Nobody ever said that doing good would always be easy. Wainwright House, a dedicated spiritual and learning center overlooking Rye Harbor, has, in recent years, found that to be true. While many residents describe Wainwright as one of the organizations that make Rye unique, the longtime Rye institution is now dealing with a series of daunting challenges.

The idyllic estate near several private beach and yacht clubs on Stuyvesant Avenue has been a Rye landmark since 1931 and home to the Wainwright House organization since 1951. Although many in Rye know it only through attending weddings or meetings, the organization serves a wide and varied audience with a range of spiritual, self-help, and educational programs.

Wainwright House is actually a non-denominational institution with a mission to “offer a sacred place and community for spiritual exploration, health and healing, and planetary responsibility.” Its programs include everything from yoga classes to seminars for parents of children with Asperger’s Syndrome or Autism. It has provided support groups for war veterans and prayer groups for world peace. As a non-denominational group it welcomes adherents of all religions, hoping to provide opportunities for people of all faiths to work together for spiritual growth and understanding. According to the new Executive Director, Hillary Jones, more than 1,000 individuals participate in its programs each year.

Challenges to the organization’s mission have come from multiple directions. According to Board President Carol Craig, the biggest issue is financial. “When Fonrose Wainwright Condict donated the mansion, built by her parents, she also provided a substantial endowment to support ongoing operations,” Ms. Craig said. “However, the very high costs of maintaining the facility, which includes two additional buildings plus the main house, coupled with regular program expenses, ultimately depleted the endowment.”

Two additional problems came as a direct result of the first challenge. To supplement the fees charged to program participants and the donations of supporters, Wainwright actively promotes the mansion as a site for weddings and other events. According to Ms. Craig, up to 30 weddings, usually in tents on the expansive lawns, have been held each year, providing an ongoing and essential revenue stream.

Unfortunately, weddings mean noise and congestion and Wainwright’s neighbors objected. As a result, Rye’s Planning Commission directed the organization to significantly cut back on the number of tented weddings with amplified music that could be held – limiting the organization to 12  10* per year, beginning in 2012. Ms. Jones says the resulting decline in revenue will significantly impact Wainwright’s ability to meet its goals. [*Corrected by Wainwright House]

The ‘compromise’ enacted by the Planning Commission has not satisfied the objecting neighbors who contend that any use of the tented facility for amplified parties and weddings violates a series of laws and regulations. They have filed suit against both the Planning Commission and Wainwright House, claiming that the existing, 4,600 square-foot tent erected behind the main mansion is a commercial usage. This, they state, is banned by zoning regulations, and is not, as Wainwright argues, a religious activity. They further charge that the noise generated by the weddings is a nuisance to the neighbors.

The suit was filed with the New York Supreme Court and is awaiting a decision. If the suit is successful, it’s possible that Wainwright could be prohibited from holding any weddings where noise could be an issue.

Both Ms. Jones and Ms. Craig say that Wainwright wants to work with its neighbors and has tried to minimize noise and other impacts. They indicated that, for this year at least, there has been a minimum of complaints to the City of excess noise.

Adding to the challenge, the wedding income has also now attracted another interested party – the City of Rye. Recently, Rye Assessor Noreen Whitty announced that the longstanding tax exemption enjoyed by Wainwright would be revoked.  She claims that the substantial income generated by weddings at Wainwright essentially makes it a commercial operation, which subjects it to regular property taxes. If Ms. Whitty’s decision is upheld, Wainwright would face a tax bill of almost $34,000 for this year. Wainwright is contesting the determination before the Rye Tax Assessment Board and a decision is expected this fall.

Mayor Doug French did not comment on the merits of the Assessors’ proposal (the Assessor works independently of the City Council). He did note, however, that the current process of reevaluating tax decisions on an objective basis is a good thing and an example of how the City government is working effectively.

Ms. Jones says that Wainwright is working hard to deal with each of its challenges. They are looking at other sources of funding to make up some of the shortfall from the diminished endowment and the loss of some or, potentially, all wedding income. This could include promoting more corporate and institutional giving, seeking grants from educational and community service organizations, and asking for individual donations. For the last several years Wainwright has offered space to other non-profit groups, such as the Rye Y, which holds its yoga classes there.
“The goal of Wainwright is to serve the community and to promote positive change,” emphasized Ms. Craig. “We reflect the spiritual and cultural diversity that now characterizes America, and hope to be able to continue to offer Wainwright House as a place where everyone in the area can enjoy the beautiful scenery and take advantage of our multitude of programs.”

By Walt Mardis

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A Very Special Buddhist Valentine

Article By Katherine Ann Samon

Program from Gomang Monks at Wainwright transcends candy and flowers. It speaks to our hearts and world peace.

I was going to write a column about being single on Valentine’s Day—buy yourself some chocolates, stiff upper lip and all that. All of that fell away on Saturday when I read about a program at the Wainwright House by the Gomang Tibetan monks who are on world tour. I picked up the phone, made a reservation, and drove over.

This is the Valentine I truly wanted and wished I could share with everyone. Part of the program would be the monks chanting prayers for world peace and harmony, and I had to go, especially on the heels of recent events in Egypt.  I wasn’t alone; the event was sold out, with nearly 40 people in attendance.

When you’re a certain age, there’s a growing awareness of the interconnectedness of all of us and of the desire for harmony that’s deep inside all of us. The Buddhists say to think beyond mankind and to all “sentient beings” (loosely means all living and feeling beings). I’m working at being more patient, more compassionate, more…everything. I’ve got a long way to go.

Gomang is one order of the Drepung Monastery founded in 1416 near Lhasa, Tibet. When China invaded in 1959, of the 5500 monks studying at the monastery, only 100 were able to follow the 14^th Dalai Lama into exile in India. The monastery was reestablished in southern India by 60 monks 10 years later on land donated by India.

Part of the Wainwright program was a “Cultural Pageant” offering glimpses of the Tibetan monks’ presentations.

Of the many gifts the monks brought us, here are two Valentines to you. One is The Snow Lion Dance. The literature explains, ”The snow lion symbolize the fearless and elegant quality of an enlightened mind…[it] has a youthful, vibrant energy of goodness and a natural sense of delight…clear, joyful, and confident.” I'm hoping for a spill-over effect.

Concluding the afternoon was Monlam Prayer, a prayer of truth, composed by the 14^th Dalai Lama of Tibet on September 29, 1960 in Dharamsala, India. It is a prayer for restoring peace and freedom for the Tibetans, and the restoration of their homeland, and for world peace. “It is also an invocation of compassion towards all suffering sentient beings: oppressor and oppressed alike.”

[In my videos, I’ve shortened the presentation and prayer.] 

It's a privilege to be able to bring the messages of love and peace from the monks to you and to wish you love and peace this Valentine’s Day.

The Gomang Monks are in Middlebury, CT, this week. For the Gomang Monks Tour 2011 schedule and more info, gomang.org. 
For Wainwright House, www.wainwright.org