Columbus KTC: Spring Pledge Drive 2016

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Dear Dharma Friends:

Thanks to all who have opened their hearts to the Columbus Karma Thegsum Chöling since a devastating fire destroyed our center in the early morning hours of Sunday Jan. 31.

We’ve received cards, letters, donations and many messages of support on social media and elsewhere. Our hearts are full of appreciation for each and every one of you, as each message lets us know that you value Columbus KTC and want to see it continue as a home for the Kagyu dharma of His Holiness the Gyalwang Karmapa in Central Ohio.

The first weeks were a blur of activity as we tallied up what was lost in the fire: statues, scriptures, paintings, books, equipment, recorded teachings and so much more. Forty years of KTC history went up in flames, forcing us to reflect on what is most important to us – our sangha, our community.

The love we have for the dharma and for each other is what buoyed us up in those early days, and made it possible for us to begin our “nomad’s journey” to find a new home.

Our founder and spiritual guide Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche gave us our charge on that very first Sunday: “Do not be sad. Rebuild.” And when we asked him what prayers we should do to benefit the center at this difficult time, he said, “Rebuild the center. That is the best prayer.”

So now we enter the next phase of the journey – seeking the right place for our new home.

We’ve already received clear advice on this matter from Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche. He told us, “The new building should be larger than the old one.”

And now, KTC Board members – Director Kim Miracle, Assistant Director Tanya Schroeder, Treasurer Steve Fallen, Secretary Justin Fitch and At-Large Member Eric Weinberg – have taken the first steps toward this goal by seeking input from members and friends about what facilities are needed in our new center.

Next we will analyze the results of the survey and begin to identify options for our members to consider.

But in the meantime, we need to start thinking about how to sustain the new center we obtain.

Fortunately, Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche has helped us there, too.

Years ago, when we first started thinking about seeking a larger KTC building, we told Rinpoche we didn’t have enough money to buy or build a larger center. “Start looking at your options,” he said. “And meanwhile, gather money and members, so that when the options are clear, you will be able to choose among them.”

Since then we have undertaken a Membership Drive each autumn to help carry out Rinpoche’s advice. And now, with the 2015 Membership Drive still fresh in our minds, we’re undertaking another drive – to give those who want to help us find a new home a chance to support us as continuing supporters, friends, and members.

Whatever the KTC sangha decides – to build on our current site, buy and build on another site, or buy a building to remodel – money will be needed to support the center on a day-to-day basis.

Our center has operated for the last few years on a “break-even” basis – our donations and event revenues have just matched our expenses, allowing us to protect a small amount in savings for a rainy day.

But when we obtain a new center, we will need to make payments for insurance, for telephone, internet, maintenance, improvements, utilities, (possibly) a mortgage – and we will need to have monthly income we can count on to meet those financial needs.

We will receive many one-time donations in the coming weeks, and those donations will be important. But it will be up to our sustaining donors – the folks who make even a small donation every month – to bring us “home” to a new KTC.

We will need each and every one of our friends to help create the new center. Would you consider a small monthly donation to make the new center a reality?

We have three categories for monthly donors: supporters, friends, and members.

KTC Supporters are just beginning to take on a continuing monthly commitment to the center. They have modest means, but want to make a dedicated monthly contribution. In return, they receive our appreciation and great merit from their gift.

KTC Friends give at a slightly higher level. In return for their gift, they receive our appreciation, great merit and a small discount on KTC programs.

KTC Members take on a larger monthly commitment, and also must have taken the Buddhist Vow of Refuge (or intend to do so at their earliest opportunity). A portion of their membership pledge is contributed to our “home” monastery, Karma Triyana Dharmachakra, so they are considered members of both organizations.

As core contributors and members of the KTC, KTC Members may vote for and run for our administrative board positions, and are invited to participate in major decisions for the community.

There are two categories of membership: Sustaining Members and Benefactor Members. Each provides important support for the organization.

Although the amounts for Supporter, Friend, and Member categories reflect minimum contributions, we would like to encourage you to consider giving more than the minimum amount.

And if you currently are a supporter, friend, or member, please consider increasing your monthly pledge.

At this important time, $5 more or $10 more or $20 more or even $50 more per month can make a major difference as we seek to re-manifest our center and bring the congregation “home” again. Please consider giving more each month – your generosity is appreciated!

The donor drive will continue through April 24, 2016.

At the end of the drive, we will offer a drawing among all KTC monthly donors for a beautiful consecrated statue of Chenrezig.

So while our center is at a crossroads, we have strong and clear advice from our founder and spiritual guide: Manifest a new center; make it larger than the old one; and gather money and members to sustain it.

Will you join us in making this new center a reality?

Best Wishes in the Dharma,

Kim Miracle, Tanya Schroeder, Justin Fitch, Eric Weinberg, Steve Phallen, and Lama Kathy Wesley

To Start or Increase Your Pledge

Fill out this pledge form and mail it, along with a check payable to Columbus KTC, to PO Box 14946, Columbus, OH 43214. Click here to set up recurring pledge payments or to make a one time donation. Alternatively, you can set up an automatic payment through your bank to Columbus KTC.

Questions about pledging? Feel free to contact our Member-at-Large, Eric Weinberg at memberatlarge@columbusktc.org.

You may also donate through The Columbus Foundation. Please specify that the gift is for the KTC Rebuilding Fund.

To view a hardcopy of our Spring Pledge Drive letter, please click here.

Lastly, click here to share your thoughts with the CKTC Board.

The Demolition Blues

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Donate to the Columbus KTC Rebuilding Fund

It’s been about seven weeks since the KTC fire – 49 days exactly on March 20. Those familiar with Tibetan Buddhism know that the 49th Day after a passing is a special day; the deceased is thought to have traversed the “Bardo,” or intermediate state, during those weeks and is poised and ready for a rebirth.

So we in the KTC Community are looking for a rebirth these next few weeks. We hope you can help out.

This week we received the final bill for demolishing the arson-damaged KTC temple: $75,884.99. This was considerably more than the original estimate of $45,000; because our building was constructed in 1924, it contained lead pipes and asbestos, and special care needed to be taken to bag and carry away the contaminated debris.

And because the fire-damaged building was in danger of collapse, the city issued an emergency demolition order – which meant that even the foundation had to be removed and filled in with dirt.

So the small demolition job got big pretty quickly.

We’ve seen the final bill, and the additional $30,000 was all due to “hazardous materials” demolition and handling. We appreciate the city’s care for the environment, and are happy the asbestos was safely removed.

The KTC temple was insured, and we will receive a $10,000 demolition allowance; that means the bill actually will be $65,884.99.

We sought help from the state’s Crime Victim’s Assistance program, but discovered that the fund helps individuals who are crime victims (a most worthy endeavor) but not organizations.

So it’s up to KTC to pay the demolition costs.

We are due to receive $443,000 from the insurance company for the loss of our building, but we were hoping to save every penny of that – plus raise hundreds of thousands more – to help us rebuild our temple.

We are looking at all avenues, including rebuilding on our current site, building elsewhere, or buying an existing building and remodeling, Whatever option we choose, money will be required. So we are more motivated than ever to raise the initial $108,000 on this GoFundMe site.

Thanks to all who have given to us, here and elsewhere; we appreciate you more than we can say. You’ve been with us since the beginning of our crisis, and understand how important your support has been to us.

A bit of quick math tells us that if every person who’s given on the site would give another $1, $5, $10, $25 – it would boost our total by another $4,000 to $12,000. And this would help relieve our “demolition blues” and give us a clean slate for raising the money we need to rebuild.

The names of all those who have given to the GoFundMe site are on our KTC shrine; we pray for you every week.

We appreciate all you’ve given, and hope you’ll help us make our way to the $108,000 goal. Forward this message to your friends; tell them that Kagyu dharma in Columbus should survive and thrive, and give them a chance to participate.

The virtue of sponsoring a dharma center is vast, as your gift will connect every person who sees the new KTC to the dharma in a special way.

Wishing you all the best in dharma! OM MANI PEME HUNG 🙂

231 grubb st backfill

Columbus KTC Needs You!

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As we recover from the fire in January and settle into our new home at Tifereth Israel, helping hands are needed to support Columbus KTC programs and activities. Please volunteer for one or more of the opportunities below:

Greeters: Welcome members, friends and visitors and escort them to the appropriate room for Columbus KTC programs on Sundays and Tuesday nights. Time commitment:1-2 hours per month. To sign up. contact welcome@columbusktc.org.

Tea Break Hosts: Organize tea, coffee and snacks for the 11:00 am tea break on Sunday mornings. Time commitment: 45/minutes per month. To sign up. contact ad@columbusktc.org.

Dharma Storekeeper: The Dharma Store is coming back! Help sell books and other dharma related items on Sunday mornings. Time commitment: 1 hour/month To sign up. contact ad@columbusktc.org.

Sound System Helpers: Set up a simple sound system for Sunday morning/ month. To sign up. contact ad@columbusktc.org.

Event Coordinator: Help organize special events such as our Nyungne Retreat, ComFest, Lama Visits, and Fall Retreat. Time commitment: 10-15 hours/event. To sign up. contact ad@columbusktc.org.

Woodworkers: We may need assistance to build new puja tables for the center. If you have woodworking skills, let us know. Time commitment: 3 – 5 hours. To sign up. contact director@columbusktc.org.

Location for the New Columbus KTC Building

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Possible Places for a New Columbus KTC Building

Thanks to everyone who completed the recent Columbus KTC Building Requirements Survey. Your feedback is very valuable and appreciated. It will be used to help identify options for a new Columbus KTC home.

Click here to see the results of that first survey here.

For our next step, some more information is needed. In addition to room requirements, we also need your feedback regarding the location of the new center.

As you know, we are considering all options – including building a new KTC center on our Grubb Street site, and finding a building to remodel for our use elsewhere in the city. Before we start looking at the “relocate and remodel” option, we need to know how you feel about the placement of the KTC in various parts of the city.

This survey is very short – just a few questions and a comment box to share any additional suggestions.

We look forward to reading your input and comments, and will report on the survey when it is completed.

To complete the Building Location Survey, please click here.

PLEASE COMPLETE the survey by Wednesday, March. 14, 2016.

Thank you so much – may all beings benefit!

Presentation from Sangha Meeting

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Sunday, February 28

On Sunday, February 28th, the Columbus KTC board convened a sangha or community meeting to update everyone on work the CKTC board and community have been doing since the fire on January 31st. The general agenda was as follows:

  • Updates on Activities
  • Results from the Building Survey
  • Next Steps
  • Open Discussion

If you were unable to attend, we invite you to view the Power Point Presentation shown at the meeting here.

Thank you to all who made it out to the meeting and all who filled out the building requirement survey. We look forward to staying in regular contact and dialogue with the CKTC community as we take steps towards finding a new home for Columbus KTC.

Please contact Eric Weinberg memberatlarge@columbusktc.org with any additional comments or questions.

May all beings benefit.

2016 North American Kagyu Monlam

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The Kagyu Thubten Choling Monastery and Retreat Center invited our members and friends from Columbus KTC to attend the 17th Annual North American Kagyu Monlam, July 6-10, 2016 in Wappingers Falls, New York.

As His Holiness Karmapa wrote: “Central to Monlam – what gives it power and plants the seeds of future results – is the recitation of aspirations and prayers…May these words and of love and compassion blend with innate goodness of every being and coalesce into one powerful force.”

This five day prayer festival for world peace will be held in Kagyu Thubten Choling Monastery’s newly completed Maitreya Center. Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche will preside over the offering of aspiration prayers and will also give teachings and empowerments.

Registration is required and will open on March 1. Information will be made available concerning hotels and lodging in the area. You can check for the launch of registration at www.kagyumonlamny.org. Please register as early as possible as space is limited.