Meet “Deep Roots,” BCC Hudson Valley
Deep Roots Beloved Community Circle was conceived in the Spring of 2020, with ourfirst formal meeting on December 12, 2021. Our emergence coincided with the development of the Beloved Community Circle concept by John Bell et al and the publication of Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet. We are not from the same Sangha but are connected through our Mahasangha relationship and proximity to Blue Cliff Monastery. Over the last 3 years, our membership, energy and capacity for action has waxed and waned, and our BCC cohort participation is energizing us. We are currently an active BCC with four Core members and other practitioners who show up from surrounding Sanghas to participate in projects as they manifest. Judy Myerson reached out to John Bell who shared his BCC concepts, Nina Teng and Sister True Vow were invited and came on board. Flyers were then posted at Blue Cliff Monastery, and invitations were sent to local Sanghas for the initial Zoom meeting. We held two meetings a month for several years - the first on Zoom and the second in person and outdoors with the focus on practicing with Mother Earth. 
Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet and other resources were the vehicles for deepening our understanding, with offerings and “assignments” between meetings. All gatherings, Zoom and in-person, included Earth-centered meditations, readings and practices, walking meditation (outdoors when in-person), singing and Dharma Sharing with specific prompts. As we practiced together, connection and sharing deepened and we began to understand our diverse concerns and action interests. Focused discussion and action planning then became a part of our meetings. Sister True Vow introduced “Earth Buddy” calls for “home play”: Buddies were paired randomly, rotated periodically and each pair chose its own frequency for phone check-in and sharing - twice a month was common. We also rotated co-facilitation of meetings, with more experienced facilitators pairing with those less experienced. Somewhere in there we changed our name from Hudson Valley / Catskill Earth-Holders to Deep Roots Beloved Community Circle. Some activities we've taken part in include: • For several years we have been and continue to support Nicholas DePalma, a part-time farmer, in his efforts to provide organic produce for local food pantries. We volunteered at his Shagbark Farm in Olivebridge NY each month, reaching out to local and NYC Sanghas for participation. • New York State had already passed a far-reaching, progressive Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act; the Scoping Plan for implementation of this Act was being formulated and was under threat from the fossil fuel lobbies. We sent written comments on the 13 aspects of the Scoping Plan and expanded this exponentially by inviting three to five other individuals/groups to do the same. • To deepen understanding of the indigenous people of our land, we shared lunch and an afternoon with a representative of the Tribal Council of the Munsee/ Lenape Nation. He shared Lenape and other indigenous Earth-holding practices and perspectives, his sacred sweat lodge, and opened the door for more connection and our supporting local Lenape Nation action should the need arise. • We joined the “Stop Iroquois Pipeline Expansion” rally in New Paltz, New York. This proposal to expand fracked gas-flow through the Hudson Valley to New York City threatens public health, safety and state climate goals. • We attended several GreenFaith Zoom information and planning meetings. It is our intention that should a large scale Climate Action March materialize, we will help to organize local and NYC Sanghas and monastic participation under the GreenFaith and Buddhist Action Coalition umbrellas. • We reached out to the monastics at Blue Cliff Monastery to support and partner with them in Earth-holding endeavors, with composting, solar and energy audit as our initial focus. Our Earth-holding efforts at Blue Cliff are still in process, and once the Summer retreat schedule is over, we will again be looking at what is possible and do-able with several key monastics. We meet for tea and lunch after all our in-person meetings; during these informal meals, we shared about our lives and gotten to know each other better. Over time, we have become a support for each other, beyond our formal BCC actions - checking on and showing up for each other as needed, in times of illness and stress, during a move, supporting each other’s aspirations outside of what we do in our BCC, sharing precious plants, listening to each others’ suffering and joys, and just being there for each other — truly, a Beloved Community. Currently, we view Deep Root BCC as having a concentric circle structure with the current core group of four members (Judy Myerson, Lisa Rothe, Nina Teng and Rosalyn Cherry) who meet regularly, plan, share facilitation and Earth-buddy practice and provide mutual support. The second circle are those who are less involved in planning and no longer attend meetings but receive our regular Google Group emails and show up often for actions. The third circle consists of those who are aware of our BCC and email announcements and join in specific actions when possible. Membership in all 3 circles have the potential to shift with interest and capacity.Contact: Nina Teng ncteng [at] gmail [dot] com.
