Sangha Facilitation
The Vashon Insight sangha is led by Keri Pederson every other week. On alternate weeks, sangha members take turns facilitating the evening.
The primary responsibility of facilitating is a logistical one, that is, to mark the time for the start and end of the meditation period and to facilitate a dhamma discussion.
Facilitators are not expected to prepare a lengthy presentation or teach the dharma. Anyone can facilitate, regardless of meditation experience. Sangha facilitation is an act of Dāna and an opportunity to support the group practice in an easy and meaningful way.
Facilitators are asked to practice our sangha’s shared ethical commitments:Vashon Insight Facilitation Agreements.
To ensure a broad range of sangha members have the opportunity to participate, we ask that facilitators be mindful of how often they volunteer and to leave space for others to step forward.
Facilitation Responsibilities
Please arrive by 6:45pm (15 minutes early) to ensure the technical team has you set up appropriately.
- Welcome
- Open the meeting at 7pm by welcoming everyone online and in-person.
- Make sure new participants are introduced and answer any questions they may have about the sangha or refer their questions to long-time sangha members. Mention that every other week, Keri offers a dharma talk, and on alternate weeks we take turns facilitating the evening.
- Explain the evening’s format, such as: “We’ll meditate for roughly 45 minutes, take a 5 minute silent stretch break, and then return for our discussion. Tonight we’ll be exploring ____.”
- Invite the group to practice walking meditation if they would prefer this to sitting. Walking meditation can take place anywhere other than the room we sit in: the library, the lobby or outdoors.
- Mark the time
- Ring the bell once to start the meditation session.
- We typically sit for roughly 45 minutes, with the facilitator choosing how the meditation session is presented. For instance, the meditation might commence with no thematic introduction, or the facilitator might queue it up with a poem or suggestion for the sangha to explore during the meditation that pertains to the sangha’s current practice.
- Ring the bell 3 times to end the sit.
- After the meditation, the sangha takes a 5 minute silent stretch break before starting the discussion. The facilitator announces this break and then transitions the group back together.
- Open the group discussion
- The facilitator might share a poem or a short excerpt from a book that pertains to the Dhamma, and/or share their personal observations on the practice being explored by the sangha, but these kinds of offerings are optional. Note that if you plan on playing an excerpt from a pre-recorded dharma talk, coordination with the tech team is required.
- At a minimum, the facilitator opens the discussion by providing simple prompts. This could relate to what the sangha is currently exploring with Keri, or a separate theme all together that pertains to Dhamma, keeping in mind the range of experience levels in the group. Prompts can be provided by Keri if the facilitator reaches out to her ahead of time.
- It is not the responsibility of the facilitator to fill in silence and keep momentum moving forward in the discussion. Sometimes after a prompt has been given, the group might take several minutes to organically begin a discussion. Interestingly, silent intervals are an opportunity to observe practice. The facilitator role is to hold the space for the discussion rather than lead it.
- Close the discussion at approximately 8:25 PM followed by the dedication of merit and Metta (loving kindness) practice.
Facilitation Sign-up
Instructions on how to sign up to facilitate can be found in our weekly sangha email. Any questions regarding the email can be directed to Marcie Rubardt at mrubardt@aol.com.