THZ news: membership, board vacancies, AGM and more
Become a member (or renew) for 2026
Our bylaws require us to collect a list of general members each year. If you’d like to become a member, or renew your existing membership, we ask that you complete the membership form before Friday, February 20.
Membership doesn’t automatically renew from year to year, so you’ll need to complete the form even if you were a member in 2025.
Members have voting rights at the Annual General Meeting (coming up on February 24) and other members' meetings. Membership is open to anyone who participates in the practice and activities of Thousand Harbours Zen, and supports and upholds our purpose, ideals and values.
There's no fee for membership, but we expect that members are making a monthly contribution to THZ, whether that's a financial donation of any amount, or by volunteering their time and skills.
Annual General Meeting: February 24
Our annual general meeting will be held on Tuesday, February 24 at 6:45 pm Atlantic Time, online at our regular Zoom link (passcode = vow). We’ll review our activities from the past year and present our strategic plan for the next three years.
We’ll also be voting to fill two vacancies on our board. THZ members (anyone who completes the membership form before February 20) are eligible to vote.
Call for board members
We have two vacancies on the THZ board of directors, which we’ll vote to fill at our AGM on February 24:
- Treasurer (must be located in or near Halifax) - our treasurer Dave Murphy is stepping down, and we’re looking for someone else to fill the role. Training will be provided, and we’re also looking at hiring a paid bookkeeper to reduce the workload for the treasurer.
- General member (can be located anywhere)
If you’re interested in joining the board, we ask that you send us a short statement outlining why you’re interested, and what skills you would bring. You can send it (or any questions you might have about joining the board) to [email protected] by Friday, February 6.
THZ strategic planning survey
At our community discussion on January 13, we asked the sangha for their input on THZ’s strategic plan for the next few years. The strategic plan outlines our vision for the sangha, how we want to grow and develop, and the types of programming we want to offer.
If you couldn’t attend the session, or if you have more thoughts you’d like to share with us, you can complete this short survey by February 6.
You may want to review this presentation first. It outlines what we’ve accomplished over the past several years, and includes feedback from the sangha from last week’s discussion.
New study group: Nagarjuna and emptiness
Matt MacDonald has generously offered to host a study group on Saturday afternoons at 2pm, starting February 7. Here’s his description:
Buddhist teachings, especially in Mahayana tradition, tell us that all things are “empty”. In texts like the Heart Sutra, this is presented in language that seems like it defies common sense and the most basic teachings of Buddhism itself. However, the Mahayana philosopher Nagarjuna taught that the emptiness teaching actually concerns a specific idea, that things are empty of “own being”. Though it is understood that enlightenment is not something rational philosophy can bring about by itself, Nagarjuna’s pivotal work teaches Mahayana concepts in a way that is meant to show that emptiness is true to common sense notions about the world, and that while the intuitive realization that is enlightenment may only come from practice, conceptual insight into Buddhist teachings are readily available to anyone. This venture is meant to explore these conceptual insights, so as to disambiguate the enigmatic presentation of Mahayana Dharma.
If you have any questions, you can email Matt at [email protected].
A thank you from Ruth Wolpin
As many of you know, our dear sangha member Carl Wolpin passed away on December 30. Many of you signed a condolence card from our sangha to his family, and Carl’s wife Ruth has asked us to pass along this message:
My thanks to the sangha for the thoughtful and caring card sent to me with members’ memories of Carl. He really valued his membership and participation in the sangha.
Upcoming board meetings
Sangha members are welcome to attend THZ board meetings. They’re held at our regular Zoom link (passcode=vow). Our next two meetings are:
- Sunday, January 25 - 9 am Atlantic time
- Sunday, February 8 - 9 am Atlantic time