Retreat Manager
Retreat Preparation TasksTwo - Four Months Ahead:
- Calendar - Reserve space for retreat. At Red Cedar Dharma Hall contact the Building Manager.
- Website - Work with the Guiding Teacher to post retreat on website, setting up automatic promotional announcement emails and registration reminder emails. Ask the Registrar to proof the website listing.
- Outreach - Check with outreach person, if any, about making a poster
- Food - Check in with Tenzo (Chef), Ino, Registrar. Help them find their job instructions.
- Supplies - Organize purchase of supplies beyond
Tenzo organizes food purchases - delegates and oversees specific ingredients and quantities to Food Buyer
Ino organizes zendo supply purchases
Check on oryoki supplies
Check on general building supplies (toilet paper, etc.) - we may have a general shopper for this
2 Weeks Ahead:
- Plan retreat and Job Assignments with Ino and Registrar. Ino consults Tanto, Teacher and Tenzo, and notifies Doan-ryo (3), Chiden Jisha. RM notifies Tenzo Assistants, meal Servers, Dishwashers, Soku, Work Leader, Flower Chiden. Confirm that they can do these jobs.
- Participant Requests - Support Registrar with any requests from participants (scholarships, housing, special schedules)
- Schedules - Finalize schedule in coordination with Teacher, Tanto, and Ino (almost all are on this workgroups page)
-
- Work with Ino prepare Tenken and Ino schedules (same schedule, but annotated for their jobs)
1 Week Ahead:
- Refine/revise Job Assignments - Work with the Ino to respond to last minute changes to assignments
- Print Outs - Prepare copies of retreat documents for distribution
-
- Job Assignments list
-
- Copy for: Retreat Manager, Registrar, Ino, Tenzo, Work Leader, & each Teacher (in dokusan room)
- Post at RCDH: Lobby,by restrooms, by downstairs exit
- Post at Samish: Both mens and womens side of both restrooms, zendo, dining hall
- Schedules
-
- Copy for: Retreat Manager, Ino, each Teacher, Tenzo, 2 for Jisha,
- Post: same as Job Assignments
- Participant Lists
-
- Copy for: Retreat Manager, Jisha, Ino, extra for Registrar
- (Ino provides direction and documents for Tenken, Doan-ryo, Chiden, Doshi, Jiko)
- Major Jobs - Inform Work Leader and Soku (head server) of their jobs. Help them find their job instructions.
- Oryoki - If oryoki: assemble enough sangha oryoki kits for those borrowing them, or ask soku to do so.
- Kitchen/Bath supplies - Check to see there are enough towels, toilet paper, hand soap; purchase what's needed.
- First aid kit and Tools - Check to see that these are full and available downstairs
- Tea - Plan with Tenzo and make sure these supplies are there; RM may need to purchase sweets, tea.
Retreat Setup Tasks
- Posting - Post and distribute prepared documents
- Notes System - Set up message board. RM clear space on bulletin boards for pinning notes; supply paper, pens
- Setup Help - Check in with Registrar, Tenzo, Ino for their set-up (Ino lead zendo setup)
- Dana Boxes - Take from upstairs closet and put in lobby
- Pair of Clackers for Soku - Take downstairs if having oryoki meals. Keep other pairs upstairs for Ino & Tenken
- Clocks - Synchronize 4 clocks; also clock that Tenken will use
- Water glass shelf from women's restroom to hallway by water jug
- Snack and coffee areas (if needed) - Ask food buyer to purchase things for these areas, as needed
- Meal Chant cards (for oryoki meals) - Bring upstairs from kitchen area
Retreat Operation Tasks
- Interface with non-retreat participants such as caretakers, neighbors (Ino welcomes zendo guests)
- Work with Registrar to see that everyone knows what their jobs are, and that everyone completed registration
- Orientation regarding non-zendo topics
- Make general announcements as needed, preferably at work period
- Check in with retreat leaders: Jisha (on behalf of Teacher), Ino, Tenzo, Work Leader, Tanto, Registrar
- Synchronize clocks
- On first days of retreat, orient servers, kitchen clean-up crew, coffee & snack person to their roles, and thereafter check to see they remember to do their jobs and/or need any support
- On final retreat day, assess clean-up needs in kitchen, zendo, dokusan room, and bathroom; organize clean-up teams to complete all needed tasks. If retreat ends in evening, assign 2 - 4 people to clean up kitchen, laundry, take out garbage, sweep, etc. during dinner hour and/or first period of evening zazen.
- With Tenzo, save left-over food from meals in small containers and offer it to retreat participants to take home.
Retreat Follow-up Tasks (usually to be done during days/week following retreat)
- Wash and dry and put away all towels, oryoki cloths, other cloth items
- Wash and dry borrowed oryoki sets; reassemble kits and store in Oryoki storage bin--take to storage room
- Return other items to storage room--futons, tool kit, etc.
- Wash and put away all remaining dishes, cups, cooking implements
- Take down all retreat schedules and job assignment sheets from bulletin boards
- See to it that everything is returned to usual room arrangements
- Process Norman's Dana
|