“A Trainer’s Testimonial”

My name is Sara Glaser and I have been working as a Trainer at Saffron Strand for just over a year. I have helped Members with computer skills, literacy, interview rehearsals, writing, speaking, and software, and I throw in a little graphic design instruction as well, as that is my profession.

Yvonne (Yvonne Nair, CEO) and Chi (Chysandra Nair, Program Manager) have high standards, not only for the Members but for the Trainers as well, so saying “I don’t really know Excel” hasn’t gotten me off the hook when it comes to teaching it (as the Member I’m working with is painfully aware). We sit and learn together. We Trainers are gently encouraged or lovingly shoved to expand our skill set much in the same way the Members are, and I feel all of us growing together in this wonderful and enriching endeavor. Trainers encourage Members and Members equally encourage the Trainers, and we, all of us, get as much as we give.

Saffron Strand feels like a family of sorts, a powerful little community. As we work together we are surrounded by the flower petals that are Yvonne and Chi, the Trainers, the Members, our computer banks, the beautiful food (more about that in a moment), a good dose of humor, gentle and sometimes firm encouragement, and even the occasional pom-pom rally when exuberance overflows. How could that beautiful strand of saffron not grow to be bright and full of spice in such an environment?

We have a running joke at Saffron Strand that we’re really just in it for the scrumptious and ultra-healthy meals that Yvonne and Chi provide us. But we visit over these meals, have lively discussions, share our life histories, experiences, perspectives on religion and spirituality, and we have special guests drop in to add to the dialogue. These mealtimes represent the essence of Yvonne and Chi’s tremendous gift in creating and sustaining Saffron Strand and all its activities and services to the community:

• Nourishment
• Sustenance
• Serving each other
• The exchange of information and ideas
• Making connections
• Working together
• The delicious feeling of community

Note: Sara is both a volunteer trainer and mentor, with her own business in Oakland — Sara Glaser Graphic Design. Learn more about Sara here.

“Prayer Is the Cry of the Heart”

“I think of prayer as a universal cry of the heart,” says Saffron Strand mentor Daniel Charles Damon, who is the Pastor of the First United Methodist church in Richmond and the Associate Editor of Hymnody for Hope Publishing Company in Carol Stream, Illinois.

“Yvonne Nair, founder of Saffron Strand, said she prayed to the universe for healing. Yvonne ‘s faith experience is a blend of Hindu, Buddhist, and Christian perspectives united by the practice of love. I was struggling to write a tune for this unusual meter. When I complained to my wife, Eileen M. Johnson, she said, ‘You could do it like this.’ I wrote down the tune she sang and later harmonized it with the help of my teacher, Dick Hindman.”

“Prayer Is the Cry of the Heart”

Prayer is the cry of the heart to a mystery,

the cry we cannot contain, when our lives are pain.

Prayer is the cry of the heart to a mystery,

the cry we cannot contain.

Prayer is the song of the heart we do not rehearse,

the song in the darkest night or the morning light.

Prayer is the song of the heart we do not rehearse,

the song in the darkest night.

Prayer is the turn of the heart to the Source of life,

the turn to the First and Last made in ages past

Prayer is the turn of the heart to the Source of life,

the turn to the First and Last.

Prayer is the work of the heart for the common good,

the work offered all our days to the God we praise.

Prayer is the work of the heart for the common good,

the work offered all our days.

–Daniel Charles Damon

WORDS © 2016 Hope Publishing Company, Carol Stream, IL 60188. All rights reserved.

Note: To download Pastor Dan’s complete musical notation, click here. Learn more about him here.