for the NC Zen Center.  Included with these documents is a revised set of by-laws.  These documents have now been published on the Center’s website under the Governance tab, and are the current operating documents of the Center.

A number of these documents, such as the Confidentiality Policy and the Conflict of Interest Policy, will be new to many members, as they have never been in place until now.  However, all of these documents are standard operating documents for small nonprofits , and need to be in place for the Center to be in compliance with statutes and with best practice guidelines.  They don’t constitute changes to existing policies as much as they constitute the formalization of what are considered standard operating procedures.  As with all aspects of the organizational structure of the Center, these documents are subject to review, comment, and revision by the membership.

The bylaws have had some significant revisions to reflect recent developments. Among these changes, the committee structure has been codified as part of the by-laws.  The policy documents have also been incorporated as adjuncts to the by-laws.

Substantial changes were made to the bylaws concerning the positions of Director and Abbott.  The position of Director, co-equal to the Abbott, has been established, to be filled at a later date.  The lines of authority and responsibility have been more clearly delineated between Operations and Religious Affairs, in order to maintain a clear separation of powers in the organizational structure of the Center, and to insure a resilient and transparent chain of responsibility and authority.

Another major change reflects the Board’s effort to clarify, expand, and enshrine the authority of the membership with regard to the governance of the Center and in relation to the Board of Directors.  The goal here is to clarify the process whereby the voting membership is involved in the Center’s decision-making processes.  Clearly established is the ability of the voting membership review and to challenge virtually any decision made by the Board, and the process whereby such a review or challenge may be carried out.

These documents and revisions represent a substantial investment of time by the Board, which included discussions with members of our sangha, reviewing similar documents from other centers similar to ours, soliciting information and support from the leaders of other centers, and reviewing and studying guidelines, statutes and publications about non-profit governance in general.  All of these documents are subject to revision in the future, but it is our hope that they will provide a firm organizational foundation for future growth and development.

On behalf of your Board of Directors,

Jason Dowdle, President