Upcoming Events at Easton Mountain
Early Registration Discounts
Work-Study Program: Temple Guards
New Director of Development
End of Year Fundraising Results
Winter at Easton Mountain
Board of Directors' Corner
The Garden Takes Shape in Winter
It Started with a Vision
Recent Events at Easton Mountain
How You Can Help
Easton Mountain’s Mission

Upcoming Events at Easton Mountain

As you will see in the article about this year’s Work-Study Program we will be hosting an orientation weekend early in April for volunteers interested in spending an extended period of time here during the summer. We’re excited about the direction the program is going and look forward to welcoming those interested. We also have some exciting, new programs on our calendar - some of them happening as early as April. We invite you to regularly check our online calendar to learn about all the workshops offered at Easton Mountain.
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Early Registration Discounts Offered

We are offering discounts to people who register early for Easton Mountain sponsored programs that take place between April 1 and December 31. People who register and pay in full by April 1 will receive a 10% discount. In addition, if someone who has attended a previous Easton Mountain event registers with somebody new and they both pay in full by April 1, both will receive a 20% discount. Look for the Easton Mountain logo next to the title of workshops that qualify for this discount on the calendar page of our website. Note that this discount only applies to the Easton Mountain sponsored events with the Easton Mountain logo next to the title on the calendar page.
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Work-Study Program: Temple Guards
by Howie Geib

Summer is not far away, even though the Cob House is ringed by a thicket of icicles, inches in diameter, reaching from the eaves down to the ground; glacial columns that sparkle in the sun and glow with the candlelight in the evening. Despite the frigid North Country snow I am focused on the months when the woods are dense and the days are long. I am in the process of spearheading the design of our summer intensive work-study program.

This year’s program is going to build on the success of the past, and incorporate learning and wisdom from our failures.

Work is not something in short supply at Easton during the high season from May through early September. Back-to-back events, both our own and those put on by outside groups, require diligence in the kitchen and housekeeping, and the pace seems a bit frenetic at times. It has been stated that the months are grueling tests of human fortitude, patience and good will. However this is not the whole story.

Some of us over the years have come to recognize that the real challenge is in the way we hold this work in the larger context of our lives. The work can be and is a catalyst for growth. It builds essential strengths and character attributes, fosters the advancement and movement in areas we are more likely to neglect in relaxed times and, most importantly, provides nourishment for our sense of well-being, of connectedness to others and of living meaningful lives.

I know what you are thinking: emptying garbage and cleaning toilets meaningful?

Yes. Exactly. But this is not something that is done without considerable support. That is where I come in. We are building a structured intensive program that will transform what has been the work-study program into a brotherhood of sorts -- temple guards if you will -- whose vigilance and awareness of the perimeter of the container that is essential to all the programs at Easton will be their main job.

The program will incorporate and reinforce the values and principles of Easton Mountain. These include living lightly on the earth, the incarnation of our spiritual practice into the physical and material aspects of our lives and the embodiment of our ideals realized in the present. There will be particular focus on the relationship we have with our bodies, in the erotic sense as well as other areas of personal wellness and healing.

Team Building is essential to the work, and a great deal of our time together will be used to maximize our interrelatedness as a group in our own safe container. It will be intimate and deeply personal, while at the same time completely committed to the essential integrity and dignity of each member of the program.

This will likely not be for everyone. The ideal candidate will be one who is ready to move into the frontier before them in their lives, to dramatically increase their level of personal awareness of their place in the world, and to maximize their awareness of the natural world and all life forms. It will be ideal for someone who is looking to bring forth and give birth to a deeper spiritual practice than they have been following or perhaps explore one they have been intrigued by. There will be no single dogma central to the program, although it will borrow tools and reflect on insights from many aspects of the abundant spiritual wealth available. It is ideally suited for someone who has a desire to take the servant’s path to guidance.

The program, since it is new, will be beta this year, so there will be no fee for the intensive. We do have some prerequisites. You will receive room and board during your stay, all materials used in connection with the program, and access to the phone and Internet on the property. You must be physically able to perform the kinds of tasks that will be required. You will need to be open to the challenges the intensive may reveal for you, and be willing to work through them. You must be willing and able to keep basic commitments for work (30 hours per week) and to keep the agreements we have for the success of the program, for your safety and for the safety of others. You must have a willingness to help meet the needs of the guests, retreatants and administrative staff at Easton. We also want you to commit to a minimum of 4 weeks and a maximum of 12 weeks. We require that you provide us with proof of health insurance to cover you in case of any emergency care.

If you are interested in finding out more about this program, and volunteering over the summer, we invite you to join us for an introductory kick-off weekend this spring starting Friday, April 4, with dinner and ending after lunch on Sunday, April 6. During the course of this weekend the group will experience a taste of some of the team building work we will be doing at the summer intensive. This will also provide first-timers a chance to tour the property, meet the staff and residential community, and see the housing that will be available for the participants in the intensive.

Those interested should email me by clicking the button below:

(Note: If this button does not work for you, please click here to fill out a contact form and specify in the comments section that you are writing to Howie Geib about the Work-Study Program.)

PS I am so deeply grateful to be back, and look forward to seeing all of you whom I know, and meeting those of you whom I have not had the pleasure of meeting!
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New Director of Development

John Anderson who has served Easton Mountain for the last 6 months as Executive Director is transitioning to become the Director of Development. We are pleased to have John’s talents and energies focused on this essential area given the current economy. This change will also allow John to relocate his life full-time back to NYC. The Board thanks John for his contributions while Executive Director and his commitment to Easton Mountain’s long-range sustainability and success. The position of Executive Director will not be filled at this time. Instead, an Executive Committee has been appointed to share the responsibilities of the position.
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End of Year Fundraising Results
by John Anderson

Thanks to all who made a donation and helped with the effort!

A generous $25,000 matching grant was the impetus for a coordinated end-of-year fundraising campaign that raised close to $70,000. Five initiatives, including the matching grant and an online auction, inspired many in our community to donate. A total of $30,324 was donated towards the matching grant and the two auctions raised close to $10,000. A new member of our community was inspired to make a $25,000 donation.

If you would like to make a donation to Easton Mountain please click here to be brought to our secure, online donation form. Or, mail a check to Eaton Mountain, Inc., 391 Herrington Hill Rd., Greenwich, NY 12834-5809.

If you would like to help with our fundraising efforts, please contact me by clicking on the button below:

(Note: If this button does not work for you, please click here to fill out a contact form and specify in the comments section that you are writing to John Anderson about helping with fundraising efforts.)
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Winter at Easton Mountain

Our first snowfall this winter season came the last week of October and since then we’ve seen snow, ice storms and more snow. Daylight reflecting off the white surface make the interior spaces seem bright and comforting. It reminds us how much closer to nature we feel up here. Even the quality of sound outdoors seems to change while snow is on the ground. With the trees bare the intensity of the stars at night seems to be a part of the crispness of the air. Here is a recent photo of the temple in snow.
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Board of Directors' Corner
by Hugh Russell, Board President

I am happy to report that The Board voted in three new members at our November meeting. Mike Kutter, from Boston, Massachusetts, Paul Jennings, from Louisville, Kentucky, and Will Gray from more places in New York than we can keep track of. They join me and the other Board members Ron King, Harry Faddis, Sunfire, Dave Nimmons, John Stasio, Carey Wagner, Chris Bartlett, Kevin McAliley and Blair Voyvodic, at a time when there is a real prospect for growth despite the uncertain economic period we are in.

In January the Board agreed with John Anderson that his energies were better spent focusing on fundraising for Easton Mountain. John has already begun work on grant proposals for several projects and we look forward to his efforts yielding rewards that will enable us to expand the programs at Easton Mountain.

I look forward to seeing many of you during one of my visits to Easton Mountain.

Hugh
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The Garden Takes Shape in Winter
by Sunfire

Winter is a time when skiers, skaters, and tobogganers frolic in the snow while the rest of us freeze. It’s also the time when gardeners curl up by the fire with seed catalogs and dream of heirloom tomatoes, giant ray asters, French breakfast radishes (yes, you can buy seeds with that name), multi flora petunias, and the list goes on and on.

On Sunday, February 1, three would-be Easton Mountain gardeners and I met with David Armbruster, our gardener for the past two years, to begin envisioning what our garden will be like in 2009, We shared our reasons for wanting to garden at Easton Mountain, something about our prior experience and skills, our gardening philosophy, and what roles we saw ourselves having in the creation of the 2009 garden.

Leo Skye was one of the participants in that meeting, and the Executive Committee has agreed to let him devote all of his volunteer time this year to the garden. He will be our team captain or co-captain. In the next few weeks, he’ll be spending some time at Findhorn, in northeast Scotland, learning more about organic gardening. (In the hippie days, Findhorn was a commune. Now it describes itself as a "spiritual community, education centre, [and] ecovillage.")

I expect to have a lesser role in the garden, as my other duties will keep me busy. Maybe I’ll be able to take care of the beans and potatoes.

I look forward to gardening this spring and summer. For me the garden is a place where we connect in a unique way with the Spirit of Life. The garden is as sacred as the Temple, and work in the garden is as much worship as anything done in the Temple.

If the garden calls to you, come up and help us. Especially in late May and early June, Leo will need a lot of help with planting and caring for the newly sprouted seedlings.
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It Started with a Vision
by John Stasio

The seeds for Easton Mountain were planted in my psyche as far back as my college days when I lived in a student community committed to social justice.

Years later the plague of HIV claimed the lives of friends and loved ones and the desire for refuge grew as a need in my life. This need was echoed by colleagues and friends whom I asked in 1989 to plan and lead a men’s retreat with me. We offered these retreats for years. Eventually, in the summer of 1999, a small group of us went in search of real estate. We visited farms, cabins and tracts of land in New England and Upstate New York and finally ended up at a dilapidated ski resort in the town of Easton, NY where we began what has been a decade-long experiment in creating community.

My vision was clear, at least to me. I had been dreaming a quasi-utopian dream for nearly twenty years. Now, with a group of committed men, we would create a place apart from the world where we could grow and heal, play and pray, dream big dreams and develop wild schemes for making the world a better place. From this hilltop the light of our queer gifts could shine for all the world to see and we could spawn a revolution of love, or at least, as Peter Maurin would say; we “could build a world in which it is easier for men to be good."

With the help of some buddies, I assembled a plan and wrote to everyone who I thought might help with this endeavor. In my solicitation letter, I told them what I wanted to do. I put together some numbers, pictures, ideas and then described the vision this way:

“Easton Mountain will be the home to a spiritual community dedicated to transforming and healing the human soul. We commit to living lightly on the earth, promoting social justice, and celebrating together. We vow to spread beauty and encourage creativity. We value openness and a radical hospitality, which seeks to embrace all others as sisters and brothers. We respect the wisdom of the body, the interdependence of all life, and non-violence in the resolution of conflicts. We promote peace and freedom for all. We seek an ever-deepening connectedness to self, others, and all of creation.”

I tried to make a case that we could do something wonderful if we had help. I said a prayer and I mailed out a stack of plans. To my amazement only a few days later checks started arriving and the phone started to ring.

From the start, I wanted to bring the gifts I had received on my journey to bear on the creation of Easton Mountain. I also wanted to offer others who came to help a chance to co-create with me what Easton Mountain would become. Collaboration has been, and continues to be a great challenge. When asked what we were doing I would say that Easton was part monastery, healing center, utopian village, art center, commune, ashram and fairy sanctuary. Others probably gave different answers. In fact it was not any of these things and it was at the same time all of these things. Since we have sought and worked hard to not be de-fined, some of us want to resist being stripped of what makes us fine.

The “call to community” was a major motivation to me for creating Easton Mountain. I am inspired that throughout history small groups have come together with little more than a vision and the faith to pursue it and have achieved great things.

We have hosted visual artists, musicians and dancers as artists in residence. We have hosted scholars, writers and film makers, spiritual elders, men coming out of prison, men leaving marriages, ministry and jobs that they have hated. We have provided sanctuary for those mourning the loss of a partner, a child and a parent. We’ve hosted weddings, funerals, baptisms and the taking of monastic vows. We remain committed to providing opportunities for the healing of the body, softening of the heart, expansion of the mind and calming of the soul. We welcome all and are especially committed to the spiritual needs of queer people.

Of increasing importance in our vision is the responsibility and joy that comes from being the stewards of the land. The ecological crisis we currently face in the era of peak oil, climate change, overpopulation and other environmental challenges make the resource of our natural environment seem both of great value and increasingly vulnerable to our choices. We hope to support greater local community in our region and offer programming in the areas of food production, permaculture and other sustainable practices.

While largely pioneered and built by a generation of gay men who experienced a rebirth and rising out of the ashes of the AIDS epidemic, we are evolving but firmly committed to holding sanctuary in this place on the hill in Easton, NY.
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Recent Events at Easton Mountain

The variety of workshops held at Easton Mountain are an expression of the various ways we go about achieving our mission of transforming and healing the human soul. Here is a sampling of recent workshops:

Hail the New Our annual end-of-year celebration began the night of Monday, December 29 and ran until New Year’s Day on Thursday. Easton Mountain was full to capacity with old friends and new faces. There was a lively silent auction and a long ritual to let go of 2008 and welcome 2009. And then we danced!

Fresh Start This weekend workshop, led by John Anderson, was attended by an enthusiastic group of men who came to set intentions for 2009. They engaged in a series of yoga practices and meditations, enjoyed a weekend-long diet of vegan food, and forged connections to help them stick to the goals they set for the coming year.

Queer Spirit Camp Planning Towards the end of the fall we hosted the group planning next year’s Queer Spirit Camp, our program for GLBTQ young people. Started as a program by Sheldon Hartman, our Operations Director, planning for QSC is now done by a group of facilitators and young people who have attended past Camps. They bring a vibrant energy to Easton Mountain. On Saturday the Board of Directors spent the evening in discussion with the planning group and were moved by the stories that the young people in the group shared. They were particularly moved by the young people’s faith in Easton Mountain as a place of safety, where they can grow as individuals and as members of a community which they, at one time, did not believe existed.
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How You Can Help

Much of the work at Easton Mountain is done by volunteers, who come here to work for periods from three hours to three months. If you would like to schedule some time to come help out, please contact Howie by clicking on the button below:

(Note: If this button does not work for you, please click here to fill out a contact form and specify in the comments section that you are writing to Howie Geib about volunteering.)

We still have some weekends open in March and April. If you know of an organization that might be interested in renting space, please have them contact Sheldon Hartman at 800-553-8235.

Just come! Our guests are the reason we exist. Check our calendar of events and add a stay at Easton Mountain to your 2009 calendar.
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Easton Mountain’s Mission

Easton Mountain’s mission is to sponsor, develop and present workshops and other learning activities that promote wholeness, health, and peace; and to foster the growth of spiritual community, respectful of all religious and spiritual traditions, that supports the integration and healing of all people.
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