If you have difficulty reaching the Center’s phone at (585) 669-2141, please e-mail info@springwatercenter.org with your message.
Staff are working on the phone problem and expect it will soon be resolved.

Stew will facilitate this retreat in person or online. There is ample space to attend online, but please apply soon if you wish to attend in person. 

Stew began doing Zen work in the early 70’s, and has been involved with Springwater Center since its inception in 1982. He did administrative work on staff for many years. In the mid-90’s the Center’s founder, Toni Packer, invited Stew to assist with the teaching work and he has led retreats since then. 

Visit Stew’s website page to hear a talk he gave at the October 2023 retreat. In the talk Stew asks: How do we deal with uncertainty? What is the relationship between what we do here at Springwater and with what is going on in the world? Let’s look at the difficulties we face in our relationships. Is there blaming going on? This just adds to the suffering. Is it possible to see that there is no one to blame? 

Please use the button below to register for the retreat with Stew.

Honoring Susan will begin with a gathering in the sitting room. We will listen to a talk she gave from the last retreat she facilitated here. There will be opportunities for friends and families to speak of their memories and appreciation of Susan and her life, both in person and online.  

Refreshments will follow, using Susan’s ceramic work, with more on display. This all will be followed by a walk to the north woods where a marker “The Susan Schepp Trail” will be installed. The trails may be wet; bring appropriate footwear. Also, staff will have planted a pink dogwood tree in her memory that can be visited. 

To help staff plan for the event, let reception know by April 18 if you will be attending. The Zoom link to attend online is 289 037 6188, code 7179, or use DIRECT LINK. 

Please visit Susan’s teacher website page for links to her writings and talks. 

Join the Saturday meetings using Zoom Access Information:

DIRECT LINK

Meeting ID: 289 037 6188
Passcode: 7179

Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kdsftvqRwr 

Online Teaching Committee meeting this Saturday April 13, 1:30-4:30 pm EDT
A reminder that this type of meeting happens only twice a year. They’re a great opportunity to sit together, then hear the Center’s teachers dialogue with one another, then to engage in dialogue with them yourself. If you have a question or topic you would like to be included in the dialogues, please submit it to info@springwatercenter.org, with the subject “For the Teachers’ Committee Meeting and Dialogue”. 

Saturday Program, April 27, 1:30 – 4:30 EDT
Following a timed sitting, there will be a recorded talk by Toni Packer, then a period where participants will dialogue together. 

Online Open Meditative Dialogue and Guest Speaker May 4, 1:30-4:30 pm EDT
There will be a timed sitting, a guest speaker, followed by an Open Meditative Dialogue. New this year, this type of Saturday program features speakers from Springwater Center’s wide community of people who have been engaged in meditative work. Please contact the Center at info@springwatercenter.org if you are interested in speaking at an Open Meditative Dialogue this year or next.  

These Saturday Events are freely offered and open to all. If you would like to make a donation in appreciation of them, please use the button below and choose the “Online Sittings/Programs Contributions” option. 

The agenda and proxy ballots for the June 2 online Annual meeting are being mailed to members this week. If you do not receive your mailing by the end of April, or if you are uncertain about your membership status, get in touch with the Center’s secretary Erica Finch or treasurer Susan McCallum at  info@springwatercenter.org.

This is a popular retreat and a beautiful time to be at Springwater Center, therefore early registration is encouraged for in-person attendance. Online registration is open to an unlimited number of participants. Participants are invited to join full or part time. 

Sandra and Wayne will alternate giving talks and both will be available for private meetings in person and online, as well as alternating attendance at the in-person and online afternoon dialogues. 

In a talk given on day 3 of the August 2023 retreat, Sandra says: Simple listening is an innocent listening pointing to just being here. This is an alternate way of living that invites us to explore, to question, not knowing.

Visit Sandra’s web page to hear the talk and to access more talks and articles. 

In Sandra’s article “Passion, Deep Interest and Attention,” she says: Passion is needed for this work of moment-to-moment, a passion with no object. We could also say curiosity or deep interest, and interest for the sake of clarity, for the love of beauty and harmony, for a life that makes sense and for understanding our crazy wild life, feelings of anger, judgement, isolation, sadness and confusion. When the mind is free from involvement one can also touch the silence that is beholding it all.

In a talk given on New Year’s day this year, Wayne questions whether it is possible to not hold on to anything—memories, fears, want-ings and the sense of isolation that accompanies the belief in a separate self. He wonders if in the silence of retreat, of quiet sitting, it is possible for this thought-created structure to fall away, on its own, quietly and without struggle—discovering in the falling away an openness to what is here, to love and affection, to non-separation. 

Visit Wayne’s website page to hear the New Year’s talk and to read his article “Is Meditation Enough?” 

WELCOME to Caitlin Solano and Chris Wang-Iverson, our wife and husband team who have been working on contract and are now joining up to fill a staff position beginning April 1st. Their main duties are housekeeping and repair and maintenance as well as all other staff duties. They live nearby in Springwater and would like to share this:

Springwater is our neighbor. We were interested in getting to know our community and there was Springwater Center. We so appreciate that Springwater is here.

WELCOME to Haley Koperski, who is working as a contract employee starting April 1st after her volunteer time here. Haley also lives in the Town of Springwater and is helping with housekeeping and other needs as they arise. Haley was looking for a meditation community and brings her experience and interest in meditation. 

Happily, the Center is now fully staffed.

Staff member Dina El-Mogazi has reactivated the Center’s Facebook page. Please take a look at the beautiful pictures she has posted along with news of upcoming events. Facebook is another way of keeping up with Springwater Center happenings. 

Yes, it was 40 years ago this spring that an enthusiastic group of folks pitched tents on the property, set up headquarters in the Quonset hut and began the work of building the Center’s facility. The few pictures below don’t do justice to the energy, organization and expertise that brought the road and main building into being. Thank you, Toni and fellow founders for the hope, dedication and persistence that created this beautiful place. 

www.springwatercenter.org         info@springwatercenter.org