Community Zen: Bridging Divides and Strengthening Communities – March (online and in person)

Join us for a half-day introduction to Community Zen, a practice of bringing people together to bridge divides, foster connection, and strengthen our communities. This retreat is designed for people who are actively engaged in their communities—whether through volunteering, donating, nonprofit work, local business, activism, or community leadership—and are looking for ways to deepen their impact.

Community Zen is not about promoting religion, but about using mindfulness and our deepest values to create spaces of care, trust, and belonging – within ourselves and for our communities.

In this introductory session, participants will explore:

• How to address the siloing of our communities and create spaces where people from different backgrounds can come together.
• Strategies for building trust and connection, even across political, social, economic, educational, or cultural divides.
• Practical approaches to fostering a sense of belonging, both within ourselves and in the communities we serve.

Through a mix of guided reflection, discussion, and collaborative exercises, this session offers a preview of the Community Zen Working Group—a five-month program designed to support volunteers and donors, nonprofit and business leaders, organizers, policy makers and activists in creating lasting change. You’ll leave with new perspectives on how to strengthen your work, build deeper connections, and create environments where everyone feels they belong.

Dates:

• Saturday March 22, 2025, 1:30 – 4:30pm Eastern Time (online and in person)

In person will be at Gather, 48 Merchant Row, Middlebury

Facilitation
Brian Joshin Byrnes is the guiding teacher of Bread Loaf Mountain Zen Community. With a background as a nonprofit and community foundation executive, he brings warmth, real-life experience, and a down-to-earth approach, making Zen practices useful to those seeking insight and growth in everyday life.

Generosity
We request a sliding scale donation of $25-$50. Your contribution supports our community programs like Gather. No one will be turned away for inability to pay.

Register:
To register for this program of Saturday March 22, 2025 click here.