Former Unitarian-Universalist  Interim Minister, and follower of Thich Nhat Hanh, Marcia Curtis, inspired Raleigh's Community of Mindful Living. This group, which consists of approximately twenty-five Euro-American Buddhist converts and sympathizers, began when Curtis gave a sermon on Buddhism and Mindfulness in May 1996. She followed that with a six-week course that introduced members of the liberal congregation to seated meditation, walking meditation, and mindfulness practice.  The following fall,  a small group linked with the Unitarian-Univeralist Fellowship formed, and it has continued to meet each Monday night for practice and gather once a month to share a potluck dinner. 

A typical Monday night session begins with the members sitting in a circle around a statue of the bodhisattva of compassion Avalokitesvara, a photograph of the Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh, and a stick of burning incense.  The leader, who comes from among the group's members and changes from week to week, invites a bell to sound the commencement of the meditation period.  Some sessions focus on silent or guided meditation.  Others highlight a previously selected reading or topic, such as relaxation techniques.  On the third Monday of each month the group gathers for a ceremony in which participants rededicate themselves to the mindfulness trainings as outlined by Nhat Hanh, and they return on the first Monday of the month for a Dharma discussion, when the group reads and talks about the writings of the popular Vietnamese teacher who has inspired this group and two others in the state.