Gather:
A Community Living Room

Gather is a space of welcome, rest, and connection. Everyone is invited to come just as they are. Whether you’re looking for relief from the weather, good conversation, a bite to eat, a creative spark, a shower or laundry,  or simply a break from the demands of the day, Gather is a place where people from different parts of the community can get to know one another. In doing so, we strengthen the bonds of community—right here, close to home.

Gather is part of Bread Loaf Mountain Zen Community’s work of practicing care, hospitality, and friendship with our neighbors. It’s a place where community grows through simple, everyday moments—sharing a cup of coffee, enjoying a meal together, listening to music, or exchanging stories. Each person who walks through the door adds something to the spirit of the place.

You are welcome here.

76 Court Street
Middlebury, Vermont

Tuesdays | 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM
Thursdays | 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM
Saturdays | 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM

How We Gather:

• Safety – We create a space where everyone can feel physically, emotionally, and spiritually safe. Gather is a weapon-free space, and we ask that substances not be used on the property. We also practice kind and respectful speech, even when we disagree. Differences are welcome here and we offer safety to each other.
• Hospitality – We offer a wholehearted welcome to all, meeting people just as they are, without judgment or agenda. Everyone is treated with care, respect, and dignity—regardless of beliefs, identities, lifestyles, or health and well-being.
• Belonging – We nurture a sense of connection and community where everyone has a place and every voice matters. We practice being genuinely interested in one another, discovering what we share, and building a culture of care for each other’s health, happiness, and safety.

This spirit of gathering, along with our values shape how we show up for one another and how we grow a culture of care—right here, close to home.

The Grove:
A Place to Land, A Place to Grow, A Place to Connect

The Grove is more than housing—it’s a foundation for rebuilding, reconnecting, and belonging.

In partnership with Pathways Vermont, we offer transitional housing and support for people reintegrating into the community after incarceration, homelessness, or other periods of instability.

The Grove is a four-unit apartment complex next door to Bread Loaf Mountain Zen Community. Our goal is to create a home for those in need, and we are guided by our practice of Community Zen.

We invite tenants at The Grove to participate at Gather, and we work to be kind, attentive, and values-driven landlords to everyone. We acknowledge where people have been, honor the hard work it takes to be here now, and we care about where our tenants are going.

In Buddhist teachings, stable housing is recognized as one of the four requisites—alongside food, clothing, and medicine—necessary for personal transformation and spiritual practice. Without a safe place to land, supportive neighbors, and a chance to form new patterns, rebuilding a life is nearly impossible. Housing is not just shelter—it’s the ground on which stability, growth, and belonging take root.

The Grove is our response to the urgent need for affordable, supported housing. But it’s more than that. It’s an experiment in what’s possible when a community takes responsibility for its neighbors—not as charity, but as shared life. Here, housing is more just shelter, it’s also an opportunity for stability, dignity, and the deep practice of being together.

This work isn’t separate from our Zen practice—it is our Zen practice.

Peacemaker Quilts:
Patchwork, Zen, and Comfort

As far back as the Buddha, making patchwork robes has been an important spiritual practice. We sew a fragmented world back into wholeness. Dogen writes at length about the treasure of every piece of discarded, donated, used, and purchased cloth. Making a sacred object from devalued materials reminds us of the dignity of every single thing and the healing power of compassion in our lives.

Our Zen Peacemaker Quilts were communally made by many hands working together. We carried forward the old practice of patchwork sewing and created homemade gifts for children currently in the foster care system.

Finished quilts are twin size and given to children in the foster care system, refugee families, and other temporary housing situations.

There are over 420,000 children in foster care in the U.S. right now. Vermont alone has over 1,100 children in foster care, and according to the Casey Family Foundation, the state has one of the highest per capita rates of children entering foster care in the nation. According to the Children’s Defense Fund, a child in the U.S. is removed from their home and placed in foster care every two minutes. Neglect, a reliable proxy for the consequences of poverty, was by far the most common reason for children entering the child welfare system (88% in Vermont), not abuse. We must address the social and systemic suffering of poverty and economic inequality.

With this work, we can also bring comfort, coziness, and care into the life of a child in the form of a quilted blanket. Small gestures of care let a child know that they are not alone.