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Welcome to spring with its message of hope and renewal! May the celebration of Easter, Sri Yukteswar's birthday, and Mother's Day – honoring the mother aspect of God – bring joy to you and all those you hold dear.

From Master "This is my Easter prayer. May all true devotees of God, uplifted by the transparent purity of their lives, begin to radiate the Infinite Light, equally present in all, even as Jesus did, and remember the long-forgotten truth that they are all potential Sons of God." Paramahansa Yogananda, The Second Coming of Christ: The Resurrection of the Christ Within You  

Upcoming Events Good Friday, March 30 - Chapel open for individual meditation 10:00 a.m. - noon Easter Sunday, April 1 - Join us after the 11:00 a.m. Reading Service for our annual Easter potluck! Please bring a vegetarian dish serving 8 -10 people. Also, a children's Egg Hunt will be held at 12:30 in the Center garden, weather permitting. Wednesday, May 10 - Birthday commemoration of Swami Sri Yukteswar. More details follow in this newsletter. Saturday, May 12 - Quarterly six-hour meditation with kirtan, 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m., with a short break at approximately 1:30 p.m. If you are unable to stay for the entire six hours, please come only to the morning portion.  Our complete monthly schedule may be found in our Quarterly Calendar of Services, available in the Portland Center foyer or on our website.

Visit our website

Sri Yukteswar Birthday Commemorative Service

Come celebrate with us on Wednesday May 10 as we observe the birth anniversary of our blessed Paramguru. The commemorative service will be held from 8:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., preceded by an optional meditation beginning at 7:15 p.m. Please bring the traditional offering of a flower or flowers, symbolizing devotion to the guru. 

Whether you've never attended Self-Realization Fellowship's annual World Convocation or have participated every year, you are warmly invited to join the SRF international spiritual family for a week of monastic led classes and talks, powerful group meditations, and pilgrimages to places made sacred by the presence of our Guru.    Convocation 2018 will again be held at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel in downtown Los Angeles, August 5 - 11. Registration for Convocation and hotel information are now available on SRF's website . Simultaneous Spanish translation will be offered during most events this year.

Please note: If you regularly attend Portland Center and are also going to Convocation, you may want to consider participating in the 2018 Center Representatives Conference, to be held on Thursday, August 9 from 12:30 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. More information is found in this letter of invitation sent by SRF Center Department.

Managing Council News We are delighted to welcome Shikha Misra and Nate Hibbs, both long time members at the Portland Center, to expand our three member Coordinating Team to a five member Managing Council. Sarah Floyd will now be the Coordinator of the Managing Council, Rebecca Field will continue as Secretary, and Sharon Schaefer will remain as a Member-at-large. Pictured above are Shikha, Sarah, Rebecca and Sharon. For his first year on the Managing Council, Nate Hibbs (not pictured) will be serving as a Member-at-large on the Managing Council and will continue as one of our Sunday School teachers. Shikha Misra will be the Treasurer of the Portland Center, receiving training from our long-time volunteer bookkeeper Lisa Buchholz. Shikha also teaches Sunday School, and this is her first year serving on the Managing Council.

Our biggest project this year will be the installation of carpet throughout the building and replacing the pews with new chairs. (See article below) This includes selling the pews and present chairs, fundraising, starting a building fund, and implementing the steps needed to bring this project to fruition. The Managing Council feels it is our joy to serve, and we appreciate the many volunteers who help keep Master’s work alive and thriving at the Portland Center!

Above is a computer generated image showing a chapel with new chairs

Chair and Carpet Replacement Update

Twenty-five members were present at the lunch and general membership meeting on February 25 th . A thorough presentation was given by the Managing Council on the proposal for new carpet and chairs. Replacing the old worn-out pews and blue chairs as well as carpet throughout the building was approved. Complete minutes from that meeting are available here:

Meeting Minutes-2/25/18

All those who have tested the new chairs agree that they will be much more conducive to the correct meditation posture than our present seating. A sample chair is in the Center’s Information Room for you to try, if you haven’t already done so. After receiving a revised estimate from Interstate Flooring, our initial fundraising goal has been raised from $2,000 to $4,000. This reflects the increased cost of labor and carpet, as well as the inclusion of another room that was not part of the original estimate. Though we are unable to provide a donation link on our website at this time, we greatly appreciate your contributions by check or cash for this important project. When donating, be sure to indicate what the donation is for. As Portland Center’s building and grounds are owned by Self-Realization Fellowship, Mother Center is involved in approving ongoing improvements to the property. We look forward to this upgrade, so that our Center might better reflect the beauty and inspiration of our Guru who created and dedicated his life to this organization.

Volunteer Appreciation  Managing Council and all of us at Portland Center wish to express our deep gratitude to two dedicated volunteers whose terms will soon be concluding.

Tom Strange has served as the Maintenance Committee chair for the past four years; and as you can imagine with a property as extensive as ours there is always something that needs attention! Tom has made countless repairs as well as contributed to many important projects at the Center. Examples include installing insulation in the ceiling of our sanctuary, replacing the chapel’s sound system — including new harmonium and podium microphones, installing new toilets, coordinating other maintenance needs with outside professionals, and general fixing of things too numerous to name. Tom will continue serving as an usher, helping with maintenance as his time allows. Someone who has worked quietly behind the scenes for seven years is our bookkeeper, Lisa Buchholz , who is now training Shikha Misra to take over the monetary duties as treasurer on the Managing Council. Lisa’s service has been invaluable to the Portland Center, making sure all the bills were paid, reimbursing volunteers and preparing monthly financial reports. Past and present Portland Center leadership have benefited greatly from her skill and dedication to keeping the financial picture accurate and up-to-date — not to mention her timely handling of thousands of deposits and reimbursements throughout the years. Lisa, we can’t thank you enough!

Quarterly Day of Service On March 17 a dedicated group of devotees enjoyed each other's spiritual company while spiffing up our beautiful Center for spring. After starting the morning with meditation, we worked hard, shared lunch together, and concluded the day with the satisfaction of a job well done in service to Master.

Expert paint touch-up 

Scrubbing winter away!

Plenty of supplies were on hand

Keeping our Book Room tidy

Caring for the many plants

Cooking for the hungry crew

Other Activities  Sunday School classes are offered every Sunday from 11:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. for boys and girls ages 3-13 in the Sunday School Room. All children age 13 and younger are encouraged to attend Sunday School and may enroll at any time. Sunday Socials are held on the third Sunday of each month in the Sunday School Room following the Inspirational Service. Light refreshments are provided.   Kirtan Meditations with devotional chanting accompanied by traditional Indian instruments, are generally held on the last Sunday of the month, from 8:00 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. Kirtan Services start with group practice of the Energization Exercises at 8:00 a.m., followed by periods of devotional chanting and meditation. During the 10:00 a.m. service, there will be chanting instead of an opening prayer and a reading. Master strongly encouraged chanting as a way to deepen one's meditations and devotion. If you are unable to stay for the full kirtan period, you may enter or leave the chapel during the chanting at 9:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m.

How to Make a Financial Contribution  Portland Center of SRF is supported solely by financial contributions from members and friends, and by volunteers who donate their time. Proceeds from our Book Room sales also benefit the Center.    If you write a check to the group, please know that checks payable to "Portland Center" will be deposited locally and used to support our Center's activities, pay utility bills and so on. Checks payable to "Self Realization Fellowship" are sent to SRF headquarters in Los Angeles, where they are used to support SRF's work. It is customary when writing checks during special services such as commemoratives to make the check payable to SRF.    Some members choose to make regular donations to our Center. One convenient option is to set up automatic bill pay through your bank.       Thank you for your support!

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