Garden Parties Start This Saturday at The Pacific Hermitage
The season of Garden Parties at the Hermitage begins Saturday, April 1st. This is the first of six Garden Party gatherings this year. Since this the first Garden Party after winter, there will be plenty to do for people of any ability or skills, including clean up after the long winter.
Garden Parties are always a wonderful chance to join fellow Pacific Hermitage community members in this beautiful offering of generosity to tend the yard and the forest. They are also a wonderful opportunity to connect with the Sangha and chat with other members of the community.
Here are the dates for the season (all Saturdays), so, in addition to April 1, mark your calendar for:
June 3
July 1
August 5
September 2
October 7
Since the monks will be at Birken for the retreat during May, there will be no Garden Party at the Hermitage in May.
You can join for any part or all of the day’s schedule. No signup or preregistration is required. If you can’t make these events or would like to help at another time, please contact Ajahn Sudanto for details.
Here is the schedule for the day:
Meal Offering: 11:00 AM. Feel free to bring a dish for the potluck style meal offering; please arrive by 10:30 if you’re bringing food to offer.
Garden Work: 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM. Feel free to bring any extra garden tools for the day and dress in your “garden clothes.”
Tea: 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM.
Hope to see you there!
Venerable Parimutto is Coming to the Hermitage
Venerable Parimutto will be coming from Temple Forest Monastery in late April to spend time at The Hermitage with Ajahn Sudanto and Venerable Suddhiko. Please join us in welcoming Venerable Parimutto.
Construction News: The Abbot’s Kuti and the Retreat House
After many delays, including Covid and price increases, we have secured a contractor, and construction on the Abbot’s Kuti has begun. It is scheduled to be finished by November 1st.
Over the winter, Ajahn Sudanto has been working with a local architect, planning the Retreat House, which will be the next project. Construction will begin sometime in the next few years, when sufficient funds have been offered. The Retreat House will be a multi-use space, but primarily it will provide suitable accommodations for visiting elder monks and Abhayagiri monks seeking to do solitary periods of retreat, in addition to providing additional gathering space. We hope to have the design finished by early summer to share with the community.
The 2023 Pah Bah
Mark your calendars: The 2023 Pah Bah is coming! The dates for this year’s Pah Bah are the weekend of September 16th and 17th. If you’d like to learn about sponsorship or how to volunteer, please contact Ajahn Sudanto.
Birken Retreats Resume this May
After finally resuming receiving residential visitors after the onset of Covid, Ajahn Sona of Birken Monastery will be hosting our group the first two weeks of May for our annual retreat. Be sure to subscribe to the newsletter and check the website in the fall for registration information for the 2024 retreat.