Sunday, April 3rd, 2022
Dear POH Community ~ Our topic this week will focus on the future of Paths of Heart and how we can, with your help, keep it alive and thriving, if it is meant to be. We shared some of our concerns with the folks who were present in person last week, and will discuss in more detail this week on Zoom. Since Path’s inception over 8 years ago, we have existed solely through your generous donations and have met our budget requirements most years with grace and ease. As we’ve already mentioned in these newsletters, the “pandemic years” changed that. Like many other businesses and non-profits over these past 2 years, our income has not kept up with our expenses, especially in this last fiscal year when we went back to meeting regularly on Sundays. At this juncture, Paths of Heart is unfortunately no longer self-sustainable in its current form. Our expenses are roughly $20,000 – $24,000 a year, yet our income this fiscal year has been half that. We would very much like your help in determining what might turn these circumstances around, especially if you are a regular attendee and/or you find Paths of Heart to be a valuable entity/resource in your life. It seems a large percentage of our community has been slow to “return” to our gatherings. We’d love to more fully understand why this might be ~ whether it’s simply still due to the pandemic, or whether a different day/time/frequency might better serve our community. These are some of the questions we’d like you to ponder with us as we come up with a new plan together! We’d sure love to hear your thoughts and suggestions! Here is the link for Sunday’s gathering:
Time: Apr 3, 2022 11:00 AM Mountain Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82363490377?pwd=aEdhcHpMY1FRT2pKeWJRZUVJTmszQT09
Meeting ID: 823 6349 0377
Passcode: 044611
With love and gratitude always and all ways,
Colleen and Mark
Quotes to ponder
“We have all known the long loneliness and we have learned that the only solution is love and that love comes with community.”
~ Dorothy Day
“One of the marvelous things about community is that it enables us to welcome and help people in a way we couldn’t as individuals.”
~ Jean Vanier
“There is no power for change greater than a community discovering what it cares about.”
~ Margaret J. Wheatley
“It is not more bigness that should be our goal. We must attempt, rather, to bring people back to the warmth of community, to the worth of individual effort and responsibility, and of individuals working together as a community, to better their lives and their children’s future.”
~ Robert F. Kennedy
Looking Ahead/Notes of Interest
Paths of Heart Schedule (Sundays, 11 a.m.)
We are considering moving our start time to 10 a.m. as the weather warms, and we’ll definitely meet at 10 a.m. on Easter Sunday to accommodate other family gatherings happening that day.
Mask Policy Update:
The general consensus so far has been that folks are comfortable with others being unmasked, though some are choosing to wear their own masks, which you are always welcome to do!
April 3rd – ZOOM gathering
Special Event – April 9th, 7 pm (doors at 6:30) – Paths of Heart House Concert with the Sloniker-Crosson Clan – The “Pandemic Years” were not particularly kind to the coffers of Paths of Heart, so we’ve decided to have a benefit concert to give our non-profit a boost! Since space is limited, we are asking folks that’ll be attending to prepay, either on our website
https://www.pathsofheart.org/donate/ (with the word “Concert” in the note/message section), or through Colleen’s Venmo: @Colleen-Crosson, or with a check or cash prior to the event.
Suggested donation for the concert is $25 (more if you can, less if it just doesn’t fit in your budget!). Feel free to bring a beverage of choice. There will be no intermission but we’ll hang out a bit afterwards with some light snacks/finger foods which you are also welcome to bring/share. If you can’t come to the concert but would like to contribute anyway, we’ll give you 3 of our CDs (you pick!). We hope you will join us!
April 10th – in person, with Myles and Emma Sloniker joining in on the music.
April 17th, Easter Sunday, 10 a.m. start time – in person, and we are fully intending to have a long-awaited-for POTLUCK after our gathering (hopefully outdoors!). We’ll also have some guest musicians TBA!
April 24th – in person
May 1st – ZOOM gathering
Sending prayers and affirmations ~ If anyone would like to receive our collective positive thoughts and prayers on a Sunday morning, please ask! We can be as specific or as anonymous as you’d like. Let us know if we can surround you and your loved ones in love and light!
Giving Opportunities – Paths of Heart continues (into its 9th year now!) almost entirely through your generous donations. What a beautiful thing! If you find value in what we do here each week, please consider donating to keep our non-profit running smoothly, with grace and ease. The past 2 years saw a severe drop in donations and we’d love to regrow our account balance to a more healthy and sustainable level now that we are meeting regularly again. During the pandemic, online donations became increasingly important to our organization, and are always gratefully accepted on our website, https://www.pathsofheart.org/donate/. You can even sign up for monthly giving, which we deeply appreciate. Thanks so much for supporting the continuation of Paths of Heart! We are a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, so your donations are tax deductible!
Two ways you can further support Paths of Heart are detailed below:
King Soopers Community Rewards Program – if you shop at KS and have a rewards card, you can “link” it to Paths of Heart and King Soopers will donate a portion of your dollars spent (around 5%) to our non-profit. Go to https://www.kingsoopers.com/i/community/community-rewards to sign up and link your card. Our organization name is Paths of Heart and organization number is RG782. Let us know if you want help signing up!
Amazon Smile – We do love shopping locally and very often do, but Amazon sometimes fits the bill. If you are an Amazon shopper, you can make a difference by shopping at smile.amazon.com/ch/81-4175487 to generate donations for Paths of Heart!
“Paths of Heart” Labyrinth and Zen Meditation Garden – This was intentioned to be a community space, so know that you are always welcome to drop by and walk or sit – you do not need to let us know in advance. Do note that we have experienced the outer “halo” of glass blocks in the labyrinth to be slippery when wet, so it’s best to walk it on a dry day (not usually a problem in Colorado!). We also welcome volunteers to help keep our labyrinth looking beautiful and free of debris and weeds. Thank you in advance.
Gratitudes
We are surely grateful for all the good folks bringing humanitarian aid to Ukraine at this time. Here is one link shared from a trusted friend with family in Poland, of an organization there which is helping Ukrainian refugees.
In addition, World Central Kitchen and Doctors Without Borders are worthy organizations that would welcome our monetary support.
We are also grateful that Myles Sloniker is coming to CO for a short visit in April. Much music and family fun will ensue!
What are you grateful for today?
“Thankfulness is the beginning of gratitude. Gratitude is the completion of thankfulness. Thankfulness may consist merely of words. Gratitude is shown in acts.”
~ Henri Frederic Amiel
“Gratitude is the fairest blossom which springs from the soul.”
~ Henry Ward Beecher
“Going to sleep with a grateful, open heart
is a powerful healing practice. Your dreams will become more inspiring and you will awaken in the morning
with a lighter state of mind.”
~ Dr. John Demartini
About Paths of Heart…
Paths of Heart is a high spirited, heart-centered community where we gather together (in new and creative ways!) for music, poetry, commentary, and dialogue to create and nurture joy, compassion, gratitude, and love – in our own lives and throughout the world. Paths of Heart is a 501(c)(3) Human Services/Educational non-profit organization that uses the arts, especially, to encourage and propel seekers of a better, more peaceful world to find ways to serve, while becoming more kind and compassionate human beings.
We welcome you as we collectively and individually explore the sweet mysteries of life – this is an invitation into co-creation!
Visit us on the web at https://www.pathsofheart.org
We hope our physical paths may cross soon!