Good Lunch and a Good Cause December 16 at BI BBQ

If you grew up on Bainbridge, and even if you didn't, you may know Greg Epstein, owner of Bainbridge Island BBQ in Winslow. Greg's wife Carmen was recently diagnosed with a treatable form of breast cancer. This has been a tough year for their business and although they have health insurance, the cost of treatment will be high. They are holding a benefit on Friday, December 16 from noon until 7:00 pm. You can eat all you want until the food runs out and all donations will go toward Carmen's treatment. You can read more about it here: http://www.bainbridgereview.com/opinion/135700003.html?fb_comment_id=fbc_10150452996153881_20197789_10150453509813881#f2d0ed74b

So - call some friends and head to Winslow for some delicious BBQ on Friday and help one of our neighbors!

Meditation Flash Mob December 22, 5:45 pm at the Bainbridge Island Ferry Terminal

Please join us on the Winter Solstice, December 22, for Bainbridge Island's first meditation flash mob at the Bainbridge Island ferry terminal from 5:45 - 7:00 pm. Our intention is simply to spread peace. One hour of peaceful meditation inside the ferry terminal followed by an 11-minute soundbath of music and chanting. Our friend Ann Strickland (and possibly other members of Comfort Station)will be there with her instrument. All are welcome. Over 250 cities worldwide will participate. Wear blue or white clothing to signify the season, unity and peace.

For more information visit http://www.facebook.com/events/283692471674571/ or e-mail hburke8@gmail.com.

A Girls' Night Out for a Good Cause

Join us next Tuesday, December 13 from 7 - 9:00 pm at the Fireside Room at Vineyard Lane for cocktails and treats provided by our friend and chef extraordinaire Cherie Levan. We'll get into the holiday spirit decorating gingerbread men with good company. The event is $50 per lady and all proceeds will benefit Hope by Twelve (http://www.hopebytwelve.org/) started by our own Molly Pitts. Space is limited to 50 people so please RSVP to https://www.facebook.com/events/260103800706934/ or e-mail hburke8@gmail.com of you are not on facebook. Hope to see you there!

Come to Kirtan Jam on December 1 at 7:30, Grace Church

This Thursday at 7:30 Comfort Station will again perform Kirtan at Grace Church. They are inviting everyone to bring acoustic instruments if they wish to make it a "Kirtan Jam" - so bring them if you've got them - even if it's just your voice!

This picture is from last month's Celebration of Light.

November Karma Yoga Meeting

Being a part of the Karma Yoga project has helped me to see the “karma yoga” that happens naturally pretty much everywhere. This last month, especially around Halloween, I noticed so many people doing things to make the connections within our community stronger – here are a few:

• Ann, Clay, Jon and Misty performing Kirtan at Grace Church and donating all the proceeds to Island families in need;

• My friend Deb’s pumpkin party resulting in all those beautiful pumpkins on the corner of New Sweden and Eagle Harbor Drive;

• Receiving $100 from a woman in Chicago who heard about the November Kirtan to benefit the Island family struggling with illness;

• Families in the Fort Ward neighborhood who put so much time and energy into giving trick-or-treaters a real scare – think chain-saws, strobe lights and the Gimp from Pulp Fiction;

• Seeing a friendship blossom between my daughter and a student new to the Island;

• Witnessing the amazing community support surrounding our friends Steve and Martha and the way they have so beautifully shared their experiences with us all.

These ways that we support each other keep us all connected. Perhaps our needs are big or perhaps they are small. Maybe we just need a good scare or a fence-full of beautiful lit-up pumpkins. Maybe we need to know that our friends and our community are there to help us when we face incredible challenges. I am noticing that karma yoga is all around me if I just open my eyes and pay attention.

We have a few things coming up that you may want to be part of – more specifics will follow soon:

• We will collect gifts (homemade or store-bought) and monetary donations for families in need over the holidays. You will see specific needs in the studio.

• Write a note to one of Jen’s high school yoga students about what yoga means to you – she will share them at their last session before winter break on December 12. Look for the note-paper in the studio.

• On December 22 at 5:30 pm we will hold a MedMob (think Flashmob with meditation instead of dancing) at the ferry terminal. Check out this link for more information about MedMobs http://www.medmob.org/

• After the holidays we will have a Mala Making Party with help from Amy Margaret Kapphan. Join us if you’d like to learn what malas are and how you can make them.

Karma Yoga Meeting Thursday

A friendly reminder that our next Karma Yoga meeting is this Thursday, November 17 at BYH after yoga. If you can't be at yoga but are coming to the meeting, we usually start between 10:45 and 11:00. Hope to see you there!

This is a picture from Mt. Zion out near Quilcene taken today.

A Neighbor to Neighbor Thanksgiving

Most of you likely know that Helpline House collects Thanksgiving meals and distributes them to Island families through Project Wishbone each year. Last year Helpline served over 750 families. For me, the deadline for getting the donations to Helpline always sneaks up sooner than I expect. This year Helpline House is accepting donations on Friday, November 18 (10 - 4) and Saturday, November 19 (10 - 2).

If you would like to donate to Project Wishbone but can't get to Helpline on Friday or Saturday, you can bring donations to BYH and we will get them to Helpline. Here is a link to let you know what they need for donations - http://helplinehouse.org/thanksgiving.shtml . There is a basket in the studio where you can put donations - there are also printed lists of the items they need. Neighbor to neighbor we can all make a difference.