Dear Friends and Supporters,
I’m writing with the begging bowl in hand, as I do each year at this time. But this year feels different—there’s more at stake. I hope you’ll take the time to read this appeal letter; it’s a little longer than usual, but for good reason. The call for connection, for truly seeing and understanding one another, has never felt more urgent. Loneliness, isolation, and division are at all-time highs, and the recent election has reminded us of just how much work lies ahead if we are to bridge our differences and heal the world. This is the path of Community Zen, and I am asking you to support our shared work with a generous financial gift.
For over eight years, Bread Loaf Mountain Zen Community has been creating spaces that welcome everyone—places where we can share a meal, find peace together, and explore the deeper areas of our hearts and minds with openness and courage. Whether it’s been sharing lunches in Rutland, launching the Street Greens food truck, creating and giving away Zen Peacemaker Quilts, or the day-to-day hands-on work at Gather, we’ve been discovering how the tenets of Zen open our hearts, even to those we find hard to accept. This practice helps us stand upright in the swirl of change and inspires a culture of care that creates vibrant, healthy communities for everyone.
Now, we’re preparing to take another step forward. Our new building in Middlebury, once renovated, will be a hub for a global network of Community Zen practitioners. This space will bring together in-person and online zazen, retreats, workshops, in-house end-of-life companionship, our community living room, Gather, and resident practitioner internships all under one roof. It will be a place where we can harvest the lessons of our lived experiences and practices and share them with others who want to participate in Community Zen and bring it to life in their own communities.
But we need your support to make this vision a reality. This year, we are reaching out for help in two critical areas: sustaining our annual operations and funding renovations that will transform our new building into a true community home.
Our annual $180,000 operating budget covers essentials like rent at Gather, utilities, food for residents and community, health, property and car insurance, teacher stipend, building maintenance and more. Thanks to your generosity, we’ve met these needs each year since we began in 2017. However, as our community expands and costs for services increase, so do our expenses.
To continue meeting the growing demand for our work, we’re asking for your support. If you’re able, please consider increasing your annual gift by at least ten percent. And if this year has been especially fortunate for you, we invite you to consider a larger gift that could sustain us in a meaningful way.
As a reminder, Bread Loaf Mountain Zen Community remains committed to the practice of reciprocal generosity or the Buddhist practice of dana, choosing to sustain itself without dependence on the market economy and earned income. We ask for what we need and work with what we receive to nourish the community of practitioners and those who seek refuge.
Our new building is a significant step forward for us, and we’re committed to keeping debt low. We have access to a $100,000 line of credit, but we’re determined to use it only if absolutely necessary. By mid-2025, we will bring all our programs under one roof, creating a welcoming space that serves everyone. This is a unique interactive mandala of practice in the Buddhist landscape, and we want to show that sitting, study, and service all braid together as one practice, continuous and sustained. Your generosity will help us reach that goal without the burden of unnecessary debt. Here’s how you can make a tangible impact:
- Sponsor a Resident or Hospice Room – $10,000 (with a naming opportunity). Join together with family, friends, or colleagues to make a lasting difference.
- Support the Gather Fund – $25,000 to remove walls to create a spacious, welcoming community living room, and to furnish it so people feel at home.
- Fund the New Kitchen – $25,000 to nourish everyone who walks through our doors.
- Accessible Bathroom – $15,000 to ensure our space is welcoming to all, especially those in end-of-life care.
- AV Equipment Sponsorship – $7,000 to connect our extended online community.
Every contribution, no matter the size, brings us closer to a debt-free home where we can fully focus on our mission. At a time when divisions run deep, the work of building bridges and creating spaces of belonging is more crucial than ever. Together, we can create a place where people connect across differences, where care is the norm, and where no one is left out.
At Bread Loaf Mountain Zen Community, our practice is rooted in generosity, kindness, and joy. Together, we are amplifying a healing effort that the world seems to be crying out for, now more than ever. Please join us in this work by making a gift today.
This is our call to awakened action for all of us, for our community, and for everyone seeking a place of connection and care.
With heartfelt gratitude,
Joshin Byrnes
“When you realize the wholeness and interdependence of life, you have to take care of everyone, and to do that, you have to work with every ingredient of life.” — Bernie Glassman Roshi
