Our History from the Beginning
Amidst changing political conditions worldwide, our role as a meditation center has expanded to providing spiri- tual refuge and supporting the community with practices, teachings and discussions that nurture our internal life in support of external service. Gan HaLev—the Jewish Congregation of the San Geronimo Valley The idea of a Jewish Congregation in the San Geronimo Valley emerged at a small gathering in the home of Wood- acre resident, Suzanne Sadowsky, on February 20, 1992. Suzanne had submitted a brief notice that was published in the January 1992 issue of Ridgelines/Stone Soup newsletter: “A Jewish congregation is forming in the San Geronimo Valley to celebrate Jewish holidays and Shabbats. Other activities might include children’s Bar/Bat Mitzvah classes, adult education, a community Seder, etc. . . .” At a Board meeting on September 1, 1993, the Congre- gation adopted bylaws that were signed by Suzanne Sad- owsky, David Knepler, Michael Chadwick, Laurie Chorna and Gary Mitchel. Articles of Incorporation were filed with the State of California and approved on October 26, 1993. Gan Halev’s mission: “To develop a permanent community which comes together to celebrate Jewish life—to worship, educate, socialize, share and explore our religious and cul- tural heritage.” Gan HaLev sees itself as an independent, progressive and welcoming congregation. It is not affiliated with any of the national Jewish organizational movements and some- times it has been described as “post-denominational.” Its members come from all over the United States and as far away as Asia, South Africa, Europe and the Middle East. Members have had a variety of religious backgrounds— Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, Reconstructionist and Renewal Judaism, as well as other religions. Many are self- described secular, cultural Jews, agnostic, atheists, pagan and Jewbuhs. In the 1990s the Congregation began to call itself Gan HaLev, which in Hebrew means Garden of the Heart . Shortly after joining together, the Congregation learned about Torah Scrolls from Europe that had survived the Holocaust and were being repaired and maintained by the Czech Memorial Scrolls Trust in London. After much cor- respondence and many phone calls, the Congregation was given the opportunity to acquire a Scroll on permanent loan as long as it continued to exist. A healthy social life is found only, when in the mirror of each soul the whole community finds its reflection, and when in the whole community the virtue of each one is living Rudolf Steiner
shape over a period of more than 80 years. In 1935 the original 1878 train station was purchased from the North Pacific Coast Railroad Company. The train stopped run- ning in 1930. The building was remodeled to accommo- date church services and was used for that purpose until 1964. Church Elder Jene Chadwick recalls that the train station was moved to its present location in 1964. The Train Station is now used for the Pastor’s and the church and preschool administrative offices. The Conference Room is made available to community organizations for meeting space. Monthly free movie nights are held upstairs. The annual Holly Fair is a highlight of the Church’s annual calendar and of the community at large. It was started more than a half century ago by the Ladies’ Guild. Each year in November the church welcomes 500 residents of Marin County and beyond for a delicious home-made turkey din- ner and sales of crafts, baked goods, jams and jellies, a white elephant sale, outdoor games, and silent auction. Spirit Rock Meditation Center In 1976 a group of West Coast Vipassana Meditation practitioners that included Jack Kornfield, James Baraz, Sylvia Boorstein, Anna Douglas, Howard Cohn, and oth- ers, founded the Dharma Foundation. Its purposes were to sponsor Vipassana Meditation retreats (the first being in Yucca Valley, CA, that same year) and to publish The Inquiring Mind, a Journal of the Vipassana Community , which it did for several years. In 1985, members of several Bay Area meditation groups incorporated Insight Medita- tion West for the purpose of acquiring land and establish- ing a West Coast Insight Meditation Center. In 1987, a contract was drawn up to purchase 411 acres of undeveloped land in the San Geronimo Valley of northern California from The Nature Conservancy. Then in 1988 the title was taken on the Woodacre land, and the name Spirit Rock Meditation Center was formally adopt- ed. Since 1990, attendance at Spirit Rock has increased enormously. Hundreds of people now attend classes, day- long programs and residential retreats each week at the center in Woodacre. Spirit Rock Meditation Center is a spiritual education and training institution whose purpose is to bring people to a depth of realization of the Buddha’s path of liberation through direct experience; to provide the community of practitioners with inspiration and teachings to integrate and manifest wisdom and compassion in all aspects of their lives, for the benefit of all beings. The leaders of the medi- tation center today are Co-Guiding Teachers, Sally Arm- strong and Phillip Moffitt; Executive Director, Michelle Latvala. A volunteer Board of Directors, comprising teach- ers and sangha members, is the central decision-making body for Spirit Rock.
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50 th Anniversary
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