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Hartford Street Zen Center | Issan-ji temple
A Sōtō Zen temple for the LGBTQ+ community, friends and allies in San Francisco's Castro neighborhood
Our one month-long clothing drive for the benefit of St. Anthony Foundation’s Free Clothing Program was a hit! We began our drive on the National Day of Service in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and concluded it on Saturday, February 23. A clothing barrel was provided by St. Anthony’s for us to use in the zendo, but over the course of the drive dedicated Sangha members accumulated and dropped off so many bags of clothing they were piled upstairs in the dining room. All in all we had the equivalent of almost 30 bags of clothes and other items including some children’s toys. At the end of the clothing drive Siphai from St. Anthony’s picked up the clothing from us. Siphai also happens to practice at a Cambodian Buddhist Temple in the Sunset District.
Our thanks to all the Sangha members who helped by participating in planning the drive, publishing notices online, and who donated their clothing to this well-known charitable program. Our appreciation extends to St. Anthony Foundation for providing us an opportunity to participate in this, allowing us to practice our Bodhisattva Vow by helping others.
Don’t forget that you’re invited to our traditional New Year’s Eve event on 31 December, starting about 7:30 p.m. PLEASE NOTE, however, that there won’t be the usual morning or evening zazen sessions on the 31st. Afterwards the zendo will be closed all day Tuesday and Wednesday 1 and 2 January. Happy New Year to all!