Members' Candlelight Tea

This past Saturday evening we had our annual Members’ Candlelight Tea, a time for us to come together, with no particular holiday as an excuse, and just enjoy the good company we’ve been blessed with on the spiritual path. And if you don’t think that’s excuse enough, well, the food was excellent as well. (Photos of the evening are here.)

One new activity going on throughout the evening followed the puzzle theme of our Free & Clear campaign. This was another puzzle made from a photo of our church, but with the church itself as a blank, white area. Everyone was invited to write their name on a white piece, so that when the puzzle was completed we had a church filled with members!

The main entertainment for the evening, though, was a a return of the “You Did What?!?” game from several years ago, now with new members and new stories. With a large lineup of folks on the stage, David read off some of the most intriguing stories and fun facts (assisted by Asha with occasional visual aids), while the audience made their best guesses as to the perpetrators. Want a taste? Here are a few good ones:

1. As a youngster, this devotee studied music and dance, was first violinist in the school orchestra and also a prize winning tennis player. As an adult, this devotee enjoyed adventure travel, including: going on safari in Botswana; visiting the Kasbah and riding a camel in Morocco; walking through pouring rain and fresh flowing lava after Pele erupted on the Big Island of Hawaii; taking ordination in the Fellowship of Isis at a castle in Ireland; delivering medical supplies and food to isolated Amazon jungle tribes; and swimming with pink dolphins in the Amazon River and -- very briefly! -- with a school of piranha!
2. 
   This devotee danced in a gorilla+tutu costume on the infamous television contest The Gong Show -- and won! (Yes, that’s a picture of it to the right.) This devotee had a date with actor Ted Danson, or at least with his alter ego, Sam Malone, the good-natured barkeep on the sit-com Cheers. The devotee played a goofy girl on the Thanksgiving episode. Unfortunately, the episode had to be shortened and the goofy girl was left on the cutting room floor. Another close encounter of the famous kind for this devotee was being a waitress at the wedding reception of Bob Dylan’s son, serving Dylan’s table. Dylan was so paranoid, however, the devotee was not allowed to approach or speak directly to him, but only through the wife or bodyguard. The devotee learned later that the assassination of John Lennon had made Dylan even more skittish.
3. In junior high school this devotee was the red-hot piano player for a band called The Orange Peels. For their debut, they chose the song Tequila, among other reasons, for its simple lyrics: just one word -- “tequila” --which all members of the band shouted in unison at just the right moment. Unfortunately, The Orange Peels spent more time planning their costumes -- bright orange pants and white buck shoes -- than rehearsing their music. The timing of lyric remained obscure to the red-hot piano player. Long before the shout-out was scheduled to happen, the lone voice of the pianist was heard exclaiming: TEQUILA! Thus a promising musical career was cut short, clearing the way for later groups like the Beatles, Stones, Doors and others to enjoy the fame and fortune that might otherwise have gone to The Orange Peels.

So, want to know who these folks were? Got your best guesses ready? Click through to the comments for the answers!

Free & Clear Dinner at Don Giovanni's

On Sunday evening, about 60 of us gathered at Don Giovanni’s restaurant on Castro Street for a Free & Clear fundraising dinner. (The last one, perhaps? We’re getting awfully close to paying off the church!) The excellent Italian fare was complimented by homemade rasgulla, a favorite Indian dessert of Swamiji’s, and lovely little cards at each place setting depicting a variety of different spiritual eye designs. Want some photos of the evening? Here you go!

Entertainment for the evening (aside from our always-enjoyable shared company) started off with just a couple of sing-alongs: “Channels” and “Brave Were the People.” Then just as the song leaders were heading off-stage, Karen remarked that it looked like we were actually going to make it out of an Italian restaurant without singing “Napoli.” Which naturally became untrue almost as soon as she said it. According to some reports, dancing ensued as well.

Overall, we had about $30,000 in donations come from the event, so watch for another couple pieces getting added to the puzzle on Sunday! And that leaves only $50,000 left to go. We’re nearly there! Talk to Shanti if you’d like one of the last puzzle pieces for your very own.

The evening wrapped up with one more impromptu song, “Many Hands Make a Miracle,” because it really is remarkable what we can all do when we join our hands and our energies.