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Newsette – June 28, 2022

I am happy to welcome a new Branching Streams Sangha, Twining Vines Zen Centre, Katto-An Temple, in Canberra, Australia. This combined Soto Zen/Diamond Sangha temple is led by Neti Mushin Parakh. Neti was ordained as a priest by Kokyo Henkel in 2017 at Santa Cruz Zen Center and received dharma transmission from Kokyo in 2021 She was authorized to teach in the Diamond Sangha lineage by Daniel Terragno Roshi in 2009.

In case you missed this in last week’s Newsette, we have created a Branching Streams list-serve (using Google Groups) that is available to readers of these Newsettes. Jon Voss, who set up the list-serve, says, “You will more easily be able to share resources, request information from other sanghas, and work together on issues of mutual concern. If you would like to join this separate group email list, please sign up here. You do not need a Google account or gmail address to join, any email will work.” If you have any questions, please contact Jon Voss directly.

Ariane Lampe, a member of Akazienzendo in Berlin, wrote that she has successfully raised funds through  a Go-Fund-Me campaign to publish a German translation of Jarvis Master’s book Finding Freedom. Jarvis Masters is a Buddhist practitioner on Death Row in San Quentin, near San Francisco, CA. He recently gave a dharma talk from San Quentin with Lee Klinger Lesser. The recording is available at sfzc.org.

On the Soto Zen Buddhist Association Forum (SZBA’s list-serve) many Branching Streams teachers shared their responses to the Supreme Court’s ruling last week overturning Roe v. Wade.

Reirin Gumbel, guiding teacher of Milwaukee Zen Center, will be joining an interfaith group of clergy at a press conference on July 6 in front of the Planned Parenthood clinic in Milwaukee to show faith support for reproductive justice. 

In Washington State, the Faith Action Network, an interfaith statewide partnership “striving for a just, compassionate, and sustainable world through community building, education, and courageous public action,” issued a statement in response to the Roe decision.

Please share your thoughts, feelings and/or actions you, or members of your sangha, are considering or planning in the Branching Streams list-serve or send them to me for the next Newsette.

This seems like a perfect time to revisit the work of Joanna Macy, and I was happy to receive the news that Upaya Zen Center has rescheduled a micro-training with. Joanna Macy, who is healthy again after a bout with Covid. “She will help guide us in meeting a world on fire. Please join us on July 17th for A SPECIAL AND IMPORTANT INVITATION: Joanna Macy and Our World (Online 2022).” Stephanie Kaza, Wendy Johnson, and Roshi Joan Halifax will join Joanna in this micro-training.”

I appreciate Thich Nhat Hanh’s name for July 4th – Interdependance Day. May we feel our intercon-nectedness with all beings.

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