ANNOUNCEMENTS

December

Please join us after the December 7th services for the final Sunday of our Christmas Craft and Bake Sale. Devotees have been working hard to make and bake fantastic items for you to enjoy. All sales benefit our Portland Center. The Book Room will be closed, but we will have some of our most popular items available for purchase. Sale items are available only by check or credit card.

On Sunday December 7th our Sunday School will be open for children ages 3 – 12. Please arrive by 10:45 to allow the children time to settle in.

On Friday December 12th we will meet at the Center for an outing to the Grotto with the monastics who are visiting Portland Center. Lunch will follow at the Center. There is a signup sheet in the Information Room to help plan for food.

Many years ago, Paramahansa Yogananda established the custom of setting aside one day of the Christmas season for an all-day meditation, so that devotees might spend an entire day united in spiritual effort and in deepening communion with God and Christ. Many Self-Realization Fellowship devotees have come to regard the All-Day Christmas Meditation as the most important event of the year. They find that the blessings from even one day fully dedicated to God are permanent in their effect, especially when that day has been preceded by faithful daily meditation throughout the Christmas season.

On Saturday December 13th Brother Sarvanana and Brahmachari Rahul will lead the All-Day Monastic-led Christmas Meditation from 10 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. There will be an intermission at 2:00 p.m., at which time anyone who wishes to leave may do so. As a general rule, no one should come in for the second half who has not already attended the first period of meditation. If you can only attend part of the day please come for the morning only. Remember to dress warmly and please wear clothing that is quiet and does not rustle.

A Holiday Flyer with information about the monastic visit, the Friday outing, Christmas Vegetarian Potluck on December 14th and other holiday events is available in the Information Room, Foyer and online.

In these difficult times, we are aware that members of our Center and our local community can benefit from support. We are collecting vegetarian, non-perishable food for the Vestal School community and for Portland Center members. Please place food items you wish to donate in the white box in the Information Room. Portland Center members may access the box in the Family Room closet for their own needs.

PREVIOUS ANNOUNCEMENTS:

As a courtesy to those members who are allergic to fragrances, please refrain from wearing perfumes, colognes, or scented hair products when attending services at Portland Center.

Copies of the October – December Calendar of Services are available in the Information Room and foyer.

Thank you for supporting Portland Center with your skills and financial donations. If you would like to contribute online, you can send funds through Zelle to portlandcenterdonations@gmail.com or you may write a check. Checks payable to "Portland Center" will be deposited locally and support our Center's activities and expenses. Checks payable to "Self-Realization Fellowship" are sent to SRF headquarters in Los Angeles, to support SRF's worldwide activities. Checks may be mailed to our address at 356 NE 80th Avenue, Portland 97213.

The Book Room has received copies of the 2026 Wall Calendar and Engagement Calendar. We also have a fresh supply of the newest SRF publication, Solving the Mystery of Life. Please stop by and pick up your copy.

Volunteering at Portland Center is a wonderful addition to one's sadhana, or spiritual practice. The Flower Committee is seeking creative and dependable volunteers to help with the flower arrangements that are an integral part of Portland Center Inspirational and Commemorative services. Would you like to learn a new skill or expand your current flower skills? You may speak with someone serving today or fill out a Volunteer Application in the Foyer.

We encourage everyone to read Portland Center’s current e-newsletter, which contains important and inspiring information. You may sign up on our website or fill out a form at the Newcomers Desk, if you aren’t already receiving it.

Portland Center's website now includes a new section about the history of the Portland Center of SRF, originally compiled by the late Kent Hathaway. Follow the Home page tab to the “Our Center” page.

A reminder that our chapel is open every Tuesday evening from 6:30 to 9:30 for silent individual meditation. As this is not a conducted meditation, one my come and go at any time.

Our Kirtan Group leads the Sunday morning services on the last Sunday of each month, beginning at 8:00 with the SRF Energization Exercises. You may also enter or leave during periods of chanting at 9:00 and 10:00.

Also, those who wish to stay in the chapel a little longer to enjoy the meditative atmosphere generated during the morning are welcome to do so. We ask those who want to converse with one another after the service to kindly meet in the foyer or the Information Room, to preserve the silence of the chapel. Thank you for your consideration.

If you know of people in need of healing prayers, you may submit their name in the prayer box in the Information Room. These names are submitted confidentially to the Mother Center, where they are prayed for by the monastics every day for three months. You may also request prayers on SRF’s website at www.yogananda.org.