Easter Sunday

April 20, 2025

“One with omnipresent Christ Consciousness, Jesus is risen in the heart of every flower, every ray of sunshine, every noble thought....He is risen in our minds, our hearts, our souls – there is no separation between him and us. He is walking in the garden of our love, in the garden of our sacred devotion,

in the garden of our meditation and Kriya Yoga.”

Paramahansa Yogananda

Upcoming Dates to Remember

Sunday, April 6 Video with Sister Ranjana: "Spiritualizing Family Life"

Saturday, April 12 Day of Service

Friday, April 18 Good Friday, 10:00 a.m. to noon: Chapel open for silent meditation

Saturday, April 19 Brother Devananda and Brahmachari Ian lead meditation and workshop

Sunday, April 20 Easter services conducted by the monks, followed by Easter vegetarian potluck

Sunday April 20 Sunday School meets at 11:00 for special service and Easter Egg Hunt Note: Sunday School will meet on Easter Sunday (April 20) instead of April 6, the usual first Sunday

Sunday, May 4 Video with Brother Anantananda: "Change Your Habits"

Sunday, May 11 Sri Yukteswar Birthday Commemorative Service

Sunday, May 18 Video with Brother Govindananda: "Developing a Moment-to-Moment Relationship With God"

More details about Convocation, Sri Yukteswar's birthday service,

and the April monastic visit follow below.

Please visit our website for a complete schedule of activities.

Self-Realization Fellowship Monks Visit Portland Center

Portland Center is pleased to announce that Brother Devananda (pictured below) and Brahmachari Ian will be with us during Easter weekend. The complete schedule follows, and may also be downloaded here.

Saturday April 19:

8:40 a.m. Energization Exercises

9:00 a.m. to noon Meditation conducted by the monastics. You may enter or leave during chanting on the hour.

12:30 - 1:30 Break for lunch (sack lunch or local restaurants)

1:30 - 2:30 Monastic-led workshop titled "Introspection: Key to Spiritual Progress"

Easter Sunday, April 20: All services will be conducted by the monks.

9:40 a.m. Energization Exercises

10:00 - 10:45 Meditation service

11:00 - noon Inspirational Service

Noon - 12:15 Group Photo, Prayer Before Food

12:15 - 1:15 Vegetarian Potluck Luncheon

Brother Devananda

Day of Service, Saturday April 12

We invite you to lend a hand as we prepare our building and grounds to welcome the monastics and other visitors who will come to our Center for Easter activities. Please join us on Saturday April 12 for a Day of Service at Portland Center.

The day begins at 9:30 with an optional meditation in the chapel, followed at 10:00 by indoor and outdoor cleaning, maintenance, and gardening projects. No special skills are needed and everyone can participate according to individual capabilities and available time. Equipment, snacks, water and a vegetarian lunch will be provided, and we will wrap things up around 2:00 or when our to-do list has been completed.

We look forward to having you with us for part or all of the day!

"The deeper you meditate and the more willingly you serve,

the happier you will be."

Paramahansa Yogananda

Birthday of Swami Sri Yukteswar

We will celebrate the May 10th birthday of our revered paramguru, Swami Sri Yukteswar, with a special service on Sunday May 11 at 11:00 a.m.

As with all commemorative services, the traditional offerings include a flower or flowers and a monetary donation in an envelope, symbolizing our devotion, gratitude, and loyalty. Rose petals will be provided for offering during the service, or you may bring your own flower if you prefer.

Please note that Portland Center will not host an evening commemorative service on May 10. You may check the SRF Online Meditation Center's calendar for other events in honor of Sri Yukteswar.

Portland Center Young Adults Group

Portland Center warmly welcomes all SRF members and friends ages 18 to 40 to participate in our evolving Young Adults Group. As with all SRF Young Adult Groups, we aim to be a spiritual community where we can feel supported in our spiritual journey through establishing meaningful connections with like-minded friends.

Look for us at the Easter potluck,

where we will share a table together!

If you are interested in participating, please connect with Saheli Saha

at Portland Center, or email us at portlandcentersrf@gmail.com .

ॐ ॐ ॐ ॐ ॐ

Self-Realization Fellowship Worldwide Convocation:

Online Volunteer Opportunities

Self-Realization Fellowship's annual Worldwide Convocation will be held in Los Angeles June 22-28 this year. For those who are unable to attend in person, SRF offers a complete program of events online. A description of the virtual activities can be found here.

If you would like to experience the joy of serving the worldwide SRF/YSS family during these online events, SRF is looking for a large number of volunteers to support three online fellowship gatherings which will be held on the following days and times:

·        Sunday, June 22, 2025 from 4-7 p.m. PDT

·        Wednesday, June 25, 2025 from 2-5 p.m. PDT

·        Saturday, June 28, 2025 from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. PDT

Full training will be provided.

Those who are interested may read more and apply here. 

You may also contact the team at onlinefellowship@voluntaryleague.org.

Seabeck Regional Retreat, 2025

Seabeck Conference Center on the Olympic Peninsula

On June 6 - 8, the Seattle SRF Center will once again offer a silent retreat at the beautiful Seabeck Conference Center, marking forty years of hosting this popular event.

More information is available on the Seattle Center's website.

News from Portland Center Managing Council

Portland Center is blessed to have so many active members and attendees creating a welcoming and God-centered home for meditation. Because of the prayers, financial support and hands-on work, with our Guru's guidance we are able to provide multiple opportunities for meditation and gathering.

In addition to regularly scheduled events, a membership survey was recently conducted, building security has been enhanced, and a Young Adults Group is being formulated. We are also looking forward to the upcoming monastic visit. Thank you to all the volunteers who are carrying out preparations with a spirit of service.

We will be scheduling a General Membership meeting in the next few months to discuss a variety of projects, survey results and plans. In the meantime, we wanted to provide a few highlights from the survey:

• Sixty-seven people responded
• About half the people were interested in an additional three-hour meditation either monthly or quarterly
• A large majority of respondents preferred that commemorative services be conducted on Sunday mornings rather than in the evening
• The majority of people were interested in exploring relocation of the Center and eleven were willing to be on a relocation committee
• Regarding the election of members to serve on the Managing Council, 70% preferred the current method and 25% were interested in having elections.

Jai Guru!

In divine friendship,

Kimberly Stevens, Linda Clark-Traeger,

Lisa Buchholz, Mike O'Brien, Paulette Fritsch

We extend our gratitude to Shikha Misra

for her years of service as Portland Center's treasurer.

Shikha’s expertise has been integral to the well-ordered operation of Portland Center, through ensuring all the bills were paid, reimbursing volunteers, and preparing monthly financial reports. Portland Center welcomes Kimberly Stevens as our new treasurer, and we thank you, Shikha for your expert service!

Ongoing Monthly Events at Portland Center



First Sunday: Sunday School for children ages three to twelve, held from 11:00 a.m. to noon. More information is available on our website. Sunday School will pause for summer break beginning in June, resuming in September.

Third Sunday: Friendship Tea – an opportunity to meet informally with spiritual friends immediately following the 11:00 service, while sharing light refreshments.

Last Sunday: Meditation Service led by Portland Center's kirtan group, beginning with group practice of the SRF Energization Exercises at 8:00 a.m. This is followed by periods of meditation and chanting accompanied by traditional Indian instruments. If you are unable to stay for the full kirtan period, you may enter or leave the chapel during the chanting at 9:00 and 10:00 a.m.

How to Make a Financial Contribution

We deeply appreciate your contributions of time and resources to help us meet the recurring expenses that sustain our Center, as we are supported solely by financial contributions from our members and friends, and by volunteers who donate their skills.

For those who would like to contribute online, you can

send funds through Zelle to the following email address:

portlandcenterdonations@gmail.com

If you prefer to write a check, please know that checks payable to "Portland Center" will be deposited locally and used to support our Center's activities, pay utility bills, etc. Checks payable to "Self-Realization Fellowship" are sent to SRF headquarters in Los Angeles, to support SRF's worldwide activities.

Checks may be mailed to 356 NE 80th Avenue, Portland 97213.

Thank you for your support!

Mother's Day, Sunday May 11

“God as Divine Mother ever watches over Her human children,

peeping through the caring hearts of all true mothers."

Paramahansa Yogananda