RECENT  ANNOUNCEMENTS

May 2023​

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Glenda Gingras, a long-time devotee and formerly active volunteer at Portland Center, passed away on April 21. A memorial will be held on her birthday, Wednesday May 31 at 11:00am at the Center. All are welcome to attend.

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A commemoration service will be held on the evening of May 10th to honor the birth anniversary of  Swami Sri Yukteswar, the guru of Paramahansa Yogananda and paramguru of all SRF/YSS devotees. A meditation will be held from 7:15-7:45 with the service starting at 8:00. The traditional offering is a flower (or flowers) and a monetary donation. Do not smell the flower as the scent is considered part of the offering! All are welcome to attend.

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The Seattle Center of SRF will be hosting the Seabeck Regional Retreat this year from June 9th to the 11th at the Seabeck Conference Center. Registration is available on their website .  Registrations must be received by May 31st. The retreat will be led by Sister Vinita and Sister Dhira.

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The third Sunday of each month is the monthly social; an opportunity for us to connect with one another following the 11:00 service while sharing in light refreshments served by our Hospitality Committee. We hope you will be able to join us for this opportunity to enjoy spiritual fellowship on May 21st.

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The Hospitality committee would like to extend a service opportunity to help with the monthly socials and other occasional events involving food. If this captures your interest, please feel free to speak with Rebecca or send her an email at portlandcentersrf@gmail.com.  You may also fill out a volunteer form indicating your interest in this committee.

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Speaking of upcoming events, two SRF monks – Brother Devananda and Brahmachari
Bhaskarananda – will be with us at the end of May during the Memorial Day weekend.

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Previous months announcements:​

• Mark your calendars for the upcoming visit by two SRF monks! Brother Devananda and Brahmachari Bhaskarananda will be with us at the end of May during the Memorial Day weekend. A detailed schedule of events will be available soon.

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• Our Book Room will be open after the service this morning, where you can browse our collection of inspiring SRF publications and useful devotional items.

• At the conclusion of our 11:00 Sunday service, 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.

• A reminder that the chapel windows will be partially open during our Sunday and Tuesday evening services to allow for adequate ventilation, so you may want to continue to dress warmly.

• We are happy to announce that Kirtan will again be offered on the last Sunday of every month. Kirtan is devotional chanting with traditional Indian instruments. We will begin with group practice of the SRF Energization Exercises at 8:00 a.m. You may enter during the chanting at 8:15, 9:00 or 10:00. This is followed by the Inspirational service at 11:00.  

• Sunday School will be starting again this year if there are qualified teachers and teacher’s aides. The SRF Youth Services offers training to devotees who would like to volunteer for this important and meaningful service . No prior experience is necessary. If this is something that captures your interest, please send an email to Mike O’Brien at the Portland Center email address or fill out a volunteer form. If you know of any SRF devotees who have children please inform them that we hope to start offering Sunday School. If they are interested, please have them contact us. The email address is: Portlandcentersrf@gmail.com and can also be found on the internet.

• If you would like to receive emails with updates including possible weather related closures you need to be receiving the Portland Center E-Newsletter. You may sign-up for the E-newsletter on our website or by submitting a small form at the Newcomer’s Table.​

• Your donations help support the Portland Center. One way to do that is through the Zelle money transfer system. It is free and most often used by banks. Once you enroll, you just need an email address to send the money electronically.  The email for Portland Center donations is: portlandcenterdonations@gmail.com  This information will be posted on the bulletin board in the Information Room.

• Fragrances can be a problem for people who are allergic to them. Please be mindful of others, and we request that you refrain from wearing fragrances when attending services and events at the Portland Center. Thank you for your understanding.

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