Bowls of Plenty
Mia ( on left) is one of the “movers and shakers” of Bowls of Plenty.
Long Island Craft Guild and
other pottery groups
support the
2007
“ Bowls of Plenty”
Soup Luncheon
Marcey, Gina and friends.
A whole lotta’ bowls!
Gina with ? pointing.
Among other pottery groups on Long Island, “ Bowls of Plenty” is The Long Island Craft Guild Potters' artistic and financial contribution to individuals and families in need. Volunteers coordinate the donation of hundreds of hand crafted bowls in which donated soup is served. A $20 admission fee entitles guests to a terrific lunch in a hand made bowl whichthey take home with them. This “empty bowl” is a reminder of all the empty bowls in this world that need filling – people with not enough food to eat. Generously, area restaurants donate six to seven kinds of delicious soups and accouternents to the delight of the dining participants.
Bowls of Plenty Luncheon was held Sunday, November 4th 2007and will be held about the same time, 2008
The 2007 Bowls of Plenty Soup Lunch will benefit The Celia Flower Food Pantry. Established in 1981, The Celia Flower Food Pantry Fund is administered by the Community United Methodist Church in East Norwich, NY. Funds are distributed through the Youth and Family Counseling Agency, the North Shore Food Pantry and the Ensure Program at the Doubleday-Babcock Senior Center. During the year of 2006, Celia Flower Food Pantry was a source of nutritional support for 4,323 individuals and their families.
Click on the line below for information regarding the
United Methodist Church Celia Flower Food Pantry
The Long Island Craft Guild is committed to the development of the crafts movement, and seeks to promote the exchange of information and experiences that will benefit both artists and the community.The LICG is an independent, non-profit educational organization.Since 1956, the Guild has provided educational and informational services, regular meetings and workshops, and a sense of community among crafts people.
Although not related to the “Bowls of Plenty” fund raiser, the mission of
the Ecumenical Lay Council’s Food Pantry is similar, providing food
for needy families on Long Island.
Click here for Ecumenical Food Pantry
Island Harvest
Fighting hunger and touching lives, Island Harvest — Long Island’s largest hunger relief organization — serves as the bridge between those who have surplus food and those who need it. Our volunteers and staff “ “rescue,” or collect, good surplus food from over 600 local restaurants, caterers, farms, and other food-related businesses; and distribute it to a network of close to
500 soup kitchens, food pantries, and other places where those in need can access it.
GETTING EMPTY : DESIRE
Author Unknown, Parables, Stories from Around the World
An emperor was coming out of his palace for his morning walk when he met a beggar. He asked the beggar, "What do you want?"
The beggar laughed and said, "You are asking me as though you can fulfill my desire!"
The king was offended. He said, "Of course I can fulfill your desire. What is it? Just tell me."
And the beggar said, "Think twice before you promise anything."
The beggar was no ordinary beggar, he was the emperors past life master. He had promised in that life, "I will come and try to wake you in your next life. This life you have missed but I will come again." But the king had forgotten completely -- who remembers past lives? So he insisted, "I will fulfill anything you ask. I am a very powerful emperor, what can you possibly desire that I can not give to you?"
The beggar said, "It is a very simple desire. You see this begging bowl? Can you fill it with something?"
The emperor said, "Of course!" He called one of his viziers and told him, "Fill this mans begging bowl with money." The vizier went and got some money and poured it into the bowl, and it disappeared. And he poured more and more, and the moment he would pour it, it would disappear. And the begging bowl remained always empty.
The whole palace gathered. By and by the rumor went throughout the whole capital, and a huge crowd gathered. The prestige of the emperor was at stake. He said to his viziers, "If the whole kingdom is lost, I am ready to lose it, but I cannot be defeated by this beggar."
Diamonds and pearls and emeralds, his treasuries were becoming empty. The begging bowl seemed to be bottomless. Everything that was put into it -- everything! -- immediately disappeared, went out of existence. Finally it was the evening, and the people were standing there in utter silence. The king dropped at the feet of the beggar and admitted his defeat. he said, "Just tell me one thing. You are victorious - but before you leave, just fulfill my curiosity. What is the begging bowl made of?"
The beggar laughed and said, "It is made up of the human mind. There is no secret. It is simply made up of human desire."
This understanding transforms life. Go into one desire -- what is the mechanism of it? First there is a great excitement, great thrill, adventure. you feel a great kick. Something is going to happen, you are on the verge of it. And then you have the car, you have the yacht, you have the house, you have the woman or have the man, and suddenly all is meaningless again.
What happens? Your mind has dematerialized it. The car is standing in the drive, but there is no excitement anymore. The excitement was only in getting it. You became so drunk with the desire that you forgot your inner nothingness. Now the desire is fulfilled, the car in the drive, the woman or man in your bed, the money in your bank account - again excitement disappears. Again the emptiness is there, ready to eat you up. Again you have to create another desire to escape this yawning abyss.
That's how one moves from one desire to another desire. That's how one remains a beggar. Your whole life proves it again and again -- every desire frustrates. And when the goal is achieved, you will need another desire.
The day you understand that desire as such is going to fail comes the turning point in your life.
The other journey is inwards. move inward, come back home by satifying your inner peace.