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Resident Steward Application Form

Personal Information

Which steward position are you applying for?

Kitchen

Maintenance

Office

Name*

First

Last

Email Address*

Phone*

Age*

Gender:*

Mailing Address

Street*

City*

Province/State

Please selectNot ListedAlbertaBritish ColumbiaManitobaNew BrunswickNewfoundland & LabradorNorthwest TerritoriesNova ScotiaNunavutOntarioPrince Edward IslandQuebecSaskatchewanYukonAlabamaAlaskaArizonaArkansasCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareDistrict Of ColumbiaFloridaGeorgiaHawaiiIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOhioOklahomaOregonPennsylvaniaRhode IslandSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasUtahVermontVirginiaWashingtonWest VirginiaWisconsinWyoming

Postal Code/Zip

Country*

Please selectCanadaUnited StatesAfghanistanAlbaniaAlgeriaAmerican SamoaAndorraAngolaAnguillaAntarcticaAntigua And BarbudaArgentinaArmeniaArubaAustraliaAustriaAzerbaijanBahamasBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBelizeBeninBermudaBhutanBoliviaBosnia And HerzegovinaBotswanaBouvet IslandBrazilBritish Indian Ocean TerritoryBrunei DarussalamBulgariaBurkina FasoBurundiCambodiaCameroonCape VerdeCayman IslandsCentral African RepublicChadChileChinaChristmas IslandCocos (Keeling) IslandsColombiaComorosCongoCongo, The Democratic Republic Of TheCook IslandsCosta RicaCote D'IvoireCroatia (Local Name: Hrvatska)CubaCyprusCzech RepublicDenmarkDjiboutiDominicaDominican RepublicEast TimorEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaEritreaEstoniaEthiopiaFalkland Islands (Malvinas)Faroe IslandsFijiFinlandFranceFrance, MetropolitanFrench GuianaFrench PolynesiaFrench Southern TerritoriesGabonGambiaGeorgiaGermanyGhanaGibraltarGreeceGreenlandGrenadaGuadeloupeGuamGuatemalaGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyanaHaitiHeard And Mc Donald IslandsHoly See (Vatican City State)HondurasHong KongHungaryIcelandIndiaIndonesiaIran (Islamic Republic Of)IraqIrelandIsraelItalyJamaicaJapanJordanKazakhstanKenyaKiribatiKorea, Democratic People's Republic OfKorea, Republic OfKuwaitKyrgyzstanLao People's Democratic RepublicLatviaLebanonLesothoLiberiaLibyan Arab JamahiriyaLiechtensteinLithuaniaLuxembourgMacauMacedonia, Former Yugoslav Republic OfMadagascarMalawiMalaysiaMaldivesMaliMaltaMarshall IslandsMartiniqueMauritaniaMauritiusMayotteMexicoMicronesia, Federated States OfMoldova, Republic OfMonacoMongoliaMontserratMoroccoMozambiqueMyanmarNamibiaNauruNepalNetherlandsNetherlands AntillesNew CaledoniaNew ZealandNicaraguaNigerNigeriaNiueNorfolk IslandNorthern Mariana IslandsNorwayOmanPakistanPalauPanamaPapua New GuineaParaguayPeruPhilippinesPitcairnPolandPortugalPuerto RicoQatarReunionRomaniaRussian FederationRwandaSaint Kitts And NevisSaint LuciaSaint Vincent And The GrenadinesSamoaSan MarinoSao Tome And PrincipeSaudi ArabiaSenegalSeychellesSierra LeoneSingaporeSlovakia (Slovak Republic)SloveniaSolomon IslandsSomaliaSouth AfricaSouth Georgia, South Sandwich IslandsSpainSri LankaSt. HelenaSt. Pierre And MiquelonSudanSurinameSvalbard And Jan Mayen IslandsSwazilandSwedenSwitzerlandSyrian Arab RepublicTaiwanTajikistanTanzania, United Republic OfThailandTogoTokelauTongaTrinidad And TobagoTunisiaTurkeyTurkmenistanTurks And Caicos IslandsTuvaluUgandaUkraineUnited Arab EmiratesUnited KingdomUnited States Minor Outlying IslandsUruguayUzbekistanVanuatuVenezuelaVietnamVirgin Islands (British)Virgin Islands (U.S.)Wallis And Futuna IslandsWestern SaharaYemenYugoslaviaZambiaZimbabwe

Commitment & Community

Approximately how long are you interested in being a steward?*

Please select3 months3-6 months6-9 months9-12 months1 year +

3-month minimum commitment. Upon arrival, all stewards undertake a 2 week trial period, to determine that stewardship is a good fit for us and you. Stewardships can be extended with approval from the Abbot.

Requested Arrival Date*

Arriving by...*

Please selectCarBusAirOther

Requested Departure Date*

Departing by...*

Please selectCarBusAirOther

Is this your first visit to Birken?*

Yes

No

Do you have a valid Class 5 Canadian driver's licence or its equivalent?*

Yes

No

Why do you want to serve as a steward at Birken? What are your job qualifications for this position?*

Have you lived in an intentional community before?*

Yes

No

If YES, please give details.*

Please describe your current living situation (i.e., married, single, living with others, children, pets, working, unemployed, retired, etc.):*

Have you visited other Buddhist monasteries?*

Yes

No

If YES, please give details.*

Please list your recent meditation history, including if you have attended Buddhist meditation retreats in the past.*

Physical & Mental Health

Do you have any serious medical conditions, physical injuries or limitations that may impact your ability to carry out your duties?*

Yes

No

Please tell us about any conditions that might affect your participation in the monastery schedule, activities, guidelines, adherence to the Eight Precepts, etc.

If YES, please give brief details.*

Please let us know if your condition is controlled by medication, stable or unstable. We also need to know if it is likely to cause you a problem while you are here and whether you anticipate needing any kind of special support during your visit.

Do you suffer from any kind of mental illness?*

Yes

No

Please tell us about any conditions that might affect your participation in the monastery schedule, activities, guidelines, adherence to the Eight Precepts, etc.

If YES, please give brief details.*

Please let us know if your condition is controlled by medication, stable or unstable. We also need to know if it is likely to cause you a problem while you are here and whether you anticipate needing any kind of special support during your visit.

Have you had any recent problems with drugs or alcohol?*

Yes

No

If YES, please give brief details and confirm whether you have been abstinent from drugs/alcohol for at least six months.*

Emergency Contact

Name, phone number, and/or e-mail address of an emergency contact.

Contact Name*

Contact Phone*

Contact E-mail*

Additional Information?

If you have any additional information that you would like us to know, please list it here.

Guest / Steward Guidelines

The Birken Guest Guidelines can be found here.

I have read the Birken Guest Guidelines*

Yes

No

I agree to abide by the Eight Precepts while I am a guest at the monastery*

I agree to abide by the Eight Precepts

I agree to abide by the Seven Precepts, but have a medical need for food in the evening, identified below

I would like to request a non-food related exception from the Eight Precepts, explained below

If requesting an exception from the Eight Precepts, please provide more details*

All guests must abide by the Eight Precepts during their stay at the monastery. In exceptional cases (e.g. if you have hypoglycemia or diabetes), you may request an exception from the Eight Precepts to have a light evening snack. These exceptions must be approved by the Abbot prior to your visit and will be acknowledged in your booking confirmation.

Duties & Flexibility: I agree to abide by the Duty Guidelines outlined below while I am a steward at the monastery.*

Yes

No

DUTY GUIDELINES: Birken is a working monastery; the residents both live and work here. During your period of service there may be times when we are fully staffed and other times when someone is ill or leaves unexpectedly and other stewards need to step in to take care of duties. You may be in the kitchen one day and clearing snow the next. Picking up guests in town and stoking the wood stoves in the main building. Whatever duties need to be done, must be done, regardless of convenience or previous expectations.

Food Views & Opinions: I agree to abide by the Food Guidelines outlined below while I am a steward at the monastery.*

Yes

No

FOOD GUIDELINES: Food in a monastery is treated differently than in our contemporary culture. The views and opinions about what is healthy or not, organic or not, gluten free or not, vegetarian or not, are not what we are interested in here. In fact we will not discuss these matters at all, and will be quite blunt about how little concern we have for various preferences and health theories. We want to make sure stewards understand this at the outset. A monastery is not a resort, hotel, spa, restaurant, health food community or a hospital. It is a monastery in the Theravada tradition and the steward must conform to our attitudes not the other way around. Food preparation is not a democratic process but determined exclusively by the Abbot. This perhaps sounds rather direct. It is! But we don’t want any confusion around our attitudes since it just wastes everybody’s time.

Please upload your resume, if you have one

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